The "white working class" are the guys who drive ten year old trucks with bent tailgates, hunt on weekends with $300 shotguns, and wear Carhart jackets with stains on them. https://twitter.com/chris_labarthe/status/1300309691210199040

Actual "white working class" folks are the ones who do a real enlistment and don't cosplay soldiers. They have Marine and Iraqi Freedom Veteran stickers on their cars, not Punisher logos.

They aren't "woke", have prejudices and biases (like we all do) and operate on transactional respect. You gotta earn it. They resent the rich, but believe in a system that gives a fair shot at the "American Dream". They HATE getting lectured by outsiders.

They can be made aware of white privilege but still resent class privilege. They loathe being looked down on, they hate being treated as less than college types. They respect authority but distrust it if the benefits aren't readily apparent.

The "white working class" is culturally conservative about a lot of Mets issues, but again, operate off of transactional respect. They may dislike transpeople generally for example, but "don't fuck with my cousin, they're family."

They can understand BLM protesters marching, but hate rioting and looting. They'll say you shouldn't resist cops, but will agree 100% that shooting an unarmed man is wrong. They want authority to be accountable.

To borrow an attitude from Socialism/Marxism, they are an unaware proletariat who must be awakened for change to occur; but the reality is, your Brooklyn ass isn't gonna connect with them.

Largely because they don't Tweet. Ya gotta talk to 'em on their terms.

Also, and let me be *VERY* clear. You wanna win them over, don't lead with "You're racist/sexist/homo/transphobic."

That'll shut them down quickly and make them hate you.

Give them a "Now did your momma raise you like that," conversation and about respect and they'll listen.

Trust me, as a "working class white" from the Deep South, you'll get a lot further with winning them over to progressive issues if you treat them with respect, don't view them as ignorant bigots as a default, and talk to them on their level.

They've got no idea what "praxis" is.

For as much as some of y'all watched the hell out of "King of the Hill" y'all didn't learn a thing from it about this group of people who could be your biggest supporters if you'd just learn how to talk to them.

You folks gotta remember, the world out there, ain't the world online in most ways.

You can't go off on randos about theory or multilayered critical theory.

You don't teach folks to swim by throwing them into the deep end. You start in the shallows where their feet can touch

We're operating under the idea that just tweeting a link, a dunk, a dense think piece is gonna reach folks.

Even marches and won't get it.

Sometimes you gotta have a beer and talk on the porch.