When an online opinion piece called “10 Chattanooga Stereotypes That Are Completely Accurate” arrives in your email box, your suspicion is immediately aroused.
The words “Chattanooga Stereotypes … Completely Accurate,” indeed, seem almost intended to provoke a response.
So, with a little seriousness but perhaps the same type of wheedling humor with which the article is written for a San Mateo, Calif., real estate brokerage by a Tena Moore of Asheville, N.C., here are the stereotypes listed in the email and responses from one lifelong Chattanoogan.
1 “Everyone in Chattanooga would rather live outside …”: No one would say that if they saw some of us trying to set up a tent. However, the Scenic City offers such a plethora of outdoor activities, from rock-climbing to water sports to bicycling, that it might seem that way to outsiders.
2 “… And everyone has an unhealthy attachment to the river”: The Tennessee River is indeed beautiful and offers many activities. And, of course, it’s a vital avenue of transportation for the city. But “unhealthy attachment?” No, a local “unhealthy attachment” belongs to things like old money, good ol’ boy networks and guns in places where they don’t belong.