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by kodah
1342 days ago
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It might be possible that what you're doing is both noble and controversial. That may be inescapable from what you're trying to do. There's a certain burden that comes with being from the areas you've covered, which based on my limited reading of your Substack (today) I think you understand. Being a Florida boy might help too. Rust Belt came out some time ago, it was after I got out of the military I believe. I remember not being a fan, mainly because I felt like it would fuel stereotypes about "back row" Americans. I think I was wrong at the time assuming your work would be fuel for that; much of America is already predispositioned to disliking the Midwest and South for a variety of reasons. It probably didn't help I was living in a trailer at the time and at a low point of my life; in that way, I think it was a reminder of what the mirror looks like (though I was not a Trump voter, Rust Belt covered a lot of culture too). In some way, I think because there's a burden for the people who live and escape those experiences there is also a burden for you in telling that story. We are stuck in a state where front, and maybe middle row, people often just do not have a point of reference for McDonalds being a local watering hole (as an example). I see it in online discourse, I hear it in the areas I've lived in with my job, and I feel it in the runs of politics. I still thank my lucky stars I was able to leave, but I had better opportunities and luck than most. All that to say, I'll buy Dignity. You at least dared to tell the stories of people whom the most powerful parts of the United States call "flyover". |
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I always hated that term. There was always supreme irony in it - after all, “flyover country” is where the Wright brothers are from.