We say very clearly that rural America is hurting. But we refuse to justify attitudes that some scholars try to underplay.

Something remarkable happened among rural whites between the 2016 and 2020 elections: According to the Pew Research Centerā€™sĀ validated voter study, as the rest of the country moved away from Donald Trump, rural whites lurched toward him by nine points, from 62 percent to 71 percent support. And among the 100 counties where Trump performed best in 2016, almost all of them small and rural, he got a higher percentage of the vote in 91 of them in 2020. Yet Trumpā€™s extraordinary rural white supportā€”the most important story in rural politics in decadesā€”is something many scholars and commentators are reluctant to explore in an honest way.

ā€¦

What isnā€™t said enough is that rural whites are being told to blame all the wrong people for their very real problems. As we argue in the book, Hollywood liberals didnā€™t destroy the family farm, college professors didnā€™t move manufacturing jobs overseas, immigrants didnā€™t pour opioids into rural communities, and critical race theory didnā€™t close hundreds of rural hospitals. When Republican politicians and the conservative media tell rural whites to aim their anger at those targets, itā€™s so they wonā€™t ask why the people they keep electing havenā€™t done anything to improve life in their communities.

  • The_v@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Weā€™ve had a constant selection pressure for people who are economically and socially adaptable to move away from small towns since the start of the industrial revolution.

    The issue is who is left in the towns. Itā€™s people who are socially and economically highly resistant to change.

    Whatā€™s interesting is why they are so resistant, studies show itā€™s an overdeveloped sense of fear. They are terrified of moving to a new location. I know many people who refuse to visit any city because ā€œitā€™s too dangerousā€. People in small towns today live in a constant state of fear. Political and religious organizations have stoked that fear to a fever pitch.

    Unsurprisingly, depression and anxiety rates are high in rural communities. Areas that also have poor mental health services. So they use drugs and alcohol at a higher as a form of self-medication.

    • acchariya@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Do you have a source for this? Iā€™m not doubting you because it seems plausible, it just seems like interesting reading