One cost of being part of #theresistance to Trump is that you lose people. I lost a few alumni of my High School, at least one co-worker and a friend of nearly a decade. With Trump and his supporters acting and sounding more and more like 1930s European Fascists or other reactionaries each day, I can see their losses as acceptable.
But last Thursday, I lost a person I saw as a fellow resister. The issue seemed to be with some of my memes critical of rural Americans. I made an effort to convince her that the folks I was criticizing were not people like her, but folks who had been "Dog Whistled" into voting against their economic interests. Eventually, I hope to do a post were I make the case that these people are a modern day "Lumpenproletariat".
Now she did say that she was from rural stock, but I wonder if her family has disowned her or if they are as radical. I also wonder if there's a sort of "echo chamber" effect. The rural folks that she follows and interacts with may have been fellow radicals, there are rural radical groups like Redneck Revolt.
Now it hasn't just been her. Another activist requested I refrain from such memes, and perhaps chastened by the incident, I am going to try to oblige. Now I may slip, but I will try and be careful.
What these events have me wondering is if I am truly able to work within "The bloc". Is my attitude towards rural Americans going to create more and more friction. I do agree with "the bloc" on most other issues and ideas. I could ally more with "Indivisible" where my ideas on rural America might play better.
But to work with Indivisible, I would have to keep my views on community defense and direct action to myself.