Why America’s Rural Whites Are Angry

Rural America is hurting. Trump is justifying attitudes that some scholars try to underplay. Can rural rage be pulled away from reactionary movements offered by the far right or will rural white rage consume America?
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[@williammoreno2378]

"Convince the lowest white man that he is better than the highest black man, and he'll never know his pockets are being fleeced."

[@lyndamonchak4072]

That's incredibly sad and very dangerous

[@Osvie01-uc8go]

"Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you" - LBJ

[@donaldindividual-1]

I was in Quartzite Az. all winter. One common this among the dirt poor residents camping in mini vans and tents was their hatred of Biden and love of Trump. All talking with their mouths full of government food and pockets full of welfare and social security dollars.

[@williammoreno2378]

"Welfare for me but not for thee."

[@briananderson1024]

LBJ

[@Raidersfan-gn7zo]

That rage should be directed 100% towards billionaires!

[@dominicfucinari1942]

Worse, Charles Koch and Farris Wilks are funding these reactionaries' favorite commentators and outlets!

[@DistrustHumanz]

When one out of every 15 Americans is a millionaire, it's not just the billionaires alone.

[@tringuyen7519]

I will not apologize for learning machine learning algorithms & AI. If rural whites feel threatened, they can take the same training as me. Or they can be laid off!!!

[@railbaron9]

They are the ones buying rural property and starting factory farming operations. This has nothing to do with liberals or dems. Its the fact that rural people tend promote consparisy theories and other misguided thinking.

[@TheZenGarden_]

It should be, but their so ignorant that they don't realize that the billionaires use them as their tools of social discontent, aka a distraction from the real problems the wealthy cause in society in the first place.

[@True2ChainzLilWayne]

Their rage is warranted; the problem is it’s focused incorrectly due to decades of propaganda.

[@katejackson4142]

They continuously vote these a$$hats in that make it their policy to screw them over financially educationally etc.

[@dracorex6876]

And while they may not have easy access to TV or internet, they get most of the propaganda from the radio, so it was nothing but decades of listening to hate-filled drivel from the infamous Rush Limbaugh.

[@nicholausbuthmann1421]

Yes, you're quit correct !

[@mikeriley3938]

True. The gullible have been manipulated by the Republicans.

[@Tully241]

What's a white guy got to worry about? The Banana Republic ran out of khakis?? - George Carlin

[@susanfrancis5471]

Why do the Maga’s not view trump as an elite. “I’m Really Rich”, and they think Good Choice. It’s bizarre imo.

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

He also said he'd control the border and do things to bring back better paying blue collar jobs. He talked to all kinds of world leaders who have powerful militaries, and things seemed a lot more stable. Russia was its most militaristic when Biden was VP and now... Some politicians are pushing to leave the border wide open and using taxpayer money to support the people who illegally cross through. Many had long given up even giving lip service to pushing for more well-paid blue collar jobs. I'm talking about factories to make things essential and important if there's instability or another power makes a move, not just forcing fast food wages up $5/hr overnight.

[@michaeltherrien6006]

I'm old enough to remember when we the people didn't trust or admire the very wealthy elite, going back to that would help "make American great again."

[@Amick44]

Bizarre is absolutely right.

[@alexandrawhitelock6195]

Agree Trump is a trust fund kid…burned thru his grandfather,s 17Billion trust fund in 2 years. Never earned a dollar…all his businesses went bankrupt…

[@blueandgreenslacks]

Poorly educated people who enjoy racism.😂

[@bevinboulder5039]

He gave them permission to voice their racism.

[@yurei8]

And that emotion is often a diversion from deeper issues. The top wealth class sent jobs overseas, by passing american workers. Thos profits need to be taxed at higher rates and invested back into the young, including rural america.

[@bevinboulder5039]

@@yurei8Very true.

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

You can put blinders and filters on instead of looking at real things, if that's more palatable for you. The big differences that seemed apparent to me were trying to reinstate proper border control, and pushing for real, productive, well-paying blue collar jobs (for example, more production of critical things in case of global instability...not just $5/hr more for fast food work overnight).

[@dominicfucinari1942]

@@Wary_Of_Extremes What kind of planetary volatility?

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

@@dominicfucinari1942 military actions or other catastrophes. There must be some necessary items that the U.S. buys entirely or almost entirely from other countries...that would be hard to ramp up production of if a trading partner wouldn't supply it if U.S. and their interests didn't align or there were wars or proxy wars Side note, on border security. The look of some groups that have been let through, I would expect someone from somewhere has gotten in to bring down power grids, let loose invasive eggs or seeds for bugs or plants that will ruin forests and agricultural land, or do some damage to slow and lower the U.S.

[@docholiday8029]

Some rage is justified. The billionaires have been rigging things for 40 years.

[@beng4647]

I've never seen a group of billionaires beat a defenseless white person to death. Black people do it 100 times a day.

[@grapeshot]

The problem is they're not directing their rage at billionaires.

[@grapeshot]

​​@@beng4647stop lying citation needed

[@grapeshot]

​@beng4647 your kind fought two world wars in the same century. So let's not go there when it comes to violence.

[@kgriff5537]

I agree with their rage. I've been saying it for a while. The only problem is that they are aiming their guns at the wrong target. Of course, this is just a metaphor.

[@whitemike-vm7oz]

ive lived in michigan , ive lived in alabama and delved in all states around. yeah they are angry, and its by republican design.

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

What are they angry about, that you've noticed, and why is it wrong?

[@michaeltherrien6006]

bate and switch tatctic. Also, more broadly, just both parties (because that's all we really have, two parties) to a degree would rather have us arguing amoungst each other instead of paying close attention to what they do and don't do. Gov should be taking care of all the people not just the wealthy.

[@amramjose]

The repudicans have beent tapping into this more and more since Reagan, escalated during GW Bush and has hit a peak post-trump, with no signs of abating.

[@craigbernthal7388]

The game of EVERY politician (OK, there were exceptions) is to scare people, inflate threats, and then declare themselves to be the solution. It sells. Does moderation sell? Is No Labels still in the game?

[@al1665]

​@@Wary_Of_ExtremesIt boils down to knowing white America won't be a majority any longer. They're afraid of that.

[@crismcdonough2804]

Fox news tells them to be outraged and those blonde ladies in short skirts would never lie to them, right?😂

[@missinterpretation4984]

Nailed it!

