“You know how Kentuckians are”: Political Classism of the Coasts and Cities
I grew up in Washington State, about an hour away from the Emerald City of Seattle. Washington State has voted for the Democratic Party for the past nine presidential elections and Seattle has a socialist on the city council. Those on the coasts and in cites often believe themselves to be the most progressive and politically advanced in the nation. I have lived in Kentucky for the past 5 years. It’s not uncommon to talk to family and friends back home and hear them say something along the lines of, “Kentucky is a backwards state, they elect Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. They deserve the what happens to them because of the way they vote.” And I know this isn’t just the case for Kentucky. I saw tweets during Winter Storm Uri that said to the effect, “Texas voted for Republicans and Trump and now they’re getting their just desserts.” Jillian Goltzman describes in her article Liberals who made fun of Texas need to understand that your political party shouldn’t be a death sentence what I’m writing about quite well. She says,
It was 40 degrees inside my house when I saw the tweet from Stephen King. “Hey, Texas! Keep voting for officials who don’t believe in climate change and supported privatization of the power grid,” he jeered in a tweet. A succession of “too bad” and “they shouldn’t have voted for Trump” tweets soon filled my screen. As a liberal living in Texas, I wanted to hurl my phone across the room, but I knew it would mean having to get up from under the layers of blankets keeping me warm.
These same types of comments I also often hear when talking to people from liberal and coastal regions. It shows up in memes when people are talking about Kentucky. I have seen posts shared on Facebook and Twitter where Kentuckians are portrayed as missing teeth, mobile homes, the stereotypical “White Trash.” I have seen memes that say that Kentuckians are all uneducated conservatives who deserve what happens to them.
However, during my 5 years down here I have met progressives, democratic socialists, Marxists, Maoists, anarchists, and union workers. I don’t live in a big liberal city or go to a major university, and yet I still encounter people of all types. I have met educated conservatives who stand and sell Turning Point USA posters in the cafeteria and I know people who haven’t read a bit of theory who still believe that everyone should have a right to healthcare. During the 2020 George Floyd Protests, even small towns held protests. Places like Adair County, which gave 7,276 out of 8,768 votes to Donald Trump in 2020 and 6,637 out of 8,233 votes to Donald Trump in 2016, held multiple day protests. Charles Booker, a progressive Democrat, got second place in the Senatorial Primary in 2020. The difference between Bernie Sanders winning Kentucky versus Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic Primary was 1,911 votes.
I’m not saying Kentucky is a perfect state, because it is not. There is still rampant racism and there are plenty of conservatives in the state, but Democrats and coastal and city elites need to stop ignoring Kentucky because it’s a “lost cause” or “it’s just how they are.” You are not better than Kentuckians because you have a Democratic Mayor or are the center of a major corporation like Amazon or have an organic coffee shop. You are not better just because you are better off.
