Fellow Rural Democrats, You Are Not Alone!
Did you guys know, last week 3500 people voted for Biden in Henry County, TN? Can you believe that?
Yes, that’s right 3500, or twenty five percent of the electorate here, voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris! That’s pretty awesome!
What? You don’t think it awesome?
Oh, well sure, they lost here. Duh. Did anyone think they would win in Paris and Henry County?
Of course, we didn’t. People here don’t vote on real world issues. They vote on perceptions relative to a rural upbringing. And they sure do love to run their mouths about it.
They love to make snarky remarks about Democrats. They love to refer to them as socialists. They love to walk through the businesses they manage and identify Democrat voters as “one of them.” They love to wear out social media platforms with humorous barbs, not realizing they are subtly racist or obscene.
They love to accuse you of being a part of Antifa. They evidently love to not understand what Antifa is. And so they gather on the courthouse lawn, armed to the teeth because they think Antifa has targeted a statue no one even realizes is here.
They love to do it because they think everyone else, thinks the same way they do.
And hey, 75% of you evidently do! But one out of every four of us, are on the other side. And we are listening. And we don’t appreciate your insults or your stupidity.
But here is the best part! Aside from me, and maybe three other people they know or have heard of, they have no idea who the other 3500 are!
When you’re only one quarter of the group, you do not have a lot of motivation to speak up. And so you sit back, assess the situation, and vote your own way.
So what I’m trying to tell the Trumpsters is this, if their mom keeps silent whilst they rage on about socialists and the poors and our southern heritage, there is a good chance she is one of us.
She can’t get on Facebook and like the comments of folks like me, because you, “her down on his luck, displaced,” husband or “unemployed, for the third time,” son, may see it. And so she sits back, silent and waits.
Now your mom doesn’t want you to fail. She doesn’t want you to fall on your face. But she would love it if you just shut up.
Holidays could be a tough time for this quarter of our population. This year it’s even more complex. You may have been lucky to have a family who resists political discussion. Don’t ask! Don’t tell! That’s wise.
But lo enter Covid-19 and now you can’t go unnoticed. You can’t hide under the radar. You want to wear a mask, to protect those poor, lost Republican relatives, but if you do, you are outed! They will know you are a caring, human Democrat.
I can’t tell you what to do there. It is a judgement call for the ages. Do you possibly save lives or do you preserve the peace?
Your mom, and maybe your second cousin with purple hair, have realized arguments are pointless. If you don’t understand science, which was proven of folks in rural Tennessee with the Scopes Monkey Trial, then how can they understand your mask protects them, not you?
If they can’t understand statistics, which they can’t or they wouldn’t be college football fans, (you know because only Alabama and Clemson win consistently) then they aren’t going to understand the rate of infection, plus asymptomatic carriers, plus a super spreader event, equals full hospital beds and portable morgues.
Just try and keep in mind, you are not alone. Somewhere there in your own family or amongst your coworkers or amongst your Facebook friends, exists a potential for 25% of them to believe as you do.
That’s something. It’s rather quiet, kinda like a zombie apocalypse, but it’s something. Stay strong. We still have work to do. Maybe we reach 30% in 2024.