[@peterinbrat]

You could easily do 100+ clips of FOX segments that start off with "Americans are outraged.."

[@RealCaptainJaws]

@@peterinbrat Their favorite thing to do is to use language that simultaneously sounds like "EVERYONE is on the same page" but also "against that one group of 'other' countrymen". "We're both all together as one community and completely broken, and it's all our political opponent's fault!" XD

[@keithclanton7634]

On J6, the world got to see the kinds of people behind the Tulsa and Rosewood riots and thousands of lynchings throughout US history.

[@tw4943]

That PART

[@markberryhill2715]

And the BLM riots of 2020 showed us why a lot of black men got lynched.

[@user-zu5do6ri6r]

The FBI?

[@BraidsCurlsandWaves-yf3pp]

@@user-zu5do6ri6r Hardly.

[@jdoublej8619]

"Pull yourself up by your bootstraps". The millions of Blacks that did that when slavery ended were murdered for doing so. It was way more than Tulsa and Rosewood.

[@timnewman1172]

I grew up in rural Iowa & lived here most of my life, these folks have been so ate up with hate ever since a Black man became President...

[@phillynurse9492]

Facts

[@nicolemarois5900]

That is what I am saying, they are racist to the core.

[@lf1496]

Way before that Sundown Towns and lynchings in Iowa go back a hundred and thirty years🙄

[@warrenlewis3977]

Are you saying that rural Iowa DIDN'T have bigotry before Obama?

[@jeffheyer7783]

No they did, but when a black man dared to become president it really stirred up the hate…

[@mechanix1228]

I'd be angry too if I was brainwashed into wearing some of the tackiest, ugliest American flag clothing I haven't seen since the 80s

[@tr7b410]

LMAO..🏴‍☠️Should be the new American flag.

[@starsea3313]

And guess what, according to U.S flag code, those abominable outfits are desecration of the flag.

[@c431inf]

Are you angry you were convinced to get an experimental vaccination and told to carry a vaccination card to travel to certain areas and or lose your job as well for not complying ?

[@kudjoeadkins-battle2502]

😂🤣🤣

[@pplr1]

"Are you angry you were convinced to get an experimental vaccination and told to carry a vaccination card to travel to certain areas and or lose your job as well for not complying?" In a word, no. That experimental vaccination probably saved my mom's life once she caught covid. Meanwhile a anti-vaccers have gotten a bunch of people killed, sometimes notable anti-vaccine people (where they arguably are adults who made their decision) and-depending on the vaccines avoided-sometimes children (of whom the same cannot be said).

[@timotheewilliams9086]

Trump has nothing in common with 99.9% of his supporters other than the color of his skin, which he doesn't have that in common anymore because he's orange now😂

[@kellyaustin7487]

Facts. Those poor maga-nut trump supporters actually think that trump gives a shit about them. I'd bet everything that he wouldn't invite a single one inside of his house.

[@user-zu5do6ri6r]

You do realize that msm airbrushed Trump to look more Orange. Your main talking point is propaganda.

[@kend3404]

You can say that about every member of Congress.

[@georgiasweetpotato7170]

🤣🤣🤣

[@georgiasweetpotato7170]

​@@kend3404🤣🤣 and so True 👍🏾

[@carolyngarman1422]

I'm a rural white liberal with a MS in Geology (age 65) and what I see from my neighbors who didn't get a higher education is they don't know how to evaluate the source of information they are consuming or how to research topics. That's why they accept what they are being fed (from FOX).

[@porterwake3898]

Education does not equate to intelligence. Get off your high horse. MSNBC and CNN are 24/7 lying Democrat propaganda.

[@amramjose]

I'ts not just Fox, remember all the myriad right wing sites like newsmax, rush limbaughs etc.

[@gretchengraef3012]

Yes, I see that too. Not only that, but they think they are expects in all fields because they do their "research". I'm a Ph.D. which disqualifies my opinion on anything with these folks. They were the ones at the back of the classroom throwing spitballs and making jokes.

[@gretchengraef3012]

Another advantage of going to a university is meeting all types of people, which tends to be fatal to bigotry.

[@jonesfactor9]

But when your source of information is sued for lying and loses, an ounce of common sense should kick in. ☹️😒

[@keaco73]

They’re scared of change and too lazy to learn new things.

[@krusty5347]

I guarantee any rural worker works harder everyday than u ever have at any point in your life and for less pay buddy. Many of us work two or three jobs just to make it because the rich have it all rigged…

[@anchovie_pizza]

like spoiled little children who think they deserve everything, are always right and just because they are of a specific invented race(the concept is only a few hundred years old) they should skip the line without earning it. “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.” ― Lyndon B. Johnson

[@djt8518]

With good reason change isn't always good some people are always hurt

[@Tom-og7fi]

​@@djt8518bullshit, change is a good thing.

[@jeffreypaulross9767]

@@djt8518😢 Oh, poor white babies. They’ve got no one to blame but themselves.

[@peaceloveandunderstanding]

As a resident of rural Alabama (not by choice) I can confirm that white rage is most definitely a thing. I'm an old white guy with a conservative appearance, so most here assume I share their backward attitudes. As such, I am frequently treated to their unguarded opinions. I find that most are oblivious to factual information and rely almost completely on Fox "News", soundbites from Trump rallies, and hateful propaganda from pulpits all across the state. Christian Nationalism is stoking the fires of political unrest in this state, as much or more than any other in the country. Despite the city of Huntsville, my home state will never "come back" from this sorry state of affairs, because it never left. It was just under the radar until Trump was elected and the curtain was pulled back. If this fake "Christian" movement is not exposed for what it really is, more damage to our democracy will continue and the divide between the ignorant and the informed will continue to grow.

[@warrenlewis3977]

You left out the most important point... what are they mad about??

[@peaceloveandunderstanding]

@@warrenlewis3977 To go a little deeper, I believe they feel left out and disenfranchised because they think people of color, the LGBT+ community, etc. are receiving special favor from the political left. I think they feel that they work incredibly hard and many still can't get ahead, so they're frustrated. When the propaganda machines that I mentioned earlier fuel that unrest, playing into already deeply entrenched racism and homophobia, they don't see the policies and actions as a correction of centuries of abuse and exclusion of minorities, but as a threat to their own attempts to rise above their current state of affairs. If these minority groups rise up, then that would leave them scraping the bottom of the barrel. That being said, I am a member of a minority group, myself, and this is pure conjecture on my part. I stopped trying to figure out how the minds of these people work a while ago.

