This was another memoir I snagged. I was intrigued by the description someone had written in the comments: "if you want to know how Donald Trump got elected, read this."
I do not believe every person living in Appalachia or the Rust Belt or the Bible Belt or wherever really care what bathroom you use. I do not believe them all racist wackadoodles.
I do know they feel marginalized. While Latinos, Blacks, women, LGBTQ, and every other label we want to peg on a person have had their needs and rights upheld, championed, fought for, and legalized...the lower middle class working white man has gotten, well, nothing.
And it was that disillusionment with the lost American Dream that caused anger, resentment, and hopelessness.
Add in the opiate addiction crisis in our country...
Vance "got out". A tour with the military, college, Yale.
I'm not going to lie; this wasn't an easy read. I'm a Northerner (I am a WESTIE), and I found myself a little miffed that someone who went to Yale (hello, it's what 2.73 minutes from my house?) had a few choice words for the Northeast right off the bat. My father was a mechanic, and my mother was a secretary. We weren't exactly rolling in the dough, nor were/are we Protestant (I'm not even Christian at this point). My husband lost his job in construction in the recession of 2007. There's bias to be sure. But I guess that's what makes a memoir afterall.
A long time ago I read a book about literacy in Appalachia. I believe the title was Other People's Words, but I could be mistaken. This memoir echoed a lot of what I remember about it, as a student in a teacher preparation program. Vance ends his story about what teachers can do to reach students who come from poor, working families.
Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
All opinions expressed on this blog are solely Mrs. W.'s
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.