I visited Trump-country and I was struck by the levels of resentment

[southernhybrid]

Maybe the major problem is where people get their news from. Fox is very popular here.

Are you in the area of Macon, Savannah, or Albany? That's where 11 Sinclair Broadcasting stations bleat their continual State TV message...

I am almost exactly between Macon and Atlanta. My small city has an urban feel to it, but if you travel a few miles you're in exurban territory. One of my former young coworkers, used to call it mini Atlanta. I think it may be more conservative than ATL, but we do have 50/50 black to white population, and plenty of poverty among both races.

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The Trump supporters in my city don't fit any stereotype.

You mentioned two groups of Trump supporters in your city who do fit the stereotype. Just saying.

Okay. My bad. They fit three or four different stereotypes. Better?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Maybe the major problem is where people get their news from. Fox is very popular here.

Are you in the area of Macon, Savannah, or Albany? That's where 11 Sinclair Broadcasting stations bleat their continual State TV message...

I am almost exactly between Macon and Atlanta. My small city has an urban feel to it, but if you travel a few miles you're in exurban territory. One of my former young coworkers, used to call it mini Atlanta. I think it may be more conservative than ATL, but we do have 50/50 black to white population, and plenty of poverty among both races.

I remember back when I lived in Atlanta, inside of the 285 it was just a regular city. If you went immediately outside it, though, you were surrounded by extras from a Dukes of Hazzard episode.

 

[Gun Nut]

A lot of the anti-intelectualism in the right is due to the perception that education is liberal propaganda. The growing liberal orthodoxy on university campuses (where visual and racial diversity is pushed but diversity of ideas is discouraged; as increasingly is free speech) enforce that notion for them. Mix that in with their religious views leaving them away from education (the Bible has all the answers yo) and they hyper partisan culture, their aversion to change and harkening to a better yesteryear, andt that they are indeed ignored by most, and it has led them to the resentment you are seeing.

I don't see this changing any time soon.

yes, this is what I see too.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

A lot of the anti-intelectualism in the right is due to the perception that education is liberal propaganda. The growing liberal orthodoxy on university campuses (where visual and racial diversity is pushed but diversity of ideas is discouraged; as increasingly is free speech) enforce that notion for them.

Yeah... I remember back in college when taking Statics, one of the questions on a test was "If the fat baron stands 10 feet from the cantilevered end of a beam, how long until capitalism destroys America?"

I'm so tired about reading how colleges are liberal breeding grounds. Seeing that America is still churning out conservative graduates, that'd seem to make such a claim ridiculous.

Mix that in with their religious views leaving them away from education (the Bible has all the answers yo) and they hyper partisan culture, their aversion to change and harkening to a better yesteryear, andt that they are indeed ignored by most, and it has led them to the resentment you are seeing.

You misspelled, "They've been listening to conservative propaganda on the radio for 30 years, watching Fox News for 20 years, and melting their brains on Newsmax for 10+ years. These people have been lied to by many different media platforms. And since the 60's, the Nixon strategy has worked to enable racist hatred as an electoral tool to mobilize the whites that were disenchanted by the Civil Rights movement. The monster that is the GOP has been snowballing 50 to 60 years. It has gotten so bad, this movement doesn't even have a leader.

 

[AirPoh]

I am almost exactly between Macon and Atlanta. My small city has an urban feel to it, but if you travel a few miles you're in exurban territory. One of my former young coworkers, used to call it mini Atlanta. I think it may be more conservative than ATL, but we do have 50/50 black to white population, and plenty of poverty among both races.

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The Trump supporters in my city don't fit any stereotype.

You mentioned two groups of Trump supporters in your city who do fit the stereotype. Just saying.

Okay. My bad. They fit three or four different stereotypes. Better?

I lived in Atlanta for years. It's amazing how quickly the area changes as you drive out of town.

 

[AirPoh]

I am almost exactly between Macon and Atlanta. My small city has an urban feel to it, but if you travel a few miles you're in exurban territory. One of my former young coworkers, used to call it mini Atlanta. I think it may be more conservative than ATL, but we do have 50/50 black to white population, and plenty of poverty among both races.

