Zeffie Gaines publishes a good piece on how the rural areas have changed somewhat since Trump began pursuing the GOP Presidential Nomination:
The air is charged with danger.
I’m at the pump filling up my tank. The gas, with my big supermarket discount, is $1.22 a gallon. I fill up my car for under $20. THANKS OBAMA! (No, really, thanks Obama.)
A guy, a white guy, across from me at the other pump glares at me, staring uncomfortably. I smile at him and nod, a universal gesture of neighborly friendliness. He keeps staring at me as if I just stole his last $20 bill.
I’m a black woman.
Another white man, at another pump, sees this and nervously starts making small talk with me. I’m nervous too. The other white guy finally relents in his gaze and gets back into his Dodge Ram or Tundra or whatever big ass truck he is driving (he really is driving a big ass truck). He drives off and I exhale, realizing I’d been holding my breath for a long time. I live in Ohio, Southwestern Ohio, in a rural county. I’ve lived out here in the boonies for 5 years and never had a problem, never felt much discomfort. But since Trump came on to the scene, dominating the Republican primary, the whole energy has shifted.
There’s more, all well-written and providing interesting insights. It appears the bigots haven’t been disappearing, but just keeping their heads down. It really provokes … disappointment in your fellow Americans.
