About Those Rural White Voters.Uh huh

[sheshe2]

Done told you…I’m tired of articles about them…
Interesting how nobody ever goes and studies rural BLACK folk..it’s like they don’t exist.

A Princeton sociologist spent 8 years asking rural Americans why they’re so pissed off

Hint: it’s not about the economy.
By Sean Illing
@[email protected]
Mar 13, 2018, 8:50am EDT

Robert Wuthnow, a sociologist at Princeton University, spent eight years interviewing Americans in small towns across the country. He had one goal: to understand why rural America is so angry with Washington.

snip

So I decided to speak with Wuthnow about what he learned and whether fears about America’s “moral decline” are really just a cover for much deeper fears about race and demographic changes.

In the book, you argue that the anger we’re seeing in rural America is less about economic concerns and more about the perception that Washington is threatening the way of life in small towns. How, specifically, is Washington doing this?

Robert Wuthnow
I’m not sure that Washington is doing anything to harm these communities. To be honest, a lot of it is just scapegoating. And that’s why you see more xenophobia and racism in these communities. There’s a sense that things are going badly, and the impulse is to blame “others.”


Read More: https://3chicspolitico.com/2018/03/20/tuesday-open-thread-about-those-rural-white-voters-uh-huh/

Lol! Hint. It ain't the economy.

PS...I hope the bolding does not make my OP difficult for anyone to read.

[Beartracks]

1. No one studies rural black folks cuz they're not messing things up for the rest of the country. n/t

[Honeycombe8]

20. That's partly it. The rural whites are ONE of the groups that supposedly put Trump in the W.H.

And was a surprise vote for the Dems. (Note: I am convinced that Trump was not "put in" the W.H. by voters.)

That's why they study them, I guess.

[Honeycombe8]

23. I was born & raised in BubbaLand in deep south, and have recently moved back.

I live in a semi-rural area. Some very wealthy people here, but for the most part, lower middle class blue collar workers.

I have my finger on what ails them, but it would take too long to explain it, and I'm tired right now.

BUT...they hate liberals. So nothing has changed there, except it's worse now. They HATE liberals. They don't care what liberals do or don't do, what they say or don't say. Nothing makes a difference. They HATE them. Someone convinced them years ago to feel this way, and that won't change. To say they don't hate liberals would mean they'd be ostracized by their neighbors. Rural people are very clickish. You MUST fit in. You all depend on each other at times...hurricanes, floods, etc.

Why they voted for Trump is easy. He seemed to be something that Roseanne Arnold once joked that she and her hubby had become and which was America's worst nightmare: White trash with money.

How Trump is...disrespectful, hateful, foul mouthed, philanderer, misogynistic, etc. This is how many of the white rural people are. They see themselves in Trump. He's like them. "He says it like it is." Only he has money, so that's proof he deserves to be in the W.H. He must be a good businessman, or he wouldn't have money. "He's like me. He'll take care of me. I trust him." And he won't send transgenders into the bathroom with my daughter!

I'll tell you that the transgender-bathroom thing was, and is, a huge deal in their anger. It was a tinder box that lit a fire. That was a bridge too far, for them. They were willing to go along with gay rights for employment and such. But a man with a penis in the bathroom with their daughters? No..they were (and are) not going to accept that. And that got them very very angry. They don't care how he (or she) is dressed. The person still has a penis and is in the bathroom with their daughters and wives.

To the extent you can generalize any group, of course. Because there are exceptions. But that is some of what I've heard. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. They will never vote for a Democrat.

[LittleGirl]

39. All of my southern US relatives are liberals

and have been for years. Blue collar workers and just good people.

The problem with the south is fox news. They all watch fox spews with the lies and conspiracy theories...it's all what you said above and that.

[RKP5637]

58. When I travel through there the damn hotels always blare Fox News in the dining room, the breakfast

area, all over the place. It's no wonder they don't get what's going on. I would like to see Rupert Murdoch investigated. He has worked hard to destroy American with his non-stop propaganda ... but he gets a free pass. I never see anyone question the motives and objectives of Rupert Murdoch. Why is that?

[Tumbulu]

63. I am harping on this endlessly

But it started with the hate radio in the '80's and Rush .

You are correct!

