Over and over again, the story pushed by the media has been that those poor white folks that the Democrats abandoned have taken their revenge and the Dems now need to find a way to engage them again. Not only do I disagree with this take, I wonder if we want to, or even can, re-engage these people. I live in a very red rural area in NY state. I live among many of these people who have lost jobs because the upstate towns are dying. (Unlike Vermont towns, right next door, but that’s another diary.) I feel that they are very similar to the Rust Belt folks that went for Trump. Here is what I have observed. 

Most of these are white people, and white men in particular. Many barely finished high school and the unions and factories assured them of a great job with great pay and benefits. Up by me, they had a huge logging industry. These white men have never been victims of prejudice and many have never had hard times. So when hard times hit, they are at sea. They have never had to develop grit. No courage. No flexibility to change direction, go back to school, get a second job and not whine about it. The world has been their oyster and now that it’s closed, they want their damn oyster back! They don’t want to have to go catch clams.

Compare this to many immigrants who work 18 hours a day. Live in big groups to save money. Make sure their kids get a great education. Push their kids, not make excuses for them, like I all too often see in the local high schools where I live (all white, middle class.) Now look at people of color, many of whom succeed in spite of great odds: less than stellar schools; blatant racism; institutional prejudice. These people, all of them, have learned in their lives that you have to keep plugging, work hard, go without things if you can’t afford them at the time, change direction and get more education if Plans A, B and C fail.

My rural white neighbors?? It’s easier to go to the local bar at night, bitch about the immigrants taking their jobs, refuse to improve themselves. Vote for a DADDY who says that he will take care of them. They are entitled, lazy, unable to adjust with the tide, and utterly lacking in toughness, perseverence and determination. Even in a terrible town, there are ways to improve yourself. They just don’t think that they should have to.

So do we need these people? As Democrats, we don’t tend to want to have DADDIES. We like consensus. And do we even want these people? My experience here in upstate NY is that many of them come with a ton of prejudices: racism, sexism, homophobia and very strong Islamophobia. I have been thinking about this a lot and don’t know enough to decide if we engage them or not.

And, yes, before you get all Scolding at me, I realize that I am generalizing here quite a bit. Really more than a bit. But it is what I have seen. My observations. Not all of my neighbors fit into this. But, really, many of them do. 

(Don’t mean to post and run, but I have to travel four hours. Enjoy your turkey, everyone!)