Of all the things troubling me right now, there's one that people seem to have a really hard time talking about, so I want to discuss it out in the open and without derision or further obstacles to understanding. So here it is:
I don't think blue collar white people should get a pass on letting a Trump presidency happen, and I think acting like they don't understand the implications of what will happen is selling them short. Every voting-eligible American made a choice in 2016 (yes, not voting is also a choice), and tacitly or explicitly we have steered ourselves in this direction.
I don't think anyone should get a pass on this just because they've had it rough or because they don't usually participate in electoral representation. My family has lived in rural Appalachia for as long as small towns have existed there. I know these people. Am I supposed to pretend like working class Americans are too simple to understand what's going on? I don't believe it, and if you're so concerned about insulting them, don't insult their intelligence either.
Blue collar workers are smart people, and good people too, but they've been swindled just like millions of others have been swindled. It's okay, we can address this with civility. Trust me, there is plenty of fair blame to go around for the situation we're in, and it's okay to talk about it. We HAVE to talk about it. The polarization that's happening in America is a disease, and we cannot retreat into our corners and pretend our own problems are the only problems. To quote a friend of mine, people have started backing their horses on issues before they even know anything about them.
I understand what kind of vice-like cultural anxiety is gripping some small towns. I'm not trying to be insensitive, and honestly this has everything to do with empathy. Part of being a responsible adult is weighing the consequences of complex choices, even if you don't like any of the choices you're seeing.
Through our actions or inactions, we all hold some degree of personal responsibility for this mess, and that culpability cannot be ignored or shifted. We can't sweep this under the rug or sheepishly choose which consequences to address. Stare this in the face and look at it for what it is. Whether you played a part or not, millions of people are likely to harmed by this path were headed down. Yes, our country did just elect a President who says his SCOTUS nominee may overturn Roe v. Wade. Yes, our country did just elect a Vice President who announced a plan to roll back LGBT rights. Millions of Americans are about to be considered a little less human by our government, and I refuse to turn a blind eye to it.
If youre okay with a large-scale scapegoating of everyone who is different from you, then own it, because passive acceptance is the same thing. Address this situation wholesale, because its not just yours, its everyones. We cant pass the buck on whats happening, and we cant just sit back pretend its not so bad. This situation is extremely fucked up, and the more we talk about it, the better.