Michelle and Barack Obama and why Appalachia doesn't like them

[cbc5g]

I go to school in Appalachia and I've seen it firsthand. The people who call him or her arrogant really are covering up their distrust of black people who don't support the entrenched white establishment. If you ask me, thats racism. Outright racism isnt popular in America anymore. So a black guy who runs against the status quo isnt going to necessarily be attacked with names and slurs, instead they'll make up excuses to not like him. They'll believe the idea that hes a Muslim even though its been discredited. They'll believe he hates America or is a commie radical. They'll believe hes an arrogant asshole. We have to call it what it really is though, racism.

They'll say, well what about Condi Rice? Appalachia likes Condi Rice! Well, she supports the status quo and the white establishment. Shes not perceived as a threat to them.

Some things to ponder on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon!

[Saturday]

1. You need to get some fresh air. nt

[yardwork]

2. This is a very good point.

[lisa58]

3. How would they react to Jim Webb as Obama's VP?

Would they warm to Obama or reject Webb for "enabling" him?

[cbc5g]

4. I think some would warm up to it, but McCain will remind them whos at the top n/t

[yardwork]

7. McCain is widely disliked in Appalachia due to what they view as his appeasing of Vietnam.

The fear that American soldiers were abandoned behind enemy lines in Vietnam is alive and well in rural white America, and they hold McCain largely responsible. Bizarre, yes. Also true.

[yardwork]

6. Any white establishment-type guy will help Obama in Appalachia

The OP is absolutely correct. Distrust of outsiders there translates into distrust of black people who appear to be "getting above themselves." Obama's comment about rural poor whites was on target - having been neglected and left behind in every possible way by the U.S. government, they now have practically nothing but their God and their guns to rely upon. They are highly susceptible to fear. Right before the 2004 election, Republicans spread the word in West Virginia that if Kerry was elected, he would ban Bibles. People believed that!

If Obama needs Appalachia to win the general election, he would do well to choose a moderate-conservative white male as VP. I say this with a heavy heart, but it's true.

[cbc5g]

8. Good point! Obama's bitter comments really were right on target

I didn't think about the Kerry example, but you're right they saw him as a threat to their religious ideals. This is what happens in an uneducated populace and it's more evidence that the next President needs to work on educating Appalachia.

[yardwork]

11. The next president needs to work on sharing some resources with Appalachia

and the rest of the country who live below the poverty line. Appalachia has consistently been denied education, health care, decent working conditions, I could go on and on.

I'm from the edge of Appalachia. I have a lot of respect for the people living in the mountains. They deserve far, far better.

[Zomby Woof]

18. They should warm to Obama

Webb was a highly decorated Marine in Vietnam, as both platoon and company commander, decorated with the Navy Cross (second highest medal after the Medal of Honor), the Silver Star (third highest), and two Purple Hearts. He is too tough to be swiftboated or second-guessed. When he ran against Allen, they did their best Rovian dirty tricks against him, but failed.

Webb has impeccable credentials on race relations. He was the one who fought for, and won, the inclusion of an African American in the statue at the Vietnam War Memorial in D.C. In his new book he relates why "the badges of slavery" and Jim Crow do indeed make the African American experience in America unique and painful, in contrast to other immigrants. He gets that class lines in America matter as much as racial ones in the impediment of civil rights and progress. Class is taboo in America, but as any populist, he isn't concerned with ignoring poverty, the healthcare crisis, falling wages, outsourced jobs, and rising CEO compensation as very real ills affecting ALL of us, in order to make nice with the compliant, corporate-friendly media.

He is the best choice for Obama's VP on many levels: He would actually deliver on some of that promised 'change', he is solid on labor and economic issues, solid on the Iraq quagmire, and would provide the balanced ticket that has strategically served the Democratic Party well in winning the White House.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Everybody knows it. There's only the effort of some to cover it up.

[Vinca]

9. They should ponder how a vote for McCain will most likely cost

them their health insurance should they be lucky enough to have it. If their daughter is raped, McCain has now taken the extreme position that she should not be able to get an abortion. The people of Appalachia who still have jobs might very well see them go south of the border because John McCain loves trade agreements. You might mention some of these tidbits when you're out and about in the community. And don't forget to tell them there is a snowball's chance in hell of them ever having to worry about the "death tax."

[cbc5g]

10. I'll definitely be spreading Obama's message in August when I go back

But again to the bitter comments Obama made which, I believe, were on target. All those issues that really actually mean something are thrown out the window because they are clinging to bigotry guns and god and the GOP exploits those wedge issues.

[Vinca]

12. I know. It's sad. But as long as gays can't marry, we're all safe. nt

[yardwork]

15. lol - but, unfortunately, you summed it up.

When people are so desperate they can't imagine having the luxury to read a book or buy a latte, it's easy to use psy-ops to play on their fears. It's easy to convince people that "the Democrats want to overthrow what little social order we have left - they'll let the gays and the Muslims take over and we'll all end in Hell."

This is what we have to combat, and we have to do with both clear-eyed recognition of the problem and compassion about the reasons for the problem, and most of all, solutions that will actually work for the people who are most disadvantated. I believe that Obama understands that.

I was actually quite impressed with his "bitter" comment. I felt that for the first time, a politician was looking a problem in the eye and addressing it, instead of pretending it doesn't exist.

[yardwork]

13. The GOP exploits the wedge issues, yes, and that's easy to do with an uneducated

desperate population. It's easy to spread lies like "Kerry will ban Bibles" or "Obama is a Muslim" among people who are the edge of economic disaster at all times.

I felt that Obama's "bitter" comment was one of compassion, with some exasperation mixed in.

[DLnyc]

14. To be fair, I wonder if some policies, like Edwards has described, to lessen

the poverty, lack of employment, isolation and marginalization of some of these areas might help.

things like:
1. Bringing alternative energy jobs in.
2. Subsidizing community and state colleges (a GI bill wouldn't hurt).
3. Setting up bus lines to provide jobs and affordable transportation.
4. Health clinics and education programs for dramaticly underserved areas.

[yardwork]

16. They absolutely would help!

Not just health clinics and education programs, but universal healthcare and vastly improved education provided without regard to the wealth of the county. Let's invest some money in transportation through those mountains and give people a chance at getting to a better job in one of the cities. By all means let's make college easier to attain, instead of much harder, which is the current trend.

Every Republican policy of the past two generations has done nothing but hurt Appalachia and the rest of rural America. The more people are oppressed, the more susceptible they are to psy-ops and wedge issues determining their votes. Gee, you think it's a coincidence? No way.

Keep the people poor, hungry, sick, and terrified, and they'll do whatever you tell them to do.

[DLnyc]

17. Yes, I think you are right on the money. This is one of the points Obama

made in his speech on race in Philadelphia. By focusing on our common interests, we gain the power to make real change, but when we allow ourselves to be pitted against each other, we are weak and easily defeated.

And, to be fair, that works in both directions (as Obama was careful to point out in his speech): calling 'racist' every chance you get, as the MSM seems to be encouraging, doesn't help to bridge the divide, either.

[yardwork]

19. I've noticed that Obama and his campaign rarely make accusations.

Other people make accusations - notably the mainstream media, hoping to fan flames that will sell advertising spots - but Obama is usually taking the high road. I've noticed that about him.

[DLnyc]

21. Yes, The man seems determined to make his point on the strength of his

own ideas and passions, not on the destruction and hatred of others.

[BlooInBloo]

20. What was the line in Mississippi burning?

"I wouldn't buy a loaf of bread from that nigger if I was starving."

Or something like that.

Not so different in hillbilly-land.