[RKP5637]

66. We've seen what happened in 1930's Germany with Joseph Goebbels, yet we have a number of characters

whose agendas are questionable.

[Honeycombe8]

68. I agree. Hate radio. Rush....the hero of all fat, white, hate-filled Bubbas. nt

[LittleGirl]

78. totally agree! eom

[Honeycombe8]

67. I'm a liberal, too, in the middle of a sea of figurative red hats.

It's insane. I moved back to be near relatives, but I'm working on getting the hell out of dodge. This place has changed. It used to have groups of anti-Vietnam War youths with long hair and a more liberal attitude. They've all gone, replaced by Bubbas in pickups.

There is no presence of a Democratic Party here...but we are here nonetheless.

I was posting in a local community FB group recently, when someone posted that SHE was new here, and was there a group for something, yada yada yada. SHE then referred to her wife. I pointed out that HE must be using his wife's FB account, because of the female name (since HE had referred to HIS wife). SHE then said SHE wasn't using someone else's FB account...that SHE did have a WIFE. I sure wasn't expecting THAT here in the Land of MAGA! (She's new here, though. She may move away, like I plan to. It's not a place to be if you're not MAGA. Although on the surface, they're nice people and helpful. As long as they don't know you're "one of them libruls." Sort of like the Body Snatchers movie.)

[LittleGirl]

79. For sure!

One of my Alabama cousins is openly gay and he just laughs them off. He tried one of those gay conversion churches but he said, he kept waking up gay. lol.

I hope you are able to get out of there. I don't visit my home town often because it's a bunch of red necks there too. I also am moving out of this red state of AZ as soon as possible. There is a blue dot here in Tucson that helps but otherwise, nothing but bubbas in pickups. ugh.

[cannabis_flower]

42. Don't start me on the transgender bathroom bill.

That was the stupidest bill they ever tried to push through Texas. I had many discussions about that. There would be so many problems if that bill was passed.

First off, if it passed masculine looking, real women would start to be challenged when they go into the bathroom and do their business. Someone would complain and the police would be called and some women would have to start carrying their birth certificates around so they can prove to the police that they were born a female.

Second off, women who used to be men would now have to go to the men's room. Some of them are pretty and some men would be disturbed by their feelings and want to lash out at these women. They probably won't be reported to the police, but a good many of them will be assaulted by men and the police will be called. They also will have to carry around their birth certificate.

Third, men that used to be women would be force to use the ladies room. Women will come in and see one of these men and call the police. Women who might not even have noticed that a woman that used to be a man is in the bathroom before, will now be seeing manly looking men who used to be women and tell the manager that a man is in the ladies room. It will be a mess. They will also have to carry around their birth certificate.

The only people who won't have to carry their birth certificate will be men and women who were born having the correct genitals and also looked sufficiently masculine or feminine as the case may be. It would get ugly real fast. We already have enough laws to prevent men from going into the bathroom dressed as women and assaulting women. In fact, men don't even need to dress as women to assault women in the bathroom. A few weeks ago a man assaulted a woman in the bathroom at Memorial City Mall in Houston. He was not dressed as a woman, he was just there early in the morning when the stores in the mall had not opened but people were there early to walk. He was identified and arrested.

http://abc13.com/arrest-made-in-vicious-attack-on-woman-at-memorial-city-mall-/3158925/

[DBoon]

46. Those laws aren't even just about transgender folks

They are more about an excuse for harassing and beating up anyone who does not fit their view of gender. Obviously transgender would be most at risk, but cis hetero folks who don't fir male/female stereotypes would bear the damage.

"if it passed masculine looking, real women would start to be challenged when they go into the bathroom and do their business." Challenged is a mild term for what would happen. It would also apply to any dude who is not sufficiently masculine.

[Honeycombe8]

69. Well, that's the flip side, and not the law that Bubbas opposed.

It doesn't matter to them what you call it. It all boils down to ....someone with a penis in the bathroom with their wives and daughters. Doesn't matter how they're dressed. That's what it boils down to...the bathrooms have to do with genitalia. The female Bubbas object to it, and the males object to it. They are over the top angry about it. It doesn't make sense to them, and it forces their wives and daughters to use the bathroom with men. It infringes on the females' right to privacy, is how they see it. That one thing took many people to the polls to vote, who otherwise would not have.