I remember back when I lived in Atlanta, inside of the 285 it was just a regular city. If you went immediately outside it, though, you were surrounded by extras from a Dukes of Hazzard episode.

At lunch one day, a co-worker asked if I was going to be afraid living in Atlanta (i was about to buy a house in Grant Park.) I said no, but I'd be scared driving into her neighbor with my Grateful Dead bumper sticker. We understood each other much better after that.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

I'm so tired about reading how colleges are liberal breeding grounds. Seeing that America is still churning out conservative graduates, that'd seem to make such a claim ridiculous.

To a large and growing extent, it is true. Read up on Heterodox Academy. Sure, conservatives can still get through school, and some schools and some academic departments are far less liberal than others, but there is indeed a large and growing trend and push against diversity of thought and views.

Mix that in with their religious views leaving them away from education (the Bible has all the answers yo) and they hyper partisan culture, their aversion to change and harkening to a better yesteryear, andt that they are indeed ignored by most, and it has led them to the resentment you are seeing.

You misspelled, "They've been listening to conservative propaganda on the radio for 30 years, watching Fox News for 20 years, and melting their brains on Newsmax for 10+ years. These people have been lied to by many different media platforms. And since the 60's, the Nixon strategy has worked to enable racist hatred as an electoral tool to mobilize the whites that were disenchanted by the Civil Rights movement. The monster that is the GOP has been snowballing 50 to 60 years. It has gotten so bad, this movement doesn't even have a leader.

What you say there is part of it, yes. But that's not all of it. And the refusal to acknowledge that there is more to it is in large part what got Trump elected and what will propel Trump to a 2nd term if you're not careful.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

To a large and growing extent, it is true. Read up on Heterodox Academy. Sure, conservatives can still get through school, and some schools and some academic departments are far less liberal than others, but there is indeed a large and growing trend and push against diversity of thought and views.

You misspelled, "They've been listening to conservative propaganda on the radio for 30 years, watching Fox News for 20 years, and melting their brains on Newsmax for 10+ years. These people have been lied to by many different media platforms. And since the 60's, the Nixon strategy has worked to enable racist hatred as an electoral tool to mobilize the whites that were disenchanted by the Civil Rights movement. The monster that is the GOP has been snowballing 50 to 60 years. It has gotten so bad, this movement doesn't even have a leader.

What you say there is part of it, yes. But that's not all of it. And the refusal to acknowledge that there is more to it is in large part what got Trump elected and what will propel Trump to a 2nd term if you're not careful.

It's not going to "propel" Trump to a second term. Not like he's going to win in a landslide, assuming he even wins the next election. The results would be similar to the last election.

 

[Elixir]

I am almost exactly between Macon and Atlanta. My small city has an urban feel to it, but if you travel a few miles you're in exurban territory. One of my former young coworkers, used to call it mini Atlanta. I think it may be more conservative than ATL, but we do have 50/50 black to white population, and plenty of poverty among both races.

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Okay. My bad. They fit three or four different stereotypes. Better?

I lived in Atlanta for years. It's amazing how quickly the area changes as you drive out of town.

You don't even have to go out of town. I was setting up for a trade show at the GWCC (Georgia World Congress Center)... way in the back of the lower level. My seedy hotel was just a few blocks from the booth location, about half the distance you'd travel if you went out the front door. So I went out a back door (which locks behind you, preventing re-entry), crossed some railroad tracks and climbed a fence... and traversed those few blocks in utter terror. Worst neighborhood I ever walked through after dark!

 

[southernhybrid]

I am almost exactly between Macon and Atlanta. My small city has an urban feel to it, but if you travel a few miles you're in exurban territory. One of my former young coworkers, used to call it mini Atlanta. I think it may be more conservative than ATL, but we do have 50/50 black to white population, and plenty of poverty among both races.

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Okay. My bad. They fit three or four different stereotypes. Better?

I lived in Atlanta for years. It's amazing how quickly the area changes as you drive out of town.