[@BeachsideHank]

@@warrenlewis3977 Being Alabamans.

[@ZEZERBING]

I'm a welder in Ohio . All the blue collar workers are like this. It seem to be a lower educated class that cant understand .

[@warrenlewis3977]

You appear to have a firm grasp on reality.

[@kmarcol1]

As a black woman but also a social worker. Almost got scared before I listened to the video. These are systemic issues that most underrepresented underserved and marginalized groups experience. Race and class are a thing. However, when we think about poverty, that has nothing to do with race. The problem is rural white impoverished communities are being told to blame. DEI critical race theory, immigration and all of these other marginalized groups when the blame should be placed on structural and institutional problems.

[@marvinhagler4721]

It's that simple but not that simple at the same time.. meaning they seem to be unable to convince....

[@philliplopez8745]

Ignorance and rage travel the same road .

[@lyndamonchak4072]

Sad but true!

[@jackied962]

So it you are mad about something then you are probably dumb?

[@UKIYO_CRAIG]

As a Native Indigenous person, seeing the demographic shifts changing back to what the lands of North America were for centuries before the white European open border invasion took place, it’s interesting how time becomes the ultimate variable that controls all things.

[@Ronsquaremy]

I believe that's where all the hatred for mexicans comes from

[@heraldomedrano1417]

They should go back to Europe.

[@KYPopskull]

What I the hell are you talking about? So people of Asian, Arab and African descent are “returning North America“ to pre-European settlement. !?! You need help. You sound like a bigot.

[@defenstrator4660]

I don’t think you know what demographic means. A bunch of people coming from other countries does not switch the demographic back. Indigenous people are even more of a minority.

[@KYPopskull]

@@defenstrator4660 I think I understand perfectly.

[@dontcare3430]

Most of the red I encounter in rural Wisconsin , don't know about a single piece of legislation, it's all fear and years of the team mentally.

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

They can plainly see the federal government letting anyone and everyone who illegally crosses in... just stay in, and using taxpayer money to support them. A bunch of the better known democrats are forever saying things that show they want to shrink basic rights of people legally in the country.

[@ElizabethMarshall-jb8mm]

And no OB-GYNs in my part of rural red WI. Pro-life, no?

[@Spiritof_76]

Rural Wisconsin = church and right wing media propaganda. Sen Ron Johnson tells you what needs to be said about Wisconsin. He tried to undermine democracy with the alternate elector scheme and spent July 4 in Russia.

[@amramjose]

These people want very simple answers, black or white, and have little to no capacity to parse what is being shoved into their brains by the cultists and big lie purveyors, maga and Qanonsense types.

[@alangray9117]

You can't forget the racism, misogyny, xenophobia and homophobia

[@JP-vs1ys]

They're always angry. They always think they deserve more than others. They always think they're the only ones who have worked hard. They arrogantly think that hard work is only hard if it is manual. In short, they are entitled.

[@kend3404]

You sound like a conspiracy theorist.

[@darlalathan6143]

@@kend3404 No, those folks think the Illuminati, New World Order, and the Reptilians secretly run the world with "Jewish Space Lasers," chemtrails, and "turning the friggin' frogs gay!" LOL! 🤣😂😅😆

[@davidbradley3735]

They have been voting against their interests for 40 yrs!!!

[@khem127]

davidbradley3735 ............and pulling the country backward.

[@cassandraclark5499]

And don’t have the slightest idea of what it’s causing in their lives more poverty

[@pax2758]

Citizen Kane's lies and Fox's brand of yellow journalism have wounded our nation.

[@ey67]

I think I guy named Murdock has something to do with that. A traitor from Australia brought down the IQ level to bottom dwellers who still cheer him on.

[@j.dragon651]

@@latequilera22 If ya got it, spend it. Everyone can't be on top, or can they?

[@witchqueen8576]

National Inquirer with Trump conspired to create fake news ahead of the 2016 exertion, pizza gate etc..... creation of Donald Trump

[@jdoublej8619]

Fox News is a terrorist organization. Nothing but lies and hate speech.

[@khem127]

@@j.dragon651 ALL the puppetmasters can be on top.

[@glynndove9511]

Behind the smiles, yes there is a great deal of rage and trump tapped into it years ago along with the evangelical cult of the false Christ.

[@kellydalstok8900]

The evangelicals tapped into that ignorance long before Trump, and they successfully kept people ignorant.

[@JabTheHook]

Conservative talk radio & lack of a rounded education is the reason rural Americans think the way they do .

[@elirien4264]

THIS. Ronald Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine, and real monsters like Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones took advantage.

[@gretchengraef3012]

and fundamentalist religion

[@harleyb.birdwhisperer]

And guns and meth.

[@annemurphy8074]

@@gretchengraef3012 It's a terrible mix and causes people to be filled with rage and terror. They've been traumatized and don't even know it! It's like a relationship with a narcissistic abuser.

[@JabTheHook]

@@harleyb.birdwhisperer Guns are an important deterrent to radical right wing nuts , because they are armed & crazy . Meth is no good

[@lewellyncrunkmeyer1512]

They keep voting for a Party that doesn't care about them. I don't care if they're angry. Look in the mirror, that's your problem.

[@user-ol7ct4fs9q]

Alot of problems in this country is the larger division of people with big money wanting more and don't care who they hurt to get it

[@michaelj.beglinjr.2804]

A lot? I'd say about 95% of them.

[@khem127]

@@michaelj.beglinjr.2804 The percentage of them compared to the American public is pretty small, they are a smaller and smaller number with more and more of America's money, but I get the point.

[@dustinhardy2952]

“Rage, Rage, against the dying of the light.” Quote Dylan Thomas Rural folks are getting exploited. Working like slaves for a pittance and being convinced to vote against their own interests.

[@sueprator9314]

Yep cuz their corrupt leaders & preachers are no better than the MULLAHS in IRAN. Brainwashing them to blame others and the Fed govt for everything.

[@rubberbiscuit99]

But they are not being convinced, they are being manipulated and brainwashed.