They categorize it as different from a right to work, get paid equally, etc., for gays. (There is actually a small gay community here in BubbaLand.) Many don't even care about gays being able to get married. It's the invasion of what they see as the right to privacy of women.

[cannabis_flower]

80. I realize that but..

it really only makes sense if there weren't private stalls in the ladies room. I've never even seen a vagina in the ladies room, much less a penis. Except a baby penis that is.

[BumRushDaShow]

70. "But a man with a penis in the bathroom with their daughters? No."

Yet a man with a penis in the BED with their (minor) daughters? YES!!!! (Roy Moore).

[Honeycombe8]

71. LOL. To be fair, the Bubbas in this neck of the woods would NEVER go for a Roy Moore type.

In fact, he would be run out of town, and would be wise to look over his shoulder constantly.

Alabama....that's a place that I would consider hell to live in, or drive through.

[RobinA]

72. I Don't Live In Bubbaland

but I see your "white trash with money" point expressed every day. Major points for "telling it like it is," which these days seems to be a free pass for just about anything. AND the "he's rich so he must be smart" theme. I don't know how many people I have argued with about this, most who aren't even Trump supporters. There's this notion in this country that money = smart that seems to persist despite glaring contradiction. Then lastly there is the subconscious notion that some day I, too, could be a millionaire. Trump plays this out in spades because, look, he's disrespectful, hateful, foul mouthed, a philanderer and hates women, but he's RICH so it is possible.

[Honeycombe8]

85. Exactly. +1. nt

[BoneyardDem]

83. "They HATE liberals. They don't care what liberals do or don't do, what they say or don't say."

It's not a secret...yet may choose to ignore this.

I have said something similar on every many threads where we are being told to outreach to Republicans. It's a f...ing waste of time!

There is NOTHING any Dem can say that will change their heart and minds. For the few that have 'woken up' to the disaster that is the current version of the Republican Party, that was all on them. It wasn't because a Dem said "read this" or "listen to that" or "watch this show", it often seems to be finally something that happened within their own party that smacked them up side of their head.

[Honeycombe8]

87. One thing that can be done: Help them not vote.

One thing the Trumpers or alt-righters MIGHT do, since they would not vote for a Democrat, is stay home or vote for a third party.

If they don't like their candidate (and I mean really not like him/her), AND they aren't scared out of their wits about an extreme Democrat (or hate the Dem so much that they are driven to the polls to vote against him/her), some of the alt-righters would simply not vote or would vote for a third party.

[sheshe2]

36. Correct, Beartracks.nt

[Squinch]

2. Yup. And could you bold a little more? I really like it!

[sheshe2]

5. Your....

Your wish is granted my dear...

Women are BOLD.

[Squinch]

7. .

I'm happy now!

[sheshe2]

9. ;)

BOLD

[Gothmog]

3. For the longest while, the Texas Democratic Party wasted money and time in East Texas

The former chairman of the party was from east Texas and the party sank a ton of money and time into trying to turn Texas blue by turning East Texas blue. That was a waste of time and money and now that party is focusing on places like Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley. Dallas has been blue for a while and Harris County turned blue in 2016.

Here is a great reason why chasing rural voters in east Texas was a waste of money and time. Louie is from trump country in East Texas

Link to tweet

[sheshe2]

6. Oh Louie...

What an asshole you are.

[yuiyoshida]

17. I wonder what he will do for Martin Luther King day?

[ProudLib72]

24. National "Good People on Both Sides Day"

[Honeycombe8]

25. East TX is a key KKK area. Still. nt

[Gothmog]

31. Look up the town of Vidor

Texas has or hopefilly used to have the concept of "sundown" towns where non whites need to be out of this tosn by sundown

[mitch96]

37. I had a girlfriend from Tennessee and she said the same thing

During the day it's ok, at nite take flight...
m

[RobinA]

73. Good God

I'm a coastal elite, we still have that in this country? I mean, yes, I know racism is rampant, but that seems kinda blatant. i guess if I think about it I'm not surprised.

