“Die Welt”: When did you understand that she must write a book about a wounded Duma?
Arlie Hochschild: When I interviewed the inhabitants of Kentucky, I realized that I was dealing with very proud people who lost their middle class status. The inhabitants were used to poverty, but they were proud to endure them.
Now they were among the losers of globalizations in the country where they were the winners. Their culture prompted them to blame themselves. So they felt a shame that, as Marx wrote, is a tense spring, waiting only for a moment to shoot. When you feel like this, you are ready for Donald Trump because he has transformed the shame into the accusation.
What a few years ago brought you to the town of Pikeville in the eastern part of Kentucky?
Since 2012, I have been interested in the increase in the popularity of the extreme right in the USA. In the previous book I focused in the south, in Louisian's condition, but when I looked at the map, I saw this place in the Middle West, in the region of coal mining. It interested me immediately.
Arlie HochschildMichael Macor / The San Francisco Chronicle Via Getty Images, San Francisco Chronicle / Hearst Newspages via Getty Images / Contributor / Getty Images
In addition, an opportunity appeared. A democratic congressman from California, Ro Khanna, called me, who represents the Silicon Valley, is not white and represents primarily people with dark skin color. He said he crossed the party borders and joined forces with the Republican Halem Rogers, who represents the eastern part of Kentucky.
They both wanted to provide unemployed miners with retraining into computer programmers; Earlier, these jobs went to Bangalore, India. Ro Khanna asked me if I would be interested in accompanying him on this journey. I replied: “Of course”.
The British magazine “The Economist” examined the social structure of Trump's supporters. According to these studies, most Trump voters are by no means poor white, their average income is 100,000. hole. (nearly PLN 362 thousand, counting at the current exchange rate) annually …
It's about a loss, not a renunciation. Economist Daniel Kahneman discovered that people are ready to spend twice as much on what they lost than what they just want. Even people who were not poor but value their whiteness, masculinity or social security are more angry than others.
49 percent All registered voters voted in 2024 to Trump. 66 percent of them are white men without higher education.
“If they stood out from the rest of the society, they would be brutally beaten”
Objectively speaking, Democrats are a city coalition: they represent the interests of city residents. At the same time, democrats are the only ones who are ready to invest in rural areas. Republicans offer rural cultural struggle, but not a penny. Why do many residents of rural areas react to democrat gifts with unrestrained anger?
I talked to Mitch Landrieu, who was responsible for the separation of funds from the Joe Biden act on limiting inflation. 85 percent These funds went to the states ruled by the Republicans to create good jobs in the green energy sector.
Mitch Landrieu called me and said: “I traveled around all these Republican States to tell them good news that new jobs are being created now. And I have the impression that they are not listening to me! What should I do to hear me?”
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Apparently, the assumption that it is primarily about economic interests is wrong.
I will repeat: it is not just about jobs, but about shame. Residents of the eastern part of Kentucky have the feeling that taking money from Democrats marked by humiliation of their own culture. Meanwhile, the eastern part of Kentucky's state has practically no trade unions.
But nobody requires it from them. They don't even have to say “thank you”.
I sat in the park with Roger Ford, who considered Trump to be a gift from God. A very small parade took place there, which celebrated gay culture, mainly students took part in it. There were several transvestites off the beaten track.
He said: “Children can see them!” Then he pulled out the smartphone and showed me a video depicting gays on the lawn in front of the White House and President Biden, who said that gays are the bravest people he knows because they must struggle with so many prejudices.
Roger Ford turned to me and said very seriously: “Do you know that in the eastern part of Kentucky more children than anywhere else they live in foster families? Let's deal with this problem first.” He had the impression that the Democrats reserved their empathy for the elite. That they ignored real problems, and instead created apparent problems.
Unlike some white inhabitants of the eastern part of Kentucky, blacks do not demand revenge. Why?
First of all, they are quite religious. Secondly, black people constitute only 12 percent. American population. If they stood out from the rest of the society, demanding revenge, they would be brutally beaten.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
