@An Open Circle

Well said. My thoughts (mostly, yours were much better formed) as I read it.

Boy ted, sure is fun to have you around. A village is missing it's troll.

Just got done fighting with my wife over something stupid. Watching this makes me feel incredible jerk. Now I feel like I should buy something for her. It's like they are counting on the fact that a guy will be carrying around guilt.
Stuart never cried at the end of My Girl, either. Know how I know your a robot?

As someone who grew up in a small town in the upper midwest, I doubt race has anything to do with it. Small towns are naturally xenophobic, but I never knew anyone I'd consider racist. I cringe when people assume this. Racism is a part of the East's and South's history, not a region filled with descendants of displaced native Americans and Europeans. Both groups were destitute when they attempted to make a living on an unforgiving prairie. They were wary of outsiders, but that has nothing to do with race.
I left as soon as I could, so I know small towns are not the stuff of Disney. But I doubt the Tristanis really left a life where people regularly "jump out of the bushes to attack". Every place has it's own issues, I don't think they will ever be happy, regardless where they live.