So long as you look down on us “white trash” who have no college degree, the System will continue to divide-and-conquer and we’ll never build a grassroots movement strong enough to make a real difference. Us non-college people are one-third of the population. You need us and we need you. To help build unity, please acknowledge your arrogance and set it aside.
You haven’t earned your privilege. You got lucky. Sure. You worked hard. But we work hard too and don’t forget the advantages you’ve had.
Odds are, according to conventional standards, you’re “good looking.” Ever notice that most poor people are less attractive than you are? Ever notice that most couples and most groups of friends who go out together are more or less equally “beautiful”? Ever wonder why?
It’s because our society discriminates based on physical appearance and those who rank lower suffer. And they know it, which affects their self-confidence.
Odds are you grew up in a nice neighborhood, lived with two parents who made decent money, and went to a well-funded school financed by local property taxes, which gives higher income neighborhoods a big edge. Do you have any idea what my school was like? Or what it’s like to be raised by parents who are stressed financially and troubled emotionally? Sure, some single parents do well, but on average it isn’t harder for them.
Odds are your parents were healthy emotionally. Do you realize how much more difficult it is for poor people to raise healthy children in a society that constantly assaults them with images of affluence -- which makes it harder for those children when they mature and have children? Until my job exposed me to a wider range of people, I believed the idea of a “healthy family” was a myth because I never knew any. Again, sure, some poor families rise above their circumstances. But by and large, families with money do better. They’re healthier, happier, and better parents. And they pass on their advantages to their children. So most children end up in the same class where they started.
And don’t forget you’re white. That gives you a big benefit. If you don’t think so, google “implicit bias” and read the top results. Or research “why is housing so segregated” and learn about how racist discrimination still helps to keep neighborhoods segregated, as federal policies did after World War Two. Or look into why people of color earn less and are more likely to be incarcerated, which makes it harder to get a job after being released.
Look at people when they go out with others at night. How many of those couples and groups are mixed race? Not many. How many good friends do you have who are people of color? How many friends do you have who don’t have a college degree? You like to call me and my people prejudiced. Well, I don’t think you are so pure yourself.
Sure, you did well in school. You’re good with numbers. You think like a lawyer. You speak like a debate coach. But what about your street smarts? What about your emotional intelligence? And most importantly, what about your moral character?
Climbing the social ladder is not the be all and end all. Living the good life requires more than “making it.” The good life requires being a good person, doing the right thing, caring about others. “What’s in it for me” is the driving force in your white, middle class world. The
You think you’re a better person because you live in the hip, sophisticated concrete jungle with all that cutting-edge “culture.” You don’t consider people like me to be of equal value as a human being. Sure. You say everyone should be treated equally in the eyes of the law. But down deep, you think you’re superior to me. But watch out. On your way down, you may pass the people you stepped over on the way up.
I like peace and quiet. I like to see the stars. I’d rather not see homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk. I like to know my neighbors and feel safe when I walk to their house. I like to live near my parents. I’m not “middle class” and I don’t want to be. I’m working class and proud of it. You can have your wine tasting parties and fancy cars. I’ll do fine with my beer and old Ford.
I constantly hear from you and your people about how stupid me and my people are. Well, as far as I’m concerned, a typical bartender or grandmother knows more than your typical psychiatrist. If you and your experts know so much, why are they fucking things up?
You say we’re ignorant because we support Trump. But what do we have to lose?
You guys ignore us and when you don’t, you disrespect us. The politicians only talk about helping the middle class. Middle class. Middle class. Middle class. I’m sick of it. That’s supposed to be the solution for my kids? Go to college and jump into your rat race?
College can help individuals who get lucky, but it’s no solution for everyone. The economy is like a game of musical chairs. There only so many seats for the fortunate ones. Lots of folks are always going to lose out. Why don’t the politicians talk about guaranteeing a living-wage job for everyone who wants to work? We have more than enough money in this country to do it.
The Democrats talk about infrastructure jobs. But those jobs are for union workers and most of my people don’t belong to those unions. What about us?
What about long-term loans to help us start worker-owned businesses in our hometown? What about federal funding so we can hire former addicts as peer counselors in drug treatment programs to deal with our opioid and heroin epidemic? What helping family farms with those ederal subsidies that go to corporate agriculture?
But you, the Democrats, and Hillary at last week’s debate don’t even talk about our problems, much less propose solutions that will benefit us immediately. Instead Hillary calls us an irredeemable basket of deplorables and most liberal commentators rush to her defense when her comments cause a controversy.
Sure, we have some “old-fashioned opinions.” We know the world is changing and we’re becoming more tolerant. But attitudes change slowly and when people throw labels around, it doesn’t help. Especially when those people aren’t so pure after all. We’re all sinners and saints, sweetheart.
Yes, some of us have deplorable opinions. But that does not necessarily make us a deplorable person. Some of us have racist beliefs. But that does not necessarily make us a racist. That’s not a terribly complicated distinction. If you’re so smart, why do you have so much trouble understanding it? Why do you keep throwing around labels? We can make judgments without being judgmental. As Gandhi said, we can hate the sin without hating the sinner.
So yeah, some of us support Trump. He’s our baseball bat. Maybe if we hit you hard enough, you’ll wake up.
Chances are, however, you’ll continue to go for the System’s bait and hate me and my people.
Oh well, at least it’ll be good for ratings. Folks love to scapegoat when some handy “enemy” is placed in front on them. Attacking a visible pinata is easier than taking on the System, which is invisible.
You didn’t really believe the mainstream media would let Trump win, did you? If you feared Trump would win, you’re even less intelligent that I thought.
It’s all another manufactured crisis. Another application of the Shock Doctrine. Another mass diversion. More divide-and-conquer. More reality television.
Sure, it’s good entertainment. But fixing the rigged System will require a much different strategy. Soon I hope to sum up my thinking about how we might do that, share those written thoughts, and encourage others to do the same. Perhaps together we can find a more productive way forward.
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NOTE: This piece is an attempt to channel the anger of non-college whites who support Trump. Myself, I do not. The original post included a photo of a Duck Dynasty star. After learning who it was, I deleted the photo. I also deleted two pejorative labels.
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