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am_Unition  ·  2823 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Islamophobia as a proxy to good old fashioned racism

Some of my fellow high-schoolers flew dual confederate flags atop their twin-diesel trucks. Then, my first university had thousands of the same type of folk. At the same university, I came to understand, through an elective sociology class, how racism has been historically employed as a social tool to marginalize an influx of migrant workers willing to work harder and/or for less money. With rural America's lessening demand for labor (quelled by continued industrialization/automation), continued Hispanic influx, and the slow expansion of civil rights across all races, white males are scurred, especially the elder ones. I think that's allowing some toxic ideologies to cling desperately to life. Including the grudges passed down through generations related to losing a war.

I've long since left rural culture, but I'll still get samples, sometimes. It's foreign to me now, but I grew up in the Baptist Church of rural city, averaging probably ~90% weekly attendance over a decade's worth of Sundays.