My friends over at the Huffington Post brought up Toby Keith's song that sounds like it celebrates lynching. And you betcha, the resentment I have observed by working class white folk over successful people of color is astonishing.
I live in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. New sprawl subdivisions have been constructed out here, many of the homes are populated by newly moved-in yuppies who are either Christian Coalition Republicans or Reagan or dubya Democrats. Sigh. And there is a good proportion of the population that has lived here for several generations. They are people that those of you who are professional and educated would consider salt-of-the Earth, humble working class folk.
I have observed that these Toby Keith fans hate people who are in any way different from them. It seems like a complete lack of empathy. I do not easily share the fact that I am from the East coast, it seems threatening to a lot of these people. I'm serious, the word "hate" is not too strong a word here.
When my son was in high school a couple of years ago, he was out late on a Saturday night with friends, having an American Graffiti moment. He was a passenger in a car driven by one of his friends, who is African American. They were stopped by a patrol car, and the officer screamed at my son's friend for 15 minutes along the lines of "We're watching you boy!" When my son related this to me, he was shaken. I told him that his friend was unfortunately guilty of DWB, driving while black.
I suppose it doesn't matter, but these kids are good Dean's list students, polite, hard-working, all that good stuff.
My parents loved Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Merle Hagard, and I listened to lots of country music while I was growing up. My family welcomed people of all colors and stations-in-life into our home. How has the middle of the country become such a God-forsaken place?
I am a quiet sort, and I listen to people. What I hear is frightening. Class warfare has always been a whisper in the background in America. As the economy worsens, it may be worth ones life if one, whatever color, does not say "ain't."