[@rickfeenstrastaff7409]

Yes, and the poor workers continue to vote for their enslaves!

[@etep878]

So, Republican's Southern Strategy has worked and it is still working.

[@joshuahall1581]

Kinda of sad really, they sympathize with their racism only to lower their wages.

[@benvoncamp]

A friend in high school in WI got a tattoo saying 'The South's gonna do it again!' Never in a million years did I think I'd have to admit that he was right.

[@onomatopoeia162003]

@@benvoncamp should call in and see what he says on the topic.

[@benvoncamp]

@@onomatopoeia162003 even if he is still alive at 38 (which I doubt) I would never. Some people grow up, others… well, remain fools.

[@onomatopoeia162003]

@@benvoncamp so you wouldn't call in to Thom on the topic of the Southern strategy, etc. That's what I meant.

[@RobR4455]

Having grown up in rural South Dakota and moved away, like many-many of my high school classmates have, now rural South Dakota is PREDOMINATELY very overweight, in their declining years, and ARDENTLY LOYAL Donald Trump supporters. I have been warned NUMEROUS TIMES not to criticize Donald Trump, or I may get punched in the face if I do, when I go back there to visit. The overweight aging population in rural South Dakota are also drawn to Trump because he said the Bible is his favorite book, and when Trump hugged the flag at CPAC, that proved to them he is very patriotic --for some reason.

[@MF-ty2zn]

Then play them the video of Trump calling veterans LOSERS. And him holding the bible upsidedown because his daughter told him to have that propaganda pic made. And then the policy of deregulating private equity firms and corporations, which have allowed them to PRICE GOUGE EVERYTHING .

[@amramjose]

Someone said "fascism comes to America wrapped in the flag and carrying a bible"...

[@samuelwarren3873]

Yes sir he is so patriotic he refused to fight for the country he supposedly loves so much trust they don't love him for his patriotism because he could give two s***s about this country they just like him because he allows them to spew their racist BS

[@Saturnia2014]

​@@amramjoseGeorge Carlin said that

[@bizdrone]

I would be criticizing trump with a bullhorn.

[@pamrogers4351]

Why education is so important.

[@urpreposterous682]

My sister & I basically had the same education. Same schools from elementary to community college. I did go away for about a year to New York City for 1 year. We have totally different, opposing views. She is a Republican voting for Trump. I'm Democrat. Moved out of states, so can't vote for president. Edit: I was in college prep classes in middle/high school & took harder classes in college. She was in business classes, but still the same schools.

[@LindaGuy-yg6ju]

It's also the uneducated. The amount of people in rural areas that can't read is astonishing.

[@EugeneYus]

How many rural ragers can’t tell the difference between there their they’re where were you’re and your? All of them. All of the ragers

[@jerrypeal653]

Don’t mistake intelligence with education. Some of the educated are the stupidest people !

[@bretspangler8717]

@@EugeneYus two, to and too also!

[@frodrick4528]

Thats call MAGA, dont you know

[@porterwake3898]

College education does not equate to intelligence. Student loan debt forgiveness? Because college educated people are too stupid to pay off voluntary loans. Give me a salt of the Earth person over an educated Master's degree holder in nonsense any day of the week.

[@SuzanneWho]

They should be outraged by their representatives, not the rest of the country. Those states keep electing lousy politicians to govern them.

[@archiebunker7688]

Go go go for Lunchbucket Joe who trips going up a staircase not down.

[@davidmadruga5902]

They blame everyone else for their abject failure

[@TerreHauteRemoteGoat]

So sad. I'm a rural white and decades ago, rural folk were among the best at knowing when a scam was being attempted. Now they seem among the most gullible. Rural culture has changed. The changes have mostly been imposed upon them and like you say, they're being directed to blame the wrong folks.

[@paulconner4614]

They are fed a constant stream of right wing talking points between Fox, Newsmax and all the AM right wing political talk shows. Also things have changed. When I was a kid they would take facts and spin them either left or right but they would at least start with facts. Now they have no qualms with just making stories up and spreading them to generate outrage. (litter boxes in bathrooms anyone). Doesn't help that people who should no better and should do their job better have no problem just passing on Russian propoganda stories instead of validating that they were true before reporting on them.

[@user-zu5do6ri6r]

Maybe you have fallen for a scam and do not recognize it.

[@TerreHauteRemoteGoat]

@@user-zu5do6ri6r You are paid to be so intellectually dishonest, Ivan. I get that. There's an easy test for where the scam is: If a point of view has to be enforced with violence, then it's a scam. You know, like in your country where if you speak out against your genocidal aggression in Ukraine, you go to prison or fall from a 13th floor window.

[@khem127]

Adults who have brain cells as well as anyone else..............alternative reality makes them feel superior,. No sympathy here.

[@neosapienz7885]

I knew when I was growing up I needed to GTFO of my rural area, so I went to college, joined the guard, and never looked back. There was literally nothing there for me, or really anyone.

[@stevemcdonald6001]

It's all about that good old sadomasochistic, racially separate culture. Guns, macho men, Marlboros, boots and beer guts.

[@slimpickens01]

Their whole way of life is bulls***. MACHO IS BULLS****!! -Mr. G from 187

[@r.pres.4121]

Along with big cowboy hats, tight wrangler jeans, and souped up pickup trucks.

[@timothyoo7]

Maybe they should stop voting against their own best interests?

[@wilberwhateley7569]

But there’s no way to do that anymore - both parties have been bought out by big corporations that finance their campaigns! We are now in a political conundrum that we can’t vote our way out of!

[@TheresaReichley]

Unless we start to tell each other the truth out loud, we’re screwed.

[@EugeneYus]

We do except rural ragers don’t accept it

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

@@EugeneYus What do you think is the truth, and why don't you think rural people won't accept it?

[@dominicfucinari1942]

@@Wary_Of_Extremes There are exceptions among white ruralites, but demagoguery, and receptiveness thereto, is concentrated there.

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

@@dominicfucinari1942 and one could say city folk and university campuses seem indoctrinated into just another 'modern religion' that involves using half truths of history to blame and shame the living, common citizens for the past in order to justify all sorts of 'feels good now to virtue signal, is actually too expensive or harmful' moves like ignoring border security, talk of reparations in states like California that were never involved ...also including leading to outright warning about/demonizing rural people in books that are astroturfed into the public conscience... I don't know if it's been debunked or altered yet, but I remember reading that more liberal people thought things out more, conservatives reacted more but were also better at assessing threats. It tracked with people I knew.

