>Re 1: Mid-western/"fly-over" state folks have been hit by large amounts of change in the last few decades. The "white working class" (especially male) was over

>Re 1: Mid-western/"fly-over" state folks have been hit by large amounts of change in the last few decades. The "white working class" (especially male) was overthrown by globalization, immigration, by a renewed push for women's rights, LGBTQ rights and so-on. Wages went down, social rank went down and opportunities dwindled. No training programs, no social programs, no healthcare, nothing. In other words, white male hegemony in the Post WW2 period especially in the US had ended, and rightly so. The rest of the world was in shambles and the US was the de facto hyperpower. With rise of China and others, that ship has sailed and this is the new reality and people have to deal with it.