> Small towns can be bucolic, beautiful, and communal, however your mileage may vary dramatically from in-group to in-group and tribe to tribe. Beware your own scarlet letter, whether it's your skin color, religion, or otherwise

Totally agree and that is probably one of the reasons I never went back to my town. Sense of belonging and tribalism definitely comes with drawbacks but also builds a feeling of having to stay together to move forward which is what makes that things like the post happen.