re: #150 Florida Panhandler

I drove through Southern Alabama mostly along 331 and 189 this past week far off the major highways and deep into Trump country. It is destitute with small town centers literally falling down, extremely poor whites and trailer and homes falling apart everywhere, and little Churches built in the 40’s and 50’s along every mile. There are still Trump flags here and there but probably not nearly as much now as during the formal campaign. The despair is palpable. So is the sense of entitlement where you can live your entire life without meeting anyone who is not your own “white” identity or else a poor black person or in any regard anyone who is not fundamentalist Christian.

The small towns were built during the age of trade unions, family farms, and domestic manufacturing. Those days are gone and thanks to Republican control now will not return. But the voters here don’t care. They just fear change and fear falling even further down the well of despair. And with despair comes the inclination to favor dictators or their wanna-bes. Republicans happily assume this role and the mantle of dictator quickly and naturally so here we are. Trump and his more capable, less vulgar followup candidates are not going away either. The masks are off, the way forward revealed, and it is by naked authoritarianism and hatred for all “others.” We are in for a rough ride for at least another 20 years.

they have to be able to find or even see a future, a way forward.

how is life in those places going to change, sustainably, for whoever lives there now and later? how do they 1)dig themselves out and 2)revitalize and 3)create opportunities. and that’s before considering how to attract other people to want to move and live there.

without a plan, there’s nothing left to hold onto but bitter grievance - the feeling of their way of life being eradicated by outside forces - when in actuality they’ve done it to themselves

you can sit in the mud and wallow over the way you wish things otherwise were.
or you do something about your situation.