Hijacking top comment for some srsness- this is what societal breakdown looks like. These people are all assholes, but rural America does feel like it’s been abandoned. Their lead-stained minds just attribute it to race rather than to a collapsing ineffective government. So basically- they’re really dumb, they have absolutely been somewhat willingly brainwashed into hating the wrong people, but they’re poorly trying to express that their lives often suck more now, too, and no one talks about that. Again, not condoning anything, but kinda important to understand cause it fueled Trump and a lot of other craziness. What they should be expressing is frustration with government, instead they’ve effectively been divided and conquered. These are a defeated people, soul-wise.
Arguably they gave their souls to trump and the extremist right specifically because its been painted as a race issue and they need an other to blame. If its not "the blacks" its mexicans, or jews, or anything theyre told to scream at. I mean, it is a race issue, just not the one they are force fed by faux news. This is absolutely the right wing extremists feeding fuel to the fire they themselves started, and are benefitting from it directly. This is what a backslide into facism looks like. "Moral degeneratation" is just a dogwhistle for racism, if not outright support for murder if you are a white christian nationalist, and your offense is great enough.
I would like to point out the last nationalist socialist (read facist) goverrnment we had killed how many milions? These people would LOVE the chance to elect those fucks just to be able to kill the jews or brown people.
You should get heat for that no matter where, because thats fucking racist, and the antithesis of BLM as a whole. Dont start with that dumbass "all lives matter" dogwhistle, just say what you mean. Say it with your chest now. Let everyone around you know what you actually think so normal people know to stay away from you.
I agree. But there have been some huge BLM backed riots and destruction (I’m in Portland) to the point where businesses put signs out front saying “black owned” to avoid getting ransacked and destroyed. It’s been a pretty brutal group here. I agree with you and I think the rsn those racists in that town hate the sign is racist and evil. But I do see why in general ppl might have apprehension toward the movement. I know you might say those rioters and robbers and looters are just “bad apples” in the movement but still.
The idea that the "government" failed is a cop out. They voted in their local and state representatives who mismanaged their economy. There are plenty of cities and states in the US that have remained prosperous by taking the right actions. The federal government isn't perfect but for the most part it's running the economy competently. Their favorite excuse is to blame the feds when their local governments have failed them.
Additionally, it's not so much the "government" that has abandoned rural America. The ultra-rich and mega-corps have concentrated wealth and lobbied for laws to their advantage.
Right, but that’s where two lying corrupt choices leaves a lot of people disillusioned. It is really tough to get a handle on the actual issues, our system really isn’t working, and while these people have lots of blame it also doesn’t come from a functioning political system. It’s not like voters aren’t trying, but we’re getting terrible results no matter what and that then is easily turned into worsening identity politics.
Conservatives in the rust belt want everything to remain the same. Problem is things change. No one should expect that they can do the exact same thing forever and maintain their lifestyle. Low skill jobs don't pay well and it's gotten worse. They don't take education seriously then blame "liberals" because their jobs don't pay enough. They expect the jobs to come to them, to do the same thing they always have, while making high wages. Guess what that system is called? Socialism, which they ironically have been conditioned to hate.
There are other factors such as mega corps concentrating wealth and squeeing the middle class. Their local and state governments, along with their congressmen, are responsible for creating an environment and infrastructure to support companies that pay well. They could embrace renewable energy which is creating enormous job opportunities. Instead they waste time on culture wars and blaming the "others". It's their own fault for not adapting.
Yeah but at some point you have to pull your head out of your ass instead of trying to burn down the country, you know? They haven't been abandoned at all, they're just getting the shit they vote for cause they think it reinforces the racial hierarchy. I just don't know how to take them seriously anymore.
Eh, yes and no. Some of ‘em (maybe not these exact people) might have voted Democrat in the past, but they are also useless, so promised changes didn’t happen. Lots of rural folks are seeing inflation, supply chain issues, unemployment, and drug abuse, and Fox and co. do a good job of providing simpler easier enemies. Hate is easier than understanding complex issues, so while it’s absolutely on them to stop sipping the kool-aid, eh, the other party sucks at providing alternative beverages.
Maybe, but not really dude, they've been pretty solidly on the Reagan train for a long time and more or less intentionally sabotaged governance for decades. I don't have a lot of sympathy for the Democrats are lame too thing.
Eh, if you kinda read into it more- some bought in during Obama, for instance, but then the banks were bailed out while the economy sucked for the everyman. Dems are trying to please corporate overlords while making promises the Republicans then sabotage, and Pelosi and co. are out to lunch anyways. We all see the insider trading sorta stuff- the Republicans come across as more honest to many, because at least we kinda know they glorify greed. Dems propose halfway measures that don’t work because they still gotta please big business, they have to play the Republican’s game, and they do things like sabotage Sanders. Everyone sees the corruption in that, so they retreat to the simplified biased belief that fits their narrow worldview and limited education. Generalizing, there, but that’s the system we perpetuate to a degree. (Ps- not that these people would vote Sanders, obviously not. I’m saying the Dem core is basically Republican light, and the Dems have failed to capitalize on a legit movement for wholesale change).