You don't even have to go out of town. I was setting up for a trade show at the GWCC (Georgia World Congress Center)... way in the back of the lower level. My seedy hotel was just a few blocks from the booth location, about half the distance you'd travel if you went out the front door. So I went out a back door (which locks behind you, preventing re-entry), crossed some railroad tracks and climbed a fence... and traversed those few blocks in utter terror. Worst neighborhood I ever walked through after dark!

The Southwest side of ATL has an extremely high crime rate. Perhaps that's where you ended up. A home health nurse that I worked with about 20 years ago, was threatened by a black male with a gun once when she was trying to visit a patient. The guy came up to her car, brandished his gun and said, "What's the honkey bitch doing in this neighborhood"? Needless to say, she was quite upset when she got back to the office, but at least she wasn't harmed. We had to discharge the patient for safety reasons.

Most white people know to stay away from Southwest ATL. Actually, most people know to stay away from that area. I feel for the ones that can't leave.

But, if you ever visit Little Five Points, you'll think you've gone back in time and are in The Village in New York, as it was in the 60s. I've heard it's been gentrified now, and it's lost its charm, but I haven't been up there in years. The last time I visited the city, an old white woman stopped, glared at us, and then said. "Damn tourists." Assholes are everywhere and they come in all shades of skin. I guess we must have looked like we came from New Jersey. New Yorkers have always thought they were better than people from NJ. That river makes all the difference in the world.

Oh wait. What were we talking about? Trump supporters. Yes. They have some in New York City too. They're a minority, but they exist. My sister lives in a very wealthy suburban, all white town in New Jersey and Trump supporters abound there. I imagine they like their tax breaks.

 

[laughing dog]

To a large and growing extent, it is true. Read up on Heterodox Academy. Sure, conservatives can still get through school, and some schools and some academic departments are far less liberal than others, but there is indeed a large and growing trend and push against diversity of thought and views.

That is bs scaremongering. Any familiar with the history of academy would understand that people have been complaining about the same "problem" for many decades. When I was an undergraduate, it was the lack of liberal views. There are always academics who find something to be alarmed about.

 

[ronburgundy]

To a large and growing extent, it is true. Read up on Heterodox Academy. Sure, conservatives can still get through school, and some schools and some academic departments are far less liberal than others, but there is indeed a large and growing trend and push against diversity of thought and views.

By definition, those on the right are opposed to a diversity of thought and views, and favor blind adherence to to some narrowly defined selective "traditional" views or authority. No right winger or conservative is anti-education for the reason you describe, but rather because they are opposed to the views that are expressed and prefer that only their views get expressed. That is why they favor religion (or "ancient wisdom" as right wingers like Peterson calls it), because religious faith is inherently authoritarian and intolerant of diverse views.

Conservatives anti-education stance is inherent to their ideology and has been for centuries. Reality and rational thought are inherently against the kind of appeals to tradition that define conservatism. That is why they oppose education.
Yes, there is a growing segment of the left on campuses that oppose speech and attack anything outside a narrow range of views. But the people sincerely upset about this are classic liberals would never favor the right, b/c the right inherently is the greater enemy of speech and diversity of thought. Plus, those left wing views almost never come up outside of the kind of humanities and soft science courses that most conservatives don't take anyway.

Plus, the vast majority of Trump voters were whites who didn't go to college. They outnumbered white college grad Trump voters 2:1, whereas the reverse was true for Clinton voters. As usual, because conservatives inherently oppose education, the majority of college educated whites voted Dem while the majority of non-educated whites voted GOP. That undermines your theory that whites who actually went to college and thus saw all this rampant anti-thought diversity propaganda from the left then voted Trump.

 

[AdamWho]

OP here.

How did this become about Atlanta? I was talking about central Illinois, the last place the Klan marched.

