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This is kind of like shouting into a void, but I’m gonna write it out anyway. We (libs/Dems/progressives) need to think about the way we talk about red states and the people who live there. (1/?)
I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. My family has roots in central Kentucky that go back to the 1790s, and most of them still live there. I have bourbon in my veins, I watch UK basketball, I think Thoroughbreds are the most beautiful creatures on God’s earth.
I don’t live there anymore, and I have many complicated feelings about my home. But I feel like I understand a few things about the place where my roots go so deep.
We Kentuckians are STUBBORN. I mean bone-deep. This is as true of city-dwellers as it is of Appalachia. We get our backs up when we hear others insulting our own.
Our identity is shaped by being a border state in ways that are probably outside the scope of a Twitter thread. Some of my own family fought for the Union, others fought for the Confederacy.
Kentucky is a diverse place, contrary to what you’ve been told.
Kentucky is a diverse place, contrary to what you’ve been told.
There’s this thing libs do (I’m a lib btw) where they contemptuously say “Well, it’s Kentucky, what can you do,” whenever some piece of absurd or depressing news comes out of the state.
Hey! That really doesn’t help.
Hey! That really doesn’t help.
It gets MY back up, and I don’t even live there.
The most recent outrage was the “protest” where some 3%ers hanged an effigy of Governor Andy in front of the Governor’s Mansion where he lives with his young children.
I have to tell you, it really got me down.
I have to tell you, it really got me down.
But that’s not “just Kentucky.” There were fewer than 100 people at the protest. A vocal group of Dumbass-Americans doesn’t represent Kentuckians at all.
And Kentuckians feel the injustice of being blamed as a whole for the actions of a few. Remember, this state is diverse. Rural, urban, black, white, Hispanic, immigrants, mountain people.
When you display contempt, you drive them away. You make it harder for the Kentuckians who are working to make things better.
Governor Andy won by only 5000 votes over the odious Matt Bevin (spits over shoulder). He’s doing a terrific job, and Kentuckians mostly recognize it.
The most recent poll shows an 81% approval rating, second highest among American governors.
The most recent poll shows an 81% approval rating, second highest among American governors.
Amy McGrath is polling dead even or within a few points of Mitch.
(She has some worthy primary opponents too, but that’s outside my scope here.)
There is potential for change and growth here.
(She has some worthy primary opponents too, but that’s outside my scope here.)
There is potential for change and growth here.
Kentucky has so many challenges—educational, environmental, public health, and yes, racism. But to blame Kentuckians for the morons who hanged Beshear in effigy—or for Mitch McConnell—is a missed opportunity.
Eyes on the prize. We want a better Kentucky, not a shamed and subjugated Kentucky, and the same is true for red states all over the country. Try to see the humanity in your fellow Americans, and remember to acknowledge the blue dots in the sea of red.
Fin.
Fin.
