Letters to the Editor
-
Yes yes, that's all well and good, but...
The question was why won't folks in Appalacia vote for Obama, and pointing out these nasty truths about persistent racism there pretty much hits the nail on the head. The article covered all the BS answers, and tiptoed around the truth of the matter.
It doesn't make me feel morally superior to point this out. It's frankly very depressing. Nothing will be accomplished in this country unless we can get over this, and facing it head on and calling it what it is is a part of that process. I'm not saying this to attack your region, and I know from personal experience that there is a lot to love in that part of the country. Believe me, I live in Texas, and as anyone who has been to East Texas can tell you, we have a lot of work to do ourselves on this.
-
This "litle blue dot" in a Red State has seen Obama doing quite well!
Virginia loves Obama. And, in my "Red County" they REALLY loved Obama.
Joan, you seem to focus on situations where Obama looks bad. Obama is the candidate, Joan. How about some positive articles?
Or are Salon and you going to spend the next several months playing this little "passive aggressive" game?
You are giving women and feminism a very bad name. You all are making us look like sore losers who can't deal with reality.
Women take responsibility for their actions. Women deal with reality. Women are strong. Women don't look for excuses. Women don't put down others to make themselves look better. Women are better than how Hillary's most extreme supporters are acting.
-
Civility Is A Two Way Street
I appreciate what little blue dot is saying, but what she and others like her in Appalachia and rural America need to understand is that those of us who live on the coasts and in urban areas are sick of being bashed as elite, effete, unpatriotic, unAmerican, unChristian, unSaved, etc, etc, etc. People in rural America need to stop acting as if somehow they're more authentically "American" than the rest of us. If you want to be treated civilly and not condescended to, then try treating your fellow Americans civilly and not condescending to us just because we live in cities or on the coasts. Remember, this country got its start in Boston and Philadelphia, not Appalachia. We've got just as much right to our patriotism as you do - maybe more!
-
That letter applies to everything
If you're trying to build a coalition, insulting other would-be members is a horrible way to do it. That applies to the name-calling and worse between the Hillary and Obama camps. Each group would have needed the other in a general election. Unfortunately, I think many followers of Obama's camp have turned off potential supporters, and we may get to look forward to Bush's third term as a result. :(
-
www.BarackObama.com and www.JohnMcCain.com
It's right there in black and white. If Appalachia can't figure it out, then the worst things people say about them are absolutely true. Period.
But honestly, I don't buy it. Appalachia and rural America in general liked Hillary better than Obama. Now that it's Obama vs McCain, they ought to be intelligent enough to recognize that Obama's policies would be better for them. If they don't, they deserve all the economic misery that'll be coming to them under McCain. Given that we have no real information about how these people would choose between Obama and McCain, this whole discussion is worthless. Let's try and win this election, and then we'll have some data to argue about. Until then, it's like arguing about next year's weather.
-
Ignore Rural America?
First of all, I don't know anyone who seriously argues that Rural america should be ignored in favor of urban America. I think there are people out there arguing that the best way to reach out to rural americans isn't to pander to them, but to seriously address their economic issues. I think there are people out there that believe strongly that rural America needs to meet the rest of us halfway. I'm willing to compromise on my beliefs with the folks out in Appalachia in order to move this country forward, but I'm not gonna stay stuck in the mud because appalachia and the deep south refuse to meet in the middle and compromise.
Democracy isn't "our way or the highway". Not for Urban liberals, and not for "hard working Appalachians". America isn't a family; it's a republic. And some people have to give a little, some of the time. I think there's a feeling with Urban Liberals that we've given up on the things that are important to us for long enough, and it's time that someone, somewhere meet us in the middle. Is that too much to ask? Maybe. It's not about leaving an entire region of the country behind. It's about asking for the one thing we've been more than willing to do for a long time: compromise.
-
Stereotypes ignore real people
Babygrumpus claims to be only responding to negative views about people in cities, (and claims wrongly, historically, that the revolution started in two cities while ignoring what happened in th rest of the country, including Appalachia.
But here is what Babygrumpus said on the Dee Davis thread. "we have to stop kowtowing to the most backwards and reactionary segments of our society and stop letting our national progress be held hostage by these kooks."
Sounds pretty ugly to me. All the other posters in the same vein make one thing only clear -- you know nothing about Appalachia. Otherwise you would not make blanket statements about an entire geographical region of people which is in fact extremely complex, diverse, culturally rich, and not at all easy to categorize. Except that we all of us are faced with the same stupid stereotypes. And you know what -- if these were directed toward African-Americans or Jews they would be labelled racist or anti-semitic. That is what they are. We just haven't invented a label for them.
-
Is Salon supporting McCain?
From the very beginning there has been use of faulty logic and slights against Obama at Salon. The biggest fallacy is that because he did not carry a state in a Democratic Primary, he will not carry it in the General Election.
Publishing allegations such as Obama is not campaigning in rural America or attempting to win their votes is patently false. Also tying the behavior of a vocal minority of his supporters to the candidate as if it were his position is fallacious.
If the staff of this publication wants a Democratic win in November, rather than smugly claiming "We told you so", there needs to be better editorial control over the dispersions, false conclusions and innuendo. Perhaps a house cleaning would be in order from the top down.