[@jerrypeal653]

Who’s truth ?

[@Oatmeal-Savage]

Regardless of why they're angry, do they think making the Mango Mussolini their Dear Leader will help them in any way? I mean, obviously they do, so.. yeah. In a large part, they do it to themselves.

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

Do what to themselves? Currently, federal government members are trying to use taxpayer money on people they want to walk into the country without any vetting. At the same time, the left is full of people who want major rights to be infringed.

[@Gruin]

They are Their Own Shipwreck.....

[@harleyb.birdwhisperer]

What they will do if they elect MAGA, is permit the dismantling of the support structures that so many of them depend on. Sad stuff.

[@slangster233]

The afterbirther in chief gives them permission to persecute their neighbors.

[@ShadowOfTheVoid]

I don't think they're really concerned about whether Trump will help them or not. What they really care about is the fact that Trump will hurt the people they think ought to be hurt, which is anyone who isn't a white cishet male Christian.

[@hendrsb33]

Of course, there's White Rural Rage... but they're not the only ones who are justified in their anger. We've all been played. Unfortunately, we don't vent our collective rage at the self-entitled few who are responsible for creating that rage.

[@matt3024]

Another one who's blaming other people for their own lack of self-control!

[@barrydavey7188]

@@matt3024 LOL, like we have any control when it come to the ruling class keeping us down...

[@bobbykiefer4306]

@barrydavey7188 Most rural people own land, they are the ruling class.

[@EugeneYus]

@@bobbykiefer4306you’re high.

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

@@matt3024 American individuals didn't agree that the federal government shouldn't protect the border or vet wannabe immigrants. They also didn't ask the government to forever be at work to shrink away basic rights, to use taxpayer money to massively support illegal immigrants, and more.

[@ianleary5780]

Rural American communities have suffered over the past 30 years. The Republicans have done a better job of harnessing and directing the angst of rural white America than the Democrats have done in pointing to the real causes, much less in alleviating them.

[@sueprator9314]

Their corrupt leaders and preachers have successfully conned them while blaming the Fed govt and the "others" for all their misery.

[@paulconner4614]

Because these solutions need help at the local level and all the local representatives are Republican and they will get kicked out if they are caught working with Democrats and the National Republicans aren't interested in solving the problem because they get their power from complaining about it (and blocking solutions).

[@ianleary5780]

@@paulconner4614 I am sad to say that you have summarized the problem accurately and concisely.

[@alangray9117]

Aren't they proof of the old saying that there's a sucker born every minute? Too many were dumb enough to believe trickle down economics was going to work back in the 80s.

[@rikk319]

It's always easier to destroy than create. I think of kindergarten, spending 15 minutes to make a castle out of blocks, then one kid coming by and in one second knocking it all down...perfect example of the difference between liberals and conservatives.

[@user-yv4vd4rs1e]

If rural people don't want to be stereotyped, then they shouldn't be constantly enraged about garbage they are fed by Fox News, who prey on their ignorance.

[@kend3404]

Or maybe you're just in a trance.

[@fromouttaleftfield6932]

And after Fox was forced to fork over 787 million dollars for tampering with the susceptible intellects of it's viewers, their intellects STILL remain clueless

[@rgrifferon]

What are they enraged about? they’re the entitled ones, poor or not. The opportunities are there for them.

[@elirien4264]

And they reject anything that could make their lives better. They're insane.

[@rgrifferon]

@@elirien4264 Unfortunately many of them support Trump and the GOP, they very ones that will insure their impoverished conditions and poor health care, yet they embrace the lies and hatred Trump spews everyday.

[@lind3237]

💯 all they’ve ever had to do was show up and get hired immediately based on the color of their skin. Could it be they’re angry because they now have to actually compete for a job?

[@duancoviero9759]

That's not entirely true, though yes they do have an advantage

[@user-mf6li4sw6n]

I worked for a company owned by Christian Nationalists. I recently applied for my Social Security and learned there is no record of the contributions that are required by law, I recently called to inquire . Perhaps a mistake that could be fixed by producing the record of paying . He swore at me and hung up and blocked my phone number. I’m desperate because my retirement is now gonna be a time of poverty. Dean Wickstrom and Kurt Marquardt of Edina , Minn are the owners.

[@jackbeagle8458]

Report them to the Feds and IRS.

[@ronlugbill1400]

The Department of Justice prosecutes employers who fail to pay Social Security taxes. Contact the DOJ.

[@Helmuesi911]

You need to report this. There’s definitely something abnormal going on and they’re likely criminally responsible.

[@mikeobrien288]

😮

[@frostyfrances4700]

Report them and ALSO sue their back teeth out.

[@georgesheffield1580]

They are living in the past and are very ignorant . Same old issues throughout history .

[@r.pres.4121]

Small town and rural America is being kept ignorant by religion.

[@JR-pr8jb]

Rural (red area) folks are right to be angry at how they're being served by their incompetent Republican representatives and governing officials.

[@r.pres.4121]

But they keep blindly voting red republican which doesn’t make any sense.

[@Albertox-mg4ko]

Yeah but they have no clue who to aim it at,.Certainly not those for whom they worship,their wealthy lords.

[@blackromulan]

Affordable healthcare? Try THAT in a small town.

[@user-zu5do6ri6r]

Affordable Healthcare is a dead concept for anyone who works.

[@harleyb.birdwhisperer]

My gripe is with the electoral system that overweights the rural votes. A single Wyoming vote counts for more than several California votes.

[@paulconner4614]

It actually affects the House, Senate and the Presidency. The electoral college gives Wyoming 1 vote for every 193k people while California gets 1 for every 740k. In the Senate Wyoming gets 1 vote for every 290k people, where California has 1 vote for every 20 million. Even in the House where it is supposed to be even because they limited the size of the house to 435 people (this is a law not in the Constitution), Wyoming get 1 representation for 581k people and California gets one for every 769k people. So there is no place in the Federal government where a large state has equal representation as the small states do. This is before we add the stupid closure rules that require 60 votes in the Senate to get a bill voted on which gives a small group of small states veto power over the whole country.

