Hillbilly Elegy - Explaining the rural vote

If they voted for local representatives who actively undermine affordable public education and healthcare, demonize immigration, and so forth, I personally do blame them.

And for everyone else who didn’t, yet are still stuck in that situation, I just feel awful for them to be beholden to such awful corporate management while surrounded by idiots.

So you blame everyone who fits that description, the poor white, the poor black , the poor pinstriped.

And we all know how a college education and the debt that comes with it builds character and a good credit rating.

Yes, let’s blame the poor for the position they are in. It makes everything else easier.

I specifically blame people who vote against their interests and put people in power who actively make their lives worse, yes.

Poor people don’t even vote. We all know that. They don’t have cars and can’t get to the polling places because they are poor.

I’m clearly not talking about people who have been disenfranchised.

I’m literally talking about people who do vote, and vote for people who directly both promise and then enact policies which work against those voters’ interests.

I only have zero sympathy for them because odds are they’re in favor of systematically destroying unions, regulations and the like, which is the only reason anyone in their position ever had a living wage.

But not going to college or trade school? I don’t hold that against them. It’s not for everyone and never was meant to be.

Look, part of the 0 sympathy is going to high school in a town full of people like this who did nothing to better themselves, despite having all of the opportunities to do so, who now complain about “immigrants” and why their lives suck because they didn’t do anything to help themselves.

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I mean, these are the same MAGA losers that blast welfare queens, and minority youths for not pulling themselves out of poverty. It is ludicrous. These folks had all of the advantages of being born white, not having to face the systemic racism and oppression that plagues our schools and job market, and now cry that they have to live with their choices.

Look, if you don’t want to go to college, or learn a skilled trade, you get to work in a factory, where there are no unions, because you voted for the guy who wanted to bust them up.

Sorry, no sympathy.

Yeah, I’ll agree with that. They got what they wanted.

This just never stops being relevant:
https://twitter.com/Cavalorn/status/654934442549620736

After 2016, I have lost any will to defend the people who voted in the people who have taken steps to drastically increase the income inequality in this country.

You got what you voted for.

Man, is it so hard to make friends? A genuine smile can go a long way and is easily interpreted! It looks like they’re all sitting around the breakroom. Why not try and inquire what everyone’s having for lunch that day? Maybe share a meal? Being a cook most of my life, it’s been my experience that food is a great uniter. I suppose I am a simple man with simple solutions.

While I agree with you in principle, short of them learning Spanish or their co-workers learning English the conversation at the lunch table is going to be pretty limited.

I’d be genuinely surprised if none of those native Spanish speakers spoke any English at all while living in the US and working in a factory. And, I grew up overseas. People find a way to communicate.

I don’t doubt that some do speak at least enough passable English to get around. But it always surprises me when I answer the company phone and the voice on the other end opens up by asking me if I speak Spanish. That happens more than you might think. I imagine we get those because of being a construction company.

I learned passable Spanish by talking to my coworkers in several different jobs. They were always surprised when I understood what they said about me and responded in kind. I guess you just have to try. Of course I took Spanish in HS so I had a base to build upon.

Heh. I live in Ecuador now. There are two kinds of gringos in Ecuador: Those trying to learn and get by in Spanish, and those who complain when Ecuadorians don’t speak English. I’m in the former group, though it’s a hard slog. And, when I have to call someone, I always ask if they speak any English at all. For some reason, phone conversations are much more difficult. I imagine it is the same for native Spanish speakers in the US.

Face to face you can somehow work things out, I spent 6 weeks in Europe many years ago and even when I couldn’t find anyone who spoke english I usually came out okay. But I can’t imagine trying to work something out like that over the phone.

In elementary school here (1960’s California) they tried teaching everyone Spanish. Of course in those days I didn’t appreciate what they were trying to do. Now I wish I had paid attention.

Interestingly, or not, I have run into a few people for whom Spanish is easily spoken but who cannot get jobs as government translators because of the complexity of the job. Knowing the language isn’t enough.

Great writeup, but it’s not just employers. There are landowners who willingly look the other way and charge $1,000 a month to EACH of 16 people sharing what is essentially a condo. It’s amazing how many people exploit immigrants.

Oh god yes. When I was in India for two months I spoke not a word of any of the languages. However about midway I was able to follow conversations coworkers had in Hindi or Tamil, mainly by noticing cadence, tone, body language, etc. I might have grasped one word in 20, but understood well over half the communication.

It’s amazing how much we can communicate without words. I’ve always known that body language was important, but experiencing it first hand without the crutch of language really made me appreciate that in ways I couldn’t before.

And watch the eyes. Seriously, it makes a difference.