Cultural Views of Americans. Does “State-ism” Exist?

November 2, 2008

Article by R. Netz (FactFace): A State of Affairs

Okay, so let me start by sharing a little of my personal history here. I have an Associate of Arts degree from Irvine Valley College, a Bachelor of Arts in Social Ecology with a Specialization in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California at Irvine and was an admitted Graduate Student for a Master of Science in Education degree at California State University, Fullerton. While attending school at CSU, Fullerton, I completed the educational requirements for Certification as an Educational Specialist, completed 4 of 5 chapters of my Master’s Thesis and worked full time as Special Educator for students with moderate to severe disabilities. I am certified to teach in two states.

I taught for six years in California and two years in Wisconsin. After getting my bachelors, I worked for almost four years in Social Services, first as a Child Abuse Investigator and then as a Support Coordinator for individuals with disabilities. I held these positions in the State of Utah. Prior to completing my college education, I worked as a Teacher’s Aide, a Campus Security Guard and an Instructional Aide, Special Education and a Substitute Teacher in California.

While doing all of this, I raised three children, essentially alone, was a “proud” Marine Wife during Gulf War Part Un, got divorced, moved, got remarried, put my husband through school, while working and attending school full time myself, I might add, helped tend to my mother while she was dying a slow, painful death, sold my house, bought another and moved to a different state where my husband attended Graduate School, it goes on and on…

So here I am in the admittedly lovely State of Oregon and I can’t get a job. I have applied for no less than 15 different positions with the local school district, not as a Teacher, mind you, but working in a classroom as an aide. I have applied to the local Social Sevice Agency for work as a Case Manager working with people with disabilities, something I know just a little bit about (blatant sarcasm intended) and wasn’t even looked at twice for any of these positions. Can someone please explain this to me? My husband, while talking to a former colleague in California, was told that most places outside of California won’t even look at an application from someone who has lived in, driven through, flown over or even considered vacationing in California… Why is this? I told my husband his friend was full of shit. I have now found out the cold hard facts of that statement. I have never been ashamed of being a Californian. I have, like many others around the country, taken pride in being a Native. California, more than any other place I have lived, has provided me the opportunites I needed to make myself a better person. I am not overly liberal or rabidly conservative. I don’t have any bizarre ideas about aliens coming to whisk me away into the stars to my real home. I don’t practice Scientology or the Kaballah (although it was an interesting read). Basically, I am a regular, average person, who because of the opportunties afforded me by my State of origin, has been able to increase my knowledge to the level that I may actually have a couple of marketable skills… But, I still can’t find a job… In an age when the World Wide Web, mainstream media and cell phones makes the world a smaller and more accessable space, there are still rampant prejudices that threaten the very fiber of our country. I’m not just referring to the old standards here… I am referring to the misplaced beliefs that still exist in someplaces of this wonderful country of ours, that if you are from somewhere else (in this case, California) you are not be trusted. What a sad state of affairs.

My husband got lucky. First, he’s from Idaho, went to school in Utah and California and then got his Master’s in Wisconsin. His work history, other than a six-year commitment to the Marines, is fairly limited… But he scored BIG! He managed to get a job with the Forest Service, albiet a temp job, but a job none the less and then, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, he landed a permanent position… in Nevada…, but hey, it’s a job and he’s on his way.

I’m not sure what help I’ll be in as much as I can’t find a job worth having, but I’ll give it the old college try. We want to do better for ourselves and for our (now adult) children. I worked hard to go to school and get educated. I wanted something more for myself and my family… I’m now having to question why I bothered. I felt discriminated against when we lived in Utah because we weren’t LDS, but that was related to social opportunties and activities for our children to participate in, not in the workplace, although there were some philisophical differences of opinion… But I have never felt so looked down upon as I do at this very minute. I would like to know if there are other Former Californians out there struggling to find work in other states. I would like to really look into this and see if these sterotypes are still manifesting in other parts of the country. Hey, I liked the beach, but I’m no surfer. I loved having a tan, but I am no plastic surgery queen who shudders to think I might creep up to a size two (perish the thought). Discrimination in every form has to end and I personally think that “stateism” is just another form… Comments, suggestions, ideas, experiences? I’d love to hear them because I’m thinking of going back to school (in Nevada)  just so I can get funding for a study…