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.

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Iā€™m not claiming itā€™s easy or fun, but trying anything is more likely to work than just digging in your heels. Trying anything is more likely to work than falling for some grifter bsā€™ing you. Facing reality and at least looking for ways to overcome or listening to others ideas is more likely to work than hiding from reality.

    Maybe this is just the usual media rage bait, but every time I read about such an area voting for someone just to throw a monkey wrench in the works to hurt others too or someone conservative ready to try the same things that havenā€™t worked before or someone promising the stars without a space program, I have to think a lot of this is self-inflicted. Every time you cut investments in education or science, or the environment, itā€™s self-inflicted, every time you want to cut safety nets when you or your neighbors are likely to need a hand up at some point, youre hurting yourself. Most importantly, every time you reject new technology, new businesses, new attempts to help your future, because the old isnā€™t serving you well, itā€™s self-inflicted.

    Iā€™m sure Iā€™m getting it wrong since i canā€™t walk in their shoes but I know my area has lots of advantages, and many are our choices, our attitudes, our votes, our investments. Why does it seem like some people use their choices, votes, attitudes only to hurt or limit themselves?

    • Queen HawlSera@lemm.ee
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      7 months ago

      Yeah, butā€¦ what options do these people have outside of Vote Blue and hope some social program opens up to lift them out? One thatā€™s meant to target poor people in the city and not necessarily the rural area.