[KitSileya]

84. Oregon was a sundown state.

Being a coastal elite, it's important to note that this wasn't only in the South. Oregon's initial constitution forbade African Americans from living, working, or owning property in the state, and until 1926 it was illegal for African Americans to move there. Once they were allowed, in Portland, for example, they were confined to a small neighborhood called Albina, so they created a new town for the black inhabitants midway between Vancouver, WA and Portland called Vanport. On Memorial Day in 1948, pretty much the whole town was swept away by flooding. The authorities kept insisting the flood wasn't dangerous, so people didn't leave. 18,000 people were left homeless because the houses were built so shoddily. Not surprising when you learn that the Ku Klux Klan had a strong presence in Portland and Multnomah county, and even the governor was a member. Jim Crow ruled in Portland. The state is still disturbingly white, to be honest.

[mcar]

26. FFS!

Gohmert truly is the dumbest person alive.

[denbot]

86. Cesar Chavez was a WWII Vet

Fuck you Louie.

[bearsfootball516]

4. Basically, a lot of those people have subconscious racial tendencies

They stayed buried for most of their lives, but when Obama was elected, they bubbled to the surface.

[Squinch]

8. And then Cambridge Analytica turned them into Alt Right neo nazis.

[sheshe2]

12. It didn't take them much.

They were primed and ready, the fuse was already burning and then they turned on a dime.

[EffieBlack]

13. This sure is a great way to get them to vote Democratic.

Leave them ALONE! You're insulting them!

[sheshe2]

15. Yeah.

We are insulting them when they slap us in the face and tell us to sit down and shut up.

Not happening.

[mcar]

28. Oh why, oh why are you hurting their poor fee fees?

They won't ever vote with us if we don't understand their plight.

[sheshe2]

38. Snowflakes melt.

[EffieBlack]

44. Better send out a team of reporters to a diner in the heart of America so that we can better

understand them.

[Codeine]

10. Its like half of DU just decided

that their number one goal in life is to convince the rest of us that we need to spend all of our time jerking off motherfucking hillbilly-ass Trump voters in the vain hope that maybejustmaybe one of them isn’t a fucking racist POS who prays for the day he can finally use the N-word in public again.

I don’t have time for those people. Too many real Democrats to mobilize.

[sheshe2]

11. Lol...

Love the way you put it. Seems to be the aim though, Codeine.

I don't have time for them either.

[EffieBlack]

14. Well, alrighty then.

[hatrack]

21. Simple, direct and to the point - LOVE it!

[brer cat]

35. Sheshe may as well wrap up this thread.

You are taking it home.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

43. how about 35,000 voters?

Gothmog updated a thread today:

Kobach expert witness: Carlos Murguia sounds foreign. ACLU attorney: Thats a federal judge
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210350534

35,000 voters in Kansas are at stake and Kobach got an ass-chewing ("humiliated" is how MotherJones put it) from the judge.

Just my opinion, but unravelling the dirty voter suppression schemes of GOPers is much more fruitful than stroking trumpanzees.

[aikoaiko]

16. People are praising this book because of the author's empathy. That's all some are asking for.

With a little empathy, we might be able to get enough back on the right track and they can help us win elections. 2016 sucked.

https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11239.html

How a fraying social fabric is fueling the outrage of rural Americans
What is fueling rural America's outrage toward the federal government? Why did rural Americans vote overwhelmingly for Donald Trump? And, beyond economic and demographic decline, is there a more nuanced explanation for the growing rural-urban divide? Drawing on more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, Robert Wuthnow brings us into America's small towns, farms, and rural communities to paint a rich portrait of the moral order--the interactions, loyalties, obligations, and identities—underpinning this critical segment of the nation. Wuthnow demonstrates that to truly understand rural Americans' anger, their culture must be explored more fully.

We hear from farmers who want government out of their business, factory workers who believe in working hard to support their families, town managers who find the federal government unresponsive to their communities' needs, and clergy who say the moral climate is being undermined. Wuthnow argues that rural America's fury stems less from specific economic concerns than from the perception that Washington is distant from and yet threatening to the social fabric of small towns. Rural dwellers are especially troubled by Washington's seeming lack of empathy for such small-town norms as personal responsibility, frugality, cooperation, and common sense. Wuthnow also shows that while these communities may not be as discriminatory as critics claim, racism and misogyny remain embedded in rural patterns of life.

