Thread by @bbaskin, I get it, this is the South. It's Alabama. No one takes [...]

I get it, this is the South. It's Alabama. No one takes masks seriously
In MD I haven't seen someone w/o a mask in weeks
In AL I'm typically the only one wearing in a shop
Then to do family photos during *a funeral* for the young adults to say "I don't care. If I get it I get it"

Coming home has reintroduced me to a whole side of America I've long forgotten

My home town has no internet provider. If you want Internet you go down to McD/Hardees and use their WiFi. Everyone else on 3G/4G. None of my family here have Internet in their home

The effect:

My various aunts and uncles don't have WiFi. If they need to search they use Facebook slowly on their phones. Or they rely upon cable news, 99% of which is primetime opinion shows.

A good part of their view of the world is formulated in soundbites and clickbait

This area isn't FOX News opinions 24/7

It's all RFD-TV (farming channel). Eyes are glued to that more than news, so when they want to catch up, they focus even more on the soundbites

Obviously a farming channel will have biases, as ~0% of its audience live in "blue states"

One family member was genuinely worried about me. Asking how safe did I really feel living in a blue state near a city. How bad were our riots? Did I own a gun? Should I maybe consider buying some land and moving back "home"?

They see me as trapped in a hellscape. And, likewise.

My cousin was talking abouts how they just got Internet and Disney+. As the kids were online school they sent home cell hotspots. They finally had Internet! And feel blessed with Disney+ because the stress of the year has been torture

Think about that
*2020
*w/ kids
*no internet

One aunt is raising four grandkids, all online school. They were allowed one hotspot to share. All four kids on video calls, and the hotspot only works if placed outside on the roof. If it's raining, they have to bring it in and have no access

This is the "last mile" in Alabama

I can more truly appreciate the pain that goes into wanting to send kids back to school. I'm safe, I'm privileged, I know we're good in MD.

But the rural farmland is not setup to be successful online. And that's a gov / policy / infrastructure issue that NEEDS TO BE FIXED, ASAP

From an overall election standpoint the lack of access is painful

They don't understand why I'll take a two min break to scroll the news/Twitter

I don't understand why all of their discussions are what happened on Hannity two days ago and not what is happening right now

A conversation with someone who is two-days old on a discussion that was formed via soundbites is near impossible

"That was two days ago! A new report came out this morning that said ..."
"Well if it just came out, can you trust it? Has anyone vetted it? I'll wait for that ..."

I'm also from a region where the local forms of Christianity believe that alcohol is the devil's water, and people literally take cooking recipes into liquor stores to prove that it's not to get drunk.

So conversations are already a bit strained when you have to remain sober

Eating fried chicken I listen in on convo w/ pastor and others:

Heartbroken that Press Sec was infected. She was so genius, to turn all those evil fake news questions around... and how they wish Trump was as good as her, and how he needs to just shut up sometimes.

I chuckled

I should preface, not just South but from the Dying South

A town of under 4,000 that was eventually bypassed by a highway. It's become a literal ghost town of abandoned shops and burned-down frames since I left

It takes a unique, strong type to love living here. Pride in spades

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