"Poor White Trailer Trash"

Thomas Jefferson wrote, "...vast accession of strength from their younger recruits, who having nothing in them of the feelings or principles of ’76 now look to a single and splendid government of an Aristocracy, founded on banking institutions and monied in corporations under the guise and cloak of their favored branches of manufactures commerce and navigation, riding and ruling over the plundered ploughman and beggared yeomanry."

(Sometimes interpreted as, "The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.")

I've been pissed off all day over something one of my FB friends shared.  It was an article written by some organization called "liberalamerica.org." with the sarcastic title "SHOCKER! Study Shows Most Trump Supporter Really Are Poor White Trailer Trash."  I'm not pissed off because of the so-called "News" (I still think Mr. Trump is very shallow and not at all presidential material).  I am because this group, whoever they are, can get away with mocking a large part of our American society.  This is typical whacko, elite liberal activity...bashing poor whites.  If the same thing was said about poor blacks, there would be a huge outrage.  The article mocks that these folks consider themselves "Americans."  Not Irish...not Celtic...not Russian...not German...not whatever, but "Americans."  My God, how can these people be so screwed up?!  Everyone is supposed to wear their heritage nationality like some kind of a badge of honor.

My first real "exposure" to these "Real Americans" was many years ago when I worked summers in a furnace production factory in Oneida, NY.  These men and women were some of the hardest working people I've ever known, making small wages with no health insurance or retirement, that got one week of paid vacation a year and basically lived payday to payday, and stopped work when they died.  I thoroughly enjoyed working with them, and felt very comfortable around them.  They knew I wasn't of the same "cloth," but accepted me, and one of the men became a very good, long-time friend. 

Like in many US towns and cities, that factory, along with every other factory in Oneida is long gone.  Why?  Because the same products can be made so much cheaper in China (furnaces, coffins, paper products...you name it), and that means that the corporations can keep raising prices on us (not passing the savings along to us) and make a lot more money for the top 1%.  So, these Americans are really pissed off about losing their jobs to workers abroad and not being able to find work here in the US...and I don't blame them.  I'm pissed off about it too!

A segment on PBS News hour a short time ago was about the groups of Americans with the highest suicide rates.  Yep, lower income and low-middle income white folks, with the unskilled/skilled laborers in those groups being the highest with college educated folks of this "class" being second highest.

So, the next time somebody or some organizations accuses me of being too much American (and not enough Irish, Italian, German or whatever) I'm going to take it as a complement and be proud of it!  And the next time I hear people mock "poor white trailer trash" I'll remember all of my PWTT friends and silently thank them for the contributions they made to my life.  (I'll keep hoping that Thomas Jefferson was wrong in his thinking, but I somewhat doubt it).