Posted on 09/18/2013 10:23:01 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Brooke Mosteller's remark during the pageant exaggerated the extent of mobile homes in South Carolina, one of the country's poorest states.
Miss South Carolina Brooke Mosteller might have nailed the swimsuit contest but she failed to impress in her Miss America pageant intro, when she joked, "I'm from the state where 20% of our homes are mobile because that's how we roll."
Not only were her comments shockingly insensitive, she got the number wrong.
U.S. census data shows that an average of 17.9% of residents lived in mobile homes from 2007 to 2011 — not 20%.
South Carolina's native son, Stephen Colbert, naturally inserted himself into the controversy.
Though the lovely lady stunned in the competition, her lighthearted comments about the state's low income population raised some eyebrows.
Though the lovely lady stunned in the competition, her lighthearted comments about the state's low income population raised some eyebrows.
The Comedy Central host took to his show Monday to praise Mosteller, who he said "represented our state admirably." Colbert said the fact that "20% of our homes are mobile ... means they could leave South Carolina and yet they choose to stay … or possibly (have) a lack of gas money."
South Carolina is among the 10 poorest states in the country, with a median household income of $44,587 compared with the national average of $52,762 (both are averages of census data from 2007-2011). Miss South Carolina hangs out backstage with some of the other contestants — many of whom took a more serious approach to their intros.
Miss South Carolina hangs out backstage with some of the other contestants — many of whom took a more serious approach to their intros.
Of South Carolinians, 17% live below the poverty line.
Though the lovely lady representing the Palmetto State poked fun of her home state, the other beauties in the pageant praised their native lands in their introductions.
Miss North Dakota Laura Harmon bragged that her state has the lowest unemployment rate and Jaden Leach — aka Miss Louisiana — gave a shoutout to "Duck Dynasty." Miss District of Columbia wasn't afraid to court controversy, with Bindhu Pamarthi saying her hometown is "listening to your phone calls from the nation's capital. Just kidding!"
The Miss South Carolina Scholarship organization did not respond to a request for comment.
Yeah, some of the occupants are low class and trashy. But then, some people who live in mansions are equally as trashy and way more destructive i.e. Bernie Madoff.
I strongly agree with that statement. Would I live in one today? No, I'm 55. But when I was in my 20's, I'd have been a lot better off if I had gotten one than renting apartments. Getting the scratch to buy a stick house would have been a heckuvalot easier.
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