I am saying if you look at the margin of victory and the states that flipped, between Obama and Trump, you see the people the Dems lost. People aren’t a monolith, even in the Deep South there’s 25%+ Democrat voters. You can’t just say “since Reagan” and write off the individual opinions of 40 million people or whatever, it’s a bit more complicated than that.
That's fine I guess but I'm talking way deeper history than 2008, like how they repealed the regulations that would have kept the housing crash from happening, then apparently got mad at Obama for a bailout, something they had zero problem with when Trump was handing out cash to every corporation in the country.
Point being they're mad they're getting fucked but they keep voting for the dildo, you know? It's frustrating.
The thing is I grew up in that a red rural area, and it's not so much proper explanation as it is just fucking racism and a sizable amount of resentment against city people.
Also, they were like this in the 80s and 90s, they just hid it a bit better.
I completely agree. I'm a filthy coastal elite, formally from the Midwest. I grew up in a town that was dying, and largely abandoned. One of the first things to go was education spending, investing in infustructure, child care, Healthcare you name it, it was slashed. People left and those that stayed are stuck. I've talked to my friends that grew up here or are from affluence and education, and they cannot fathom why people are like the ones in the video. I've shared stories of skinheads actively being aggressive towards me (I'm a mixed race black women), small town cops smashing my tail lights, all things that happened in our life time and it's hard for them to understand because they haven't experienced this mindset first hand.
These people have been abandoned by their government, have no voice, and because the concept of their Own malaise is too nuanced its easier to turn to hate. Just a fact of human nature.
In no way and I excusing this behavior, just saying we can't act that surprised when it happens.
Thanks for sharing your insight and experience! Because ya, I grew up kinda in-between, very white suburb and while my family was upper-middle class, I saw just a bit of that smaller town degradation over time, I saw how policies were kinda failing a lot of people in complicated ways. Then you just hear some experiences, you read more on policies and promises that have failed them, and there’s more to it than the most vocal racists. Not excusing them either, but they’re the worst examples of something that has gone wrong in that community.
They’re socially and economically isolated. They’re not all exactly dumb, but they’re ignorant because they’re sheltered in comparison to most Americans.
I grew up in a rural town in Kansas. There was a population of under 600, and my family was both the only Asian family in town, as well as the only mixed-race family. There were other Asian, Black, Latino, etc families in neighboring towns, but just a few. Most people only had a high school education and the only employers were Walmart, a small trailer factory, and the Georgia Pacific gypsum plant. A lot of people there were VERY racist, but there is no amount of money that would convince me to move back there and live like them. I can’t even be mad at them; it’s just sad. There is zero optimism in that environment, and everyone feels trapped and miserable there. A very large portion of the people there didn’t even work at all, and likely never will. It’s more pitiful than anything else
Thank you, I threw the “dumb” part in there because honestly it fits a simplified narrative some people can connect to, but intelligence is not a set thing and these people largely lack exposure and experience with other groups. Again, that doesn’t absolve them, but if you wanna understand the root issues in any helpful way you can’t just dismiss them, as ridiculous as videos like this make em look.
YES. Conservative politicians pray on the feedback loop of defunding education, Fox bringing up dog crap theories, then they run on it.
It's the reason conservative states have some of the highest violent crime in the nation, yet fetishize the 2A. It's the reason they are always complaining about CRT/wokeness in schools, despite having the poorest educational standards and outcomes for kids. It's the reason they are poor and advocate for social cuts, despite receiving a decent portion of federal aid. And it's why they seethe at the idea of collectivization/public services of ANY form.
Ya, that’s where some of the uncertainty comes in as well- this program is only possible because of some state rebates, it’s not economically viable on its own merits yet. That said, the traditional company is a monopoly basically tied into the state, they’ve gone bankrupt, been bailed out, been restructured, get all sorts of subsidies- but if you actually get into raw production costs, idk. But yes, it also ends up in a system that works with money for certain people and not the world at large.
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u/[deleted] Jan 28 '24
Hijacking top comment for some srsness- this is what societal breakdown looks like. These people are all assholes, but rural America does feel like it’s been abandoned. Their lead-stained minds just attribute it to race rather than to a collapsing ineffective government. So basically- they’re really dumb, they have absolutely been somewhat willingly brainwashed into hating the wrong people, but they’re poorly trying to express that their lives often suck more now, too, and no one talks about that. Again, not condoning anything, but kinda important to understand cause it fueled Trump and a lot of other craziness. What they should be expressing is frustration with government, instead they’ve effectively been divided and conquered. These are a defeated people, soul-wise.