Being Good With [r/vermont]

For the inaugural [Being Good Vermonters] post, thoughts on being a good Vermonter from the denizens of r/vermont (the Vermont subReddit).

For the inaugural post in the titular column of To Be a Good Vermonter, there’s only one logical thing I could do: ask the amazing, insightful, generous, tell-all, tell-it-like-it-is denizens of r/vermont this question:

The responses were spectacular - and no surprise, because the good folks of r/vermont never fail to deliver some of the best (and most heartwarming) ghatdang stories I’ve ever heard in my life. Here’s just one example:

Locavore taste and quirky resilience (as seen above) definitely ranked high on the list of Vermonter traits…

…but there was one trait that stood out as the most commonly admired among all: being helpful to folks who need it, no matter who they are and no matter what their politics, home state, age, race, gender, wealth, level of sobriety, etc…and not making a big deal out of it.

Of course, if you watch Letterkenny, this’ll be no surprise to you (yes, even though Letterkenny is Canadian…close enough). But in Vermont - unlike in the Letterkenny GIF below - you don’t have to be a friend. Hell, you can even be from Massachusetts…we’ll still help ya. (I kid, Mass friends, I kid!)

One of my favorite examples of this spirit is seen here, in a comment from a fellow Vermont redditor:

So many of the quiet, un-egotistical examples of giving help to others involved pulling someone out of either the mud or the snow…even though you didn’t know who they were…and then just…going about your day.

And, it’s worth noting that aside from offering the time and labor to give this help, these Vermonters were *logistically prepared* to offer that help. There were stories of folks coming upon a tree fallen across the road and folks in both lanes stopped on opposing sides, both got chainsaws out of the backs of their trucks, cut up the tree, nodded to each other, then got back in their trucks and drove off…just like it was any other Tuesday morning. No big fuss, no grandstanding, no competition - just humbly doing the thing that needed to be done and moving on. I have a lot to learn from this; that learning is part of the point of To Be a Good Vermonter. And the Vermont subreddit rarely lets me down when I’m seeking wisdom. (Thanks, y’all.)

To the denizens of r/vermont, thank you so much - as always - for warming this flatlander’s heart, giving me a good laugh, and making me just a bit smarter, kinder, and ever more grateful to be a Vermonter.

Future editions of [Being Good Vermonters] (published every other Tuesday) will take a more focused approach, talking to just one person in a more intimate way…but I can’t imagine a better way to have kicked off this segment than with the wisdom, humor, experience, and kindness of my fellow r/vermont Redditors.

If you’d like to read the wealth of incredible responses to this question for yourself, please visit the original post on Reddit.

And if you’re new to To Be a Good Vermonter (the name of this Substack publication), then this post and this post are a good place to dive into the what, why, and how of TBAGV.

Thank you so much for reading. See y’all tomorrow for another edition of Queer Country Wisdom! (Open question submissions coming this weekend…finally.)

Warmly,
Jack