 

[jladam]

I'm originally from Kansas so I went home last summer to visit my brother who is a chemical engineer for an agrobusiness in rural Kansas. I remember him telling me that in Kansas the family farm isn't dying. It's dead. It died a long time ago. And yet everyone in rural Kansas is in complete denial about it. 97% of all farmland in Kansas is owned by about a half a dozen agrobusiness corporations. Towns everywhere are dying and the reason is because technology changes everything. And yet when he tries to explain this to the rural residents there, they just aren't having any of it. They want to believe that it's the fault of illegal immigration, taking God out of public schools, liberals, blah, blah, blah. Even though my brother is a Republican he is not a Trump supporter. He sees why people are buying into his schtick. It's the same ole thing about people who would rather believe the comfortable lie than the cold, hard truth.

 

[southernhybrid]

OP here.

How did this become about Atlanta? I was talking about central Illinois, the last place the Klan marched.

Haven't you noticed that these threads almost always seem to move away from the OP? Anyway, I thought the thread was about Trump country. Trump country can be found in most parts of the the US, mostly in small towns and rural areas, but cities aren't completely exempt.

 

[Elixir]

You don't even have to go out of town. I was setting up for a trade show at the GWCC (Georgia World Congress Center)... way in the back of the lower level. My seedy hotel was just a few blocks from the booth location, about half the distance you'd travel if you went out the front door. So I went out a back door (which locks behind you, preventing re-entry), crossed some railroad tracks and climbed a fence... and traversed those few blocks in utter terror. Worst neighborhood I ever walked through after dark!

The Southwest side of ATL has an extremely high crime rate. Perhaps that's where you ended up. A home health nurse that I worked with about 20 years ago, was threatened by a black male with a gun once when she was trying to visit a patient. The guy came up to her car, brandished his gun and said, "What's the honkey bitch doing in this neighborhood"? Needless to say, she was quite upset when she got back to the office, but at least she wasn't harmed. We had to discharge the patient for safety reasons.

Most white people know to stay away from Southwest ATL. Actually, most people know to stay away from that area. I feel for the ones that can't leave.

But, if you ever visit Little Five Points, you'll think you've gone back in time and are in The Village in New York, as it was in the 60s. I've heard it's been gentrified now, and it's lost its charm, but I haven't been up there in years. The last time I visited the city, an old white woman stopped, glared at us, and then said. "Damn tourists." Assholes are everywhere and they come in all shades of skin. I guess we must have looked like we came from New Jersey. New Yorkers have always thought they were better than people from NJ. That river makes all the difference in the world.

Oh wait. What were we talking about? Trump supporters. Yes. They have some in New York City too. They're a minority, but they exist. My sister lives in a very wealthy suburban, all white town in New Jersey and Trump supporters abound there. I imagine they like their tax breaks.

I've had some good times around Little Five Points, and felt pretty comfortable there and people were friendly - and not in that southern "bless your heart" sort of way. (I've lived in the South and know the mannerisms and code well enough that it makes my skin crawl).
Haven't been back in about 7-8 years, so it's probably way upscale from what it was then...

 

[Canard DuJour]

OP here.

How did this become about Atlanta? I was talking about central Illinois, the last place the Klan marched.

Then I won't mention the N/E of England - the UK equivalent of the US rust belt - which overwhelmingly voted Brexit, where I hear growing overt xenophobic sentiment and bigotry (apart from the weird US Jesusy stuff).

Oops!

 

[laughing dog]

I believe I understand the motivation for most of "Trump country". They feel their lives have changed for the worse and that Trump will be the instrument for restoring them to their former standard of living (and not just material standard of living). Of course, they are vastly misguided but that does not mean they will change their minds.

 

[Elixir]

I believe I understand the motivation for most of "Trump country". They feel their lives have changed for the worse and that Trump will be the instrument for restoring them to their former standard of living (and not just material standard of living). Of course, they are vastly misguided but that does not mean they will change their minds.

What minds? Trump has already changed their lives. Prior to Trump, they felt left out, ignored and impoverished. Trump invited them "in", kept talking to them and about them, and held up black and brown people as villains that could not only be blamed for all their ills, but also provided an example of people even more impoverished than themselves, making them rich by comparison. The fact that the reality of their plight remains unchanged is irrelevant to the political equation.