[@harleyb.birdwhisperer]

@@paulconner4614 Thank you for resoundingly making my point. Your research was thorough and the findings were presented flawlessly..

[@tw4943]

They dont even KNOW what CRT nor WOKE is nor actually 'means'. Its beyond sad, they are a lost cause.

[@kend3404]

No, CRT and Woke are lost causes.

[@BlueGatr-fp6xz]

It’s because their not dumb enough to care

[@latequilera22]

While visting my mom in a small town in Utah during covid; she told me not to wear a mask lest I want to upset the locals at the surplus store. FFS

[@bbills4186]

I wonder if they would accept that cancer patients, asthmatics and other immuno compromised patients also wear masks? Or not really?

[@samreh6156]

Wow!

[@user-zu5do6ri6r]

Masks didn't to anything but make you feel better.

[@hangdogit]

Trump nationalized the Southern Strategy - into all of rural white America - to form a Second Confederacy.

[@adelefortin6913]

Like in the Civil War?

[@onomatopoeia162003]

I think he wrote an article on that in the last year or so.

[@justmenotyou3151]

The rural areas are dominated by am hate raido, so no suprise. I've seen and experienced it for years.

[@stevefisher2553]

Just driving in texas is DANGEROUS!

[@RSBurgener]

Sadly, a lot of people in this country don't have good lives. It's down to the people in charge. When huge companies can pour money into politics, they're going to protect their interests at the expense of citizens. Then they sell conspiracies that blame their political opponents for the externalities of big business.

[@communitygardener17]

Rural poverty is hidden out of the spotlight and is desparate. Their communities can't afford services.Small towns have lost the small businesses that served small farms and manufacturing and kept money in the community. Their children struggle at school. They are unconnected to the larger society.

[@roberthanks1636]

Poor health care is one of the key underlying factors causing rural rage. A strong, stable democracy requires and equitable and efficient health care system.

[@t.e.8084]

Rurals didn't want Obamacare because Obama did it. They raged because of that.

[@tw4943]

You spelled Bigotry and racism wrong

[@johnsiddall1595]

what's health insurance? sounds really helpful.

[@roberthanks1636]

@@johnsiddall1595 Why do so many people in red states and rural areas have such bad health?

[@jdoublej8619]

Rich people with free Healthcare convinced the poor Whites that free Healthcare was a bad thing..........especially if a Black man was behind it.

[@Raidersfan-gn7zo]

Lol! I like that term "Kochhead Caucus"!

[@LJCyrus1]

I haven't read the book or the article and I'm 99% sure that at least some of the rage is entirely justified. I just think that the response to that rage is misdirected, and supporting Trump will not address the issues that cause it.

[@bevtaylor5466]

Supporting Trump will make it far worse.

[@sueprator9314]

Justified but they don't realize that their own LEADERS AND PREACHERS HAVE BEEN pulling the con on them for decades. Why do most Red states never get ahead? Their corrupt leaders have convinced them that its all the Fed govt's fault for everything. And of course all those "others".

[@user-zu5do6ri6r]

Neither person running for office is a valid solution. Trump is the lesser of the two evils.

[@dc4457]

At this point neither party is going to address the issues, because they are both run by wealthy octogenarians who do nothing that won't benefit them come election day. All empires collapse, it just sucks that we happen to be alive for the collapse of ours

[@eduardotirado839]

So, the decision is to follow a NYC real estate developer born with a silver spoon in his mouth who has bankrupted countless businesses and has a very “compromised” private and public life and doesn’t give a shit about anybody but himself? WTF? He stands for everything these people hate! Yet, here we are…

[@robinpettit7827]

Maybe they need to think about why they keep electing the politicians they elect.

[@khem127]

robinpetit7827 They're too rage filledfor that to sink into their brain.

[@kennethhughley1611]

How do those people think native Americans feel?

[@Oldleftiehere]

Maybe if these people would stop believing the false belief of “rugged individualism” and listen more to a song titled “No Man Is An Island”, these people might start educating themselves about the real cause of their troubles. They’ve completely bought into the republican propaganda that they are justified in their rage but not to question the real causes of their problems.

[@SweetPotatoesBlackStyle25]

White rural rage is baded on total ignorance.

[@beverlyrhame3692]

It’s the hate in their bitter hearts that’s making them so angry, nothing good comes out of hate.

[@Tad-zh4wr]

It’s not a political party it’s a cult of revenge

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

Russia is a far bigger threat to Europe than they will ever be to the US, but all free people should want to stand with other free people. Either stand together or fall alone.

[@ALFarrell-kv6ok]

Yes, it is not in America's interests that democratic allies, trading partners, and shipping lanes be conquered by hostile dictators. Isolationists miss that point.

[@qjtvaddict]

@@ALFarrell-kv6okit’s also not in our interests to know little about Russia and go to war on false information

[@user-zu5do6ri6r]

The people of Europe are not free.

[@michaelj.beglinjr.2804]

@@user-zu5do6ri6r ---Bullsh!t. They are just as free, and in many respects even more so, than we are. I swear I don't know where you'd get that idea, but that's just screwed up.

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

@@user-zu5do6ri6r They are far freer than anyone in Russia and China and most the rest of the world for that matter.

[@Skyking6976]

Yes…read the book too. The scary part to me was these characters care more about going back to a 1950’s culture than democracy.

[@marvinmartin4692]

It’s just a distraction ploy! I’ve been saying that for decades in my small rural town! But they (republicans) just go to the easier scapegoat’s!

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

Distraction from what, and what are the real problems and solutions?

[@sylviagoodman6008]

Undereducated....educated!

[@onomatopoeia162003]

it always has been the wedge issue's with these freaks.

[@6lillium]

It's the 3 "G's"......guns , gays , and god. In that order .

[@guitarzan2626]

When trump and his cronies begin to kick them off of ssi disability benifits maybe then they will figure it out. Maybe.

[@TJ000]

A mythologized Past tempts them, the Present confuses them, and the Future scares them. Adaptability is seriously lacking.

[@richardelliott8352]

@@geocam2 As a california resident , I have pondered the issue and that statement conforms to my line of thinking, because afterWW2 California was populated by people unsatisfied with the past and who wanted something better . So we have a lot of the children of searchers populating there place , still striving to explore and find something better, whacky fads and all.

