What I noticed in that hard copy that I might otherwise have missed is this editorial: the movements produced by white scorn. It draws parallels between the Bundys (of Malheur and Sagebrush Rebellion-esque fame) and the State of Jefferson movement.
I'll excerpt part of the editorial here, a part that cleverly challenges liberal elites (the sort who support the High Country News and generally assume they are a world away from rural white folk) to think about what they have in common with disgruntled rural white folk:
Both of these stories, which took place more than 700 miles apart, reflect a dangerous undercurrent: the simmering scorn of rural white America, which is feeling increasingly disempowered in this cultural moment. The Bundys, the Jefferson separatists, and a wide swath of working-class whites feel left out of the conversation, as national policies, cultural changes and global markets leave them behind. Their resentment helped bring Donald Trump to power, gave the Bundys a form of legitimacy and coincides with the more dangerous movements of white supremacy and white nationalism.I think these comments are pretty clever from an ally-ship, political coalition building standpoint. It challenges us to think what we liberal elites have in common with the disgruntled, rural and white movement.
However, rather than dismiss the Bundyites and Jeffersonians out of hand, we might be better served, one year into the Trump presidency, by asking whether or not we are all in the same boat after all. If you are not one of the elite 1 percent that holds 40 percent of U.S. wealth, and if you are not represented by the corporate interests that dominate our politics, is it possible you have more in common with these folks than you think?
Cross Posted to Legal Ruralism.
I found this editorial interesting, but to me it seems dangerous to draw too many parallels between the Bundys, the Jefferson separatists, and working-class whites who feel left out of the conversation. While it is true that most in those groups are not in the elite 1 percent or represented by the corporate interests that dominate our politics, we didn't all (unlike the Bundys) chose to try to get our way and make our point by breaking the law. While we may not be happy with the result of our last election, at least many of the white working class chose to try and get their way lawfully, and democratically, by voting in the election. I think that it is important for elite liberals to acknowledge what they have in common with the disgruntled, rural and white America, but I'm not sure we should use the Bundys as an example of who the working class white are or accept the legitimization of their actions.
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