The Herald-Leader ran an article today on Kentucky's voting demographics. As should be expected, Eastern Kentucky counties moved toward the right as the rest of the state shifted left. Urban populations--Louisville and Lexington--made the largest shift to the left. The paper quoted Joe Gershtenson, a political science professor at Eastern Kentucky University. "To a large extent, that trend also characterizes American politics, in terms of rural and urban states."
Fair enough.
Then they lose me:
"You're talking about the more educated counties, by and large there," Gershtenson said. "It's not surprising that that's where you would have seen Obama doing better than Kerry."
"And I wish I didn't have to say that race plays a huge part in this, but I do. I really don't think you'd see this huge urban/rural divide if Hillary Clinton were the Democratic nominee."
And that's it. Nothing else. No further explanation. Nothing.
What is that supposed to mean? What are the readers supposed to believe?
The article could read "Eastern Kentucky voters support McCain because they are uneducated," or it could read, "Intelligent people vote democrat."
The readers loved it. They began calling Eastern Kentuckians racist and stupid.
I wish I was a conservative, because then I could just chalk it up to "liberal" journalism. Instead, this is much more. Much, much more. This is the most recent attack on Appalachia, via by unprofessional journalism, or the catharsis of an "intellectual" who believes the negative stereotypes and is frustrated with being stuck in Richmond, subjected to rural ignorance.
This is just the precursor to my frustrations. This thinking is also out-of-control at MSU. Not only amongst professors who are not from Appalachia and share Gershtenson's belief, but also amongst the students--those same students that have spent their entire lives raised in rural Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia and have been victims to unfair stereotypes. Those students who supported President Obama were at-loss with other students who still supported McCain. They are embarrassed that they are from "red" counties and think that it is a reflection of intelligence, with blue indicating a higher plane of thinking.
The readers of the article also further this idea. Lexington-Fayette is population to more college grads than most of the united states--in the top 10, in fact. Lexington-Fayette voted for Obama, thus a vote for Obama represents intelligence. This is stupid. I am a government major and will recognize that there is nothing abstract or incomprehensible about politics. It is about social and fiscal beliefs, small or big governments. How does an education affect moral convictions? More so, how does a degree in biology help you understand economics and foreign policy?
The results are in and it has been determined that race was not an issue in the election. Eastern Kentuckians voted for McCain, and generally support the republican ticket--unless the other ticket is a fellow southerner and is believed to share our fear in god. A 2003 (going old-school) LA Times article sums it up: we haven't abandoned the democratic party, they have abandoned us. Barack Obama embodied everything we fear: pro-choice, liberal ideals. We don't fear him as an African-American. Truth be told, racism is fueled in areas of high-tension--Detroit race riots, African-American-Hispanic tension is D.C. There are not enough Blacks in Appalachia to encourage racism. And contrary to popular belief, we don't run blacks out of the neighborhood with our guns and confederate flags. The neighborhood has nothing to offer the black community--no tradition, no promise of jobs, dissimilar cultures. The only thing we share is our failure to recognize our shared plight as being discriminated against by the American public and our close family-ties and relationship with god. "Appalachian racism" is the misinterpretation of Appalachian ignorance of blacks and our awkwardness in trying to maneuver "race relations" that we are unaccustomed to and that are contrary to our nature.
Bottom Line: Appalachia didn't vote for McCain because he "wasn't black," they voted for McCain because he represented their moral convictions, which takes precedent over anything--even the flailing economy. And the other people who voted for McCain voted for him because he wasn't Barack Obama; but, not because for reasons you want to believe (his being black, and all). They were just too proud to put down the guns and bibles that they cling to so tightly to cast a vote for the democratic party.
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While attending Berea College, for those of you geographically challenged, located in Berea, KY., along I-75, traveling south of Lexington, tourists from as far as California, located on the west coast of the United States along the Pacific Ocean, would come and take our pictures, poor Appalachian students trudging forward getting a college education, Who knows where those photos ended and to what purpose, except I am quite certain they were used to promote "backward" views of Eastern Kentucy. Eastern Kentucky has often been treated as the Red headed step child to central and western Kentucky. The economy of Eastern Kentucky was stunted by the pilfering of the coal severence taxes by our relatives for years. No longer do we need to rely on ignorant relatives to feed us "bull" but we now have professors in our own Eastern universities doing it for us and in doing so, much like politics, likening us to their way of thinking. Shame on them and shame on Eastern Kentuckians for buying this false sale of goods. We will decay and detroy our heritage and ourselves from within. Sound familiar...how stupid or blind can you be. What will it take before you rise up and correct your professors and those that would call you ignorant...have you all become worms...we still have the first amendment, at least until January of 2009, I would suggest you use it.
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