[@harleyb.birdwhisperer]

@@richardelliott8352Yup, I came to CA, 8 weeks old, from Nebraska, after my dad got out of the Navy in ‘45.

[@sammisuejams]

Thank you so much for bringing this to the fore. I come from a family that rose from rural white folks. They refuse to look up and look beyond the usual suspects. It is exhausting.

[@rasheed7934]

It's easier that way. Critical thinking hurts.

[@kend3404]

@@rasheed7934 Yeah, we should have seen more of that over the past 4 years.

[@BraidsCurlsandWaves-yf3pp]

@@kend3404 We have. In the form of President Biden.

[@wolfblaide]

As a non American looking in and following US politics, this is obvious, and was obvious from the start. It's what feeds Trumpism.

[@onomatopoeia162003]

That ism was always there. Label throughout history just changes.

[@thomasmealey2661]

I agree with your American general amnesia toward the fascism of Russia throughout Europe.

[@teejaye6226]

politics are local, they have themselves to blame is exactly right! they continue to vote in culture warriors instead of people who actually want to govern. Rural America is finding out that culture wars do not pay the bills, but yet they still NEED a scapegoat for their fragile egos.

[@kend3404]

San Francisco.

[@r.pres.4121]

Rural folks cannot accept the proven fact that most of their ultra conservative religious beliefs are all fictitious.

[@johnlaudenslager706]

wealthy political donors (buyers of political actions) don't have any interest in rural life, except in so far as it can be bent. and youths tend to leave for where social and economic action is hotter, cities. the feeling of abandonment is natural, as is the tendency to look for something to blame, which fits the urgings of authoritarians like trump.

[@duancoviero9759]

Wealthy political donors = Capitalists

[@alexarjona1692]

Electing Trump as their vessel for righting The oligarchy is like asking an illegal drug dealer to fight against drug addiction-NOT GONNA Happen 🤣 🤦‍♂️

[@Thunderrolls87]

Im a rural white american. But my rage is at the billionaires and free trade policies endorsed by both political parties over the years. To me both parties stink. But at least dems are for things like affordable health care, social security etc. But i definitely have rage. And i understand why people like myself do. However its often misplaced.

[@sylviagoodman6008]

What's wrong with free trade?

[@Thunderrolls87]

@@sylviagoodman6008 Gee i dont know. Sending refrigerator production. Auto part profuction etc to mexico or china pay them folks peanuts instead of paying a ametican 20$ a hour plus benefits. Free trade has destroyed our industrial base.

[@ey67]

Absolutely true. Democrats are bought to stay out of the way. Snowflake Republicans. Follow the money as always.

[@briananderson1024]

I appreciate your understanding of where you are placing your rage.

[@duancoviero9759]

😂😂😂😂 Dems are NOT for Social Security or affordable Healthcare. They give plenty of lip service, but they rarely take meaningful action.

[@Mikearice1]

Their choice of media feeds them rage, and when you get down to it, a lot of people just like being mad at stupid things. People like manufactured drama. It's addictive.

[@DustinDonald-cz9ot]

Explain Antifa and BLM very violent and full of rage and they are about as left as they come.

[@Mikearice1]

@@DustinDonald-cz9ot That's a misrepresentation of both. Neither picks a fight, unlike fascists. Antifa don't even exist if there is no fascism. They're a response to a problem. (Basically, the KKK is an example of fascism. People who fight back instead of being terrorized or letting others be terrorized by the KKK are Antifa.)

[@tacobreather]

Americans and Canadians have been insulated for centuries! The world is a small place now. It’s not the time to be complacent.

[@slimpickens01]

If you are dissatisfied and disgruntled and poor and white in America, you have literally blown a 400 year head start!!

[@johnbarker5009]

It's hard to describe how isolated America's rural areas are. You almost never see anyone you don't already know. Your radio is virtually all country music, Evangelical Christian, or conservative talk. Sinclair Broadcasting has particularly targeted TV in small markets. In much of the rural territory, non-white people are rare. Those that are are around have already been vetted into the community so "he's OK." As a result, rural folks are largely unaware that the neoliberalism which is destroying their access to a middle class life is also destroying the middle class everywhere else.

[@BraidsCurlsandWaves-yf3pp]

You need to get your facts right. Rural folks voting against your their own best interests: (Read: for Republicans) is what's destroying their access to a good life. Republicans are against healthcare, decent, affordable schools, infrastructure. In short, they're against EVERYTHING that makes people's lives easier. Try again.

[@sladelefty]

Stupid is as stupid does. Idaho where logic goes to die.

[@anthonywheeler7599]

I like that, sounds like a quote from Forest Gump, even he had the common sense to see right from wrong

[@r.pres.4121]

Along with West Virginia.

[@b3stanga697]

Generations of interbreeding!

[@doomVoxel]

of course we've been invaded by fascists. twice by the british empire, and once by the confederacy.

[@tileux]

The british empire has never been fascist. Ironically, the british empire was still more democratic than the USA in 1800. And more free black americans fought for britain during the american rebellion than ever fought on the side of the american rebels during that war. The USA is about as fascist as you can get while still being called a democracy - a label the USA barely qualifies for. Always has been. In 1914 my great grandfather and his brothers were in france, fighting the fascist militaristic german state. In 1939 my grandfather was - again - in france, this time he ended up fighting the nazis. In both cases, where was the USA? Trying to decide whether militarists and nazis were as bad as the rest of the democratic west said they were. The USA has teetered on the edge of falling into full blown fascism for its entire history.

[@doomVoxel]

@@tileux empires are fascist by definition. try to keep up.

[@slimpickens01]

Yeah but too many worship loosers. Donald Trump, the Confederacy, Caitlin Clark (who btw is very handsome, I mean really handsome)

[@andrewjones3295]

They are angry because of neo liberal policies. These people aren't all racist or homophonic, the exact opposite. You're dealing with people who have had jobs , good jobs taken out from under them. And honestly, we as democrats, have done nothing to address the systemic failures that has been breeding the anger

[@BraidsCurlsandWaves-yf3pp]

And who took those jobs from them? The republicans, that's who. THEY'RE the ones who destroyed a robust American economy, the one given to us by President Clinton. That part.

[@anpdm1]

Rural Americans white, black, and indigenous have experienced benign neglect from the US government.