Moving beyond simplistic depictions of the residents of America's heartland, The Left Behind offers a clearer picture of how this important population will influence the nation's political future.

Robert Wuthnow is the Gerhard R. Andlinger '52 Professor of Social Sciences at Princeton University. His many books include American Misfits and the Making of Middle-Class Respectability, Small-Town America, and Remaking the Heartland (all Princeton).

Reviews

"Writing with empathy . . . the author reflects on the factors shaping rural life--from the importance of faith to the stability and familiarity of life in town to the importance of ritual events (barn dances, etc.), stories, and symbols--as well as pressing problems (brain drain, teen pregnancy, drugs, lack of good jobs) and concerns over moral decline (abortion and homosexuality). Wuthnow finds nuances: the isolation-ending benefits of the internet, Walmart, and 24/7 cable news have made rural residents more aware that the world 'was changing and leaving them behind.' His interviews are consistently revealing. . . . A superb, authoritative sociology book."--Kirkus, starred review

Endorsements

"Wuthnow cogently confronts the question: Why are so many of the people living in small-town America filled with rage? Instead of condemning, he listens. In this highly accessible, instructive book, Wuthnow reminds readers why the so-called American Dream is closely connected to the politics of place."--Nancy Isenberg, author of White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America

"Analytical and humane, this account of the dense, vexed moral communities of rural America is based on profound fieldwork conducted over the course of a decade by one of our most accomplished sociologists. Conveying the anxieties and resentments that run deep in stressed but resilient small-town America, Wuthnow's appraisal of ethical sensibilities, patterns and limits of membership, and political orientations is learned, engrossing, and timely."--Ira Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time

"Distilling an impressive body of research, this book describes the core characteristics of rural moral communities and brings important conceptualizations of rural life to audiences that may not have previously encountered them. Given the contemporary political environment, The Left Behind is a timely contribution."--Colin Jerolmack, New York University

"Wuthnow draws on his trove of primary source interviews and observations in small-town America, and a wealth of other materials, to effectively describe how the social fabric and moral tenors of small towns are changing. This thoughtful and effective book serves as a corrective to the caricatures of small-town America and is an important resource for our shared future."--Courtney Bender, Columbia University

[IronLionZion]

18. Be bold!

There are articles about rural minorities, and the fact that it's growing in many rural areas as there is a migration from rust belt cities to sun belt where housing is cheaper and there are family ties. Rural minorities in much of the south and west are having an effect in elections.

[MarcA]

19. For a long time they had advantages by being white

even though they were in lower socio-ecomonic standing.
Washington was o.k. then. Now with more equality and
real problems economically for all Americans, Washington
is the bad guy. Nothing wrong with small communities,
even semi-closed ones, but it is a question of which values
they have.

[mcar]

22. I live here

It ain't the economy.

[George II]

29. ....."stupid" (James Carville during Bill Clinton's first campaign!)

[mcar]

30. Can't fix it!

[sheshe2]

34. You should know...

you are there in the middle of it mcar.

[George II]

27. Thanks for bolding the highlights of your OP, makes it much easier to read the important points.

[sheshe2]

41. Why thank you, George.

Bold is good. Easy to read and gives the message some focus.

[mythology]

32. The bolded part actually undercuts your argument

"just scapegoating" They see their historical way of life/jobs not getting them as far as it did before. Ergo it must be Washington or blacks or immigrants. The racism is a symptom of other concerns. It's the same reason that across the planet racist right wing parties pop up during and after economic downturns. Look at Europe over the last decade.

Also from the interview:

It’s resentment that ultimately gets directed toward the politicians they don’t like, or toward people who look different from them. That’s certainly part of what’s going on here.

The resentment manifests as racism, but racism isn't the root cause.

[bettyellen]

51. So... racism is less bad because dumb reasons like wishing they still had slaves in POC and women?

Becasue their economic problems are that they failed when they’re not cheating others by getting free labor out of them. Maybe this is why white guys are less bothered- they don’t get the connection of their wish to exploit us once again. Get used to us rejecting their ignorant bullshit.

[radius777]

62. They voted for Reaganism for a generation,

and are surprised their jobs/healthcare/towns are decimated?

