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"They had not seen the Apollo moon lander, nor George Washington’s Revolutionary War uniform. And they certainly have not seen the new National Museum of Africa

by Inconel 10y ago

"They had not seen the Apollo moon lander, nor George Washington’s Revolutionary War uniform. And they certainly have not seen the new National Museum of African American History and Culture." This quote really hit home for me. I spent part of my childhood in rural Texas as a new immigrant to this country. My parents were poor, although not as poor as some around us, and what they lacked in money they more than made up for in love. For this I will be forever grateful. I had a friend who would frequently have to come over for dinner because her mother was too strung out to pick up groceries. I had another friend who never owned a pair of shoes that fit properly until he enlisted in the Army. I'm pretty certain both of my friends would have loved to see the Apollo capsule and the assorted museums in DC. They were however, a bit preoccupied in trying to get enough calories throughout the day to maintain a healthy weight. It's been a while since I read something on the web that made me cry, the condescension displayed in this article has succeeded.

AdeptusAquinas 10y ago
Really? You took a comment about people who lived next door to DC, where he lamented that they had no interest in visiting any of the cultural attractions available despite for them it being easy to do so, and decided to make that into a personal insult about poor families in Texas? That made you cry?
- Inconel 10y ago
  Yes, really. Taken in the broader context and tone of the article and the memories it brought back of my own childhood, I found it dismissive of the struggles many poor people face that might prevent them from partaking in such trips and being exposed to different cultures, particularly as children who have little say in the matter, even if in that particularly case it might have been easy for the author's relatives to do so. Regarding my being moved to tears, I offer you my sincere apology, I'll certainly try and "man" up to keep my emotions from bothering you.
davmre 10y ago
I think it's important to view this piece in the context of the recent election, where the median Trump supporter had a higher income than the median Clinton supporter. Yes, rural poverty is a thing and we should provide compassion and assistance to everyone trying to escape it. But that's not the family described in the article (who clearly did have the resources to visit DC), and it's not what swung the election. Trump got the votes of a huge number of middle-class, older white people, who have had many opportunities to venture out of their bubbles, to get to know their country better, to reach out to immigrants and the vulnerable in their own communities, and have just never bothered. We should hold ourselves to a higher standard, and work to empathize with the "cultural anxieties" driving rural Trump voters, just as they have never worked to understand the anxieties of their coastal/urban counterparts, let alone those of blacks, Muslims, and other persecuted minorities. But we shouldn't idolize them as "real America". They are a part of it, yes, but the real America is a much bigger, more diverse and welcoming place.
- shawnee_ 10y ago
  the median Trump supporter had a higher income than the median Clinton supporter. This is exactly it. Small-town America is a very different beast from suburban America. Most small town residents tend to pride themselves on their self-sufficiency ... which is, of course, contingent upon being able to gas up and drive to the nearest "city" (max population: 40,000) a couple times a month for necessary provisions from the big box stores. Lisa Ling[1] did a great piece where she interviewed people in the largest Radio-Free Quiet Zone[2]. The high-schoolers she talked to spent more time talking about how different (and better) they were from "city people", a fact they were quite proud of. .. _1: http://www.cnn.com/shows/this-is-life-with-lisa-ling http://www.cnn.com/shows/this-is-life-with-lisa-ling .. _2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Q...
- Inconel 10y ago
  Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I agree with much of what you wrote but I don't usually see that kind of nuance being presented by the media.
- 10y ago

by Inconel 10y ago

AdeptusAquinas 10y ago

Really? You took a comment about people who lived next door to DC, where he lamented that they had no interest in visiting any of the cultural attractions available despite for them it being easy to do so, and decided to make that into a personal insult about poor families in Texas? That made you cry?

Inconel 10y ago
Yes, really. Taken in the broader context and tone of the article and the memories it brought back of my own childhood, I found it dismissive of the struggles many poor people face that might prevent them from partaking in such trips and being exposed to different cultures, particularly as children who have little say in the matter, even if in that particularly case it might have been easy for the author's relatives to do so. Regarding my being moved to tears, I offer you my sincere apology, I'll certainly try and "man" up to keep my emotions from bothering you.

davmre 10y ago

I think it's important to view this piece in the context of the recent election, where the median Trump supporter had a higher income than the median Clinton supporter. Yes, rural poverty is a thing and we should provide compassion and assistance to everyone trying to escape it. But that's not the family described in the article (who clearly did have the resources to visit DC), and it's not what swung the election. Trump got the votes of a huge number of middle-class, older white people, who have had many opportunities to venture out of their bubbles, to get to know their country better, to reach out to immigrants and the vulnerable in their own communities, and have just never bothered. We should hold ourselves to a higher standard, and work to empathize with the "cultural anxieties" driving rural Trump voters, just as they have never worked to understand the anxieties of their coastal/urban counterparts, let alone those of blacks, Muslims, and other persecuted minorities. But we shouldn't idolize them as "real America". They are a part of it, yes, but the real America is a much bigger, more diverse and welcoming place.

shawnee_ 10y ago
the median Trump supporter had a higher income than the median Clinton supporter. This is exactly it. Small-town America is a very different beast from suburban America. Most small town residents tend to pride themselves on their self-sufficiency ... which is, of course, contingent upon being able to gas up and drive to the nearest "city" (max population: 40,000) a couple times a month for necessary provisions from the big box stores. Lisa Ling[1] did a great piece where she interviewed people in the largest Radio-Free Quiet Zone[2]. The high-schoolers she talked to spent more time talking about how different (and better) they were from "city people", a fact they were quite proud of. .. _1: http://www.cnn.com/shows/this-is-life-with-lisa-ling http://www.cnn.com/shows/this-is-life-with-lisa-ling .. _2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Q...
Inconel 10y ago
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I agree with much of what you wrote but I don't usually see that kind of nuance being presented by the media.
10y ago