[@RealTrucker1776]

'it is the metro areas that are “the state’s economic engine, generating tax dollars that flow outward to every corner of the state." Fascist politics feeds the insulting myth that hardworking rural residents pay to support lazy urban dwellers' "How Fascism Works the Politics of Us and Them", Stanley, p174

[@terrywolford7880]

Thom, I’m enjoying watching you slightly struggle to say Rural Whites. I would be struggling too. I am a older Rural white male so I have seen what is going on to some degree. I am also ex military and ex Republican. I believe the military and rural people have been right leaning for a long time. There is a lot of hunting that happens in rural areas and their forever have been rumors and worries that democrats were going to take our guns. Also it’s been liberals that have introduced wolves back into the wilds that decimate deer and elk herds not to mention attack free grazing cattle. The rural pastors have openly supported Republicans. Rural customers often don’t have cable but are able to get Fox by antenna. Rural folks love NASCAR which is heavily Republican. AM talk radio is very popular and much of it heavily biased. The preachers tell their flock Trump was sent by god and not to listen to anyone that tells you different. Of course many of the gun owners are NRA members and of course the NRA supports the Republican Party. It’s a big interlocking web. I escaped because I was hearing a lot of lies that I knew were lies. Also I came to realize that Democrats were much better supporting the poor and workers as well. Republicans seemed to resent anyone getting anything they weren’t getting, like food stamps. Cable is working its way into rural areas so that may help a bit. Folks like you help Thom. Sorry I’m old so I tend to rant at times.

[@ElizabethMarshall-jb8mm]

Rant away, sir.

[@Gruin]

Their Own Shipwreck.....

[@brucepoole8552]

Well said

[@richardelliott8352]

nothing wrong in complete expression of thought. It is a traditional duty of the old to instruct the young , because it takes both intelligence and experience to gain wisdom , and only the old can accomplish that , save for the exceptional few. It's just a dang shame wisdom can't fit on a bumper sticker , because listening to other view points is promoted as soft by those seeking to turn America into Alabama.

[@ey67]

Nice analysis. I'm from NC. Starting running away in 1955 in first grade to get out of there. Because there is no there, there. Sadly

[@leanordials8008]

Sounds like a lack of education.

[@billbrenne5475]

When MTG talks and acts like a neighborhood gossip, that's what she is, and first and foremost.

[@railrodemike]

While driving on I44 North from Texas in SW Oklahoma missed button on radio and hit the AM. I was schocked the so called Christian radio vomiting fascist agenda. Ted Cruz, Jim Inhofe, some guy called Mike Savage and Laura what ever. It's no wonder these people angry.

[@sylviagoodman6008]

However, if there were some significant education, folk would not buy into foolishness just because they heard it on the radio!

[@glennhecker4422]

Probably Laura Ingraham. She's KNOWN for that.

[@glennhecker4422]

"Christian" radio is supposed to be about things related to Christianity and its precepts. Given that Christianity is not a political party, it shouldn't be a receptacle for that hateful über-partisan ultra right-wing dreck! The teachings ascribed to Jesus Christ are pretty much the direct OPPOSITE of what comes barfing out of the mouths of those shrill extremists anyway!

[@stevegarcia3731]

Thom, I lived in rural Illinois for 2 years, decades ago, and in rural Maine for a year, too. And I have paid a little attention to rural things since then. At this time I see rural towns as dying more and more every year. Young people are ALWAYS leaving for better opportunities. It is nothing new. I wrote an essay 5 years about them dying, and I don't see their dying ending soon. There is almost no opportunity for anyone. I used to drive 26 miles one way to the supermarket. And I visited in rural MO for years. Metro areas make up around 86% of our population these days, and that is always increasing. And that is similar in other countries, too. It's not just an American phenomenon. And immigrants came to America for opportunity, which is only field work for minimal pay in rural areas. So the great majority go to metro areas. The exposure to 'others' happens there, not in rural areas, so rural areas tend to be whiter and they get isolated from MUCH of American reality by that. Exposure to those 'others' helps both sides - a LOT. In metrovareas we are overall just much more tolerant and accepting of differences. I don't even want to get into the churchy end of it, but that isolates people, too. Between church, FOX, and Sinclair, they make rural existence different. It's a dying culture, Thom. And a stagnating one. And the blasting of FOX NEWS and Sinclair radio stations do as intended - they keep them isolated.

[@kend3404]

I'm pretty much a Democrat in Republican central Illinois. These are good, decent, hard working people. They take responsibility for their lives and families, and ask few favors from anyone. Your brush is way too wide.

[@rickfeenstrastaff7409]

Mark Twain said it best: NO amount of evidence will convince an idiot......

[@dragon10drm]

I am a retired 3rd generation American soldier who fought in 2 wars and 5 combat tours. I grew up in many places, including Europe, specifically France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, and the Netherlands. Our kids went to German and Luxembourg schools. I was in schools in France, Germany and Spain. In school we were taught critical thinking, how to separate facts from propaganda / lies. My 3rd grade teacher in France fought in the French Resistance and was awarded a medal for Valor against the Germans. My kids were taught that the Nazis were a disgrace to Germany. We can learn from them. The European remember WWII and remember the Bosina civil war and Russian involvement behind it. They are not stupid. MAGA is stupid.

[@kevingillard5474]

Excuse me, of the people outsourcing your jobs, grinding down your livelihood and quality of life/ opportunities along with manipulating you DO NOT LOOK LIKE THE 'OTHERS' YOU FEEL SUPERIOR TO AND DESPISE AND WHOSE DEGRADATION YOU REVEL IN. THEY ARE YOUR ILK AND BRETHREN THAT LOOK LIKE YOU!!!

[@RandomActsofCruelty-gu1mh]

"My poor choices are the fault of the liberals and the blacks and the Mexicans and the Muslims."

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

Because everyone with any ability or ambition has left them behind and moved to the Blue cities. So all you have left are the people who can’t or won’t.

[@elirien4264]

It's ok to want to stay in the small towns. The problem comes when they shut themselves off from anything and everything new.

[@francisbarnaby]

They scream tds but are literally crying over the guy that was president 12 years ago

[@mr.dennis5503]

I grew up in a primarily rural area, and that group of folks ALWAYS seemed angry to me... 🤷🏽‍♂️