The white working class started fleeing the Dem party over civil rights in the 60's, into the arms of Nixon and then Reagan - way before the Clintons and Obamas came onto the scene.

[RobinA]

74. Yeah, This

For decades it's been noticed and written about that certain voters weren't voting their own interests. Suddenly it's the Democratic Party's fault for not paying attention to the interests of certain voters??? You voted for Reagan TWICE you got what you wanted and you are still getting it.

[UTUSN]

33. You're *FINE* - don't worry about the *Meta* posters who crap on format & PC stuff

[Jack-o-Lantern]

40. Yes, I too live in a semi-rural area. Go a few miles further into the country...

and you have toothless hicks living in broken-down trailers, flying confederate flags, sitting on their porches oiling and feeling their guns, and just hoping a ‘librul or a ‘nigra trespasses on their clay and weeds property, as they carry their bibles around like a precious jewel.
These people worship dump and any politician with an R behind their name.
These people will NEVER change…best to steer clear of them and hope sanity reins in the more urban parts of the country.

[RKP5637]

60. I used to think it was conditioned behavior, but anymore I'm thinking it's neurological brain

development and probably impossible to change. They are wired for fear, anger, hatred and worshiping authority figures be it religion and/or asses like tRump. And probably hereditary.

[melman]

45. No problem

Didn't need to read it because I already did last time it was posted.

[EffieBlack]

47. Yet you're responding

[sheshe2]

52. Kinda like...

Reach out and touch someone to show you really care. An ATT commercial I think. It was very sweet of melman to kick my thread, Effie.

[EffieBlack]

53. You just bring out the love in people

[sheshe2]

49. thanks for popping in and kicking my thread with a non comment, lol

appreciate it, melman.

PS....last time...what???

[ucrdem]

48. The weirdest thing was watching coal mining morph from the world's worst job

to a great American way of life that must be preserved for future generations of Appalachian coal miners. If people believe that they'll believe anything.

[sheshe2]

50. yeah, urcdem.

as they lay dying from black lung and trump took away their healthcare...they still believe.

[ucrdem]

55. Seriously. They're dying of black lung at 44 and reminiscing fondly

between coughing spells. MAGA, right. As your OP points out it was always all about race which some still can't grasp. Hope springs eternal eh!

[sheshe2]

56. Hmm...

Well sure, hope springs eternal, hopefully. We can wish for it.

Speaking of spring, first day is tomorrow...hmmm we are getting our 4th nor'easter in 4 weeks. A foot or more so they say...last one said 18" and we got 23. Aaah well

Hugs~

[ucrdem]

57. Happy spring sheshe!

[sheshe2]

61. That is beautiful, ucrdem.

It will help tomorrow for sure.

[RobinA]

75. Oh, Gosh!

The lens flare makes it!

[Beacool]

54. Ignorance breeds distrust of others who don't think or look like the majority.

These blue collar workers have seen their livelihood threatened through globalization, but it's easier to blame immigrants, Muslims and minorities in general. Trump rose to power by legitimizing these people's racism, xenophobia, homophobia, etc. A good portion of his base is truly deplorable. Like some said, not all Trump supporters are racist, but all racists voted for Trump.

[Bettie]

59. Still befuddled about two things

First, why people are so anxious about people who chose hate in voting for Trump.

Second, WTF? Bold text makes it harder to read? I don't get some people.

Now me? I find a giant block of text with no punctuation or paragraph breaks hard to read.

[SweetieD]

64. Well I am a rural black person. And you are right, the world forgets about us. People assume all

Black people are "urban" or inner city. There are a lot of us who live in small towns and country areas, as my family has since the civil war. Somehow we managed to escape the small mindedness often found in other groups also living in the same places. Maybe someone should study us.

[sheshe2]

65. Now that would be awesome, Sweetie.

Since they spent 8 long years studying white people only to conclude it is NOT about the economy.

[Afromania]

76. They never have to ask us, we know better.

They are worried about us because they know what they know about themselves like to project it onto others.

[WhiteTara]

77. Thanks for bolding important parts of

the article.

[sheshe2]

81. You are so welcome, WhiteTara.

[Mountain Mule]

82. K&R! nt