[Ancapistani]

> If you're not around rural America a lot, it can be hard to believe how deeply, at an existential level, ideas like those conveyed by a Gadsden flag are held.

This neatly encapsulates a big part of what I’ve been trying to say on HN for years: those outside “rural America”/“red states” simply do not understand those inside - and to only a slightly lesser degree, vice-versa.

When we say “Don’t Tread on Me”, it’s largely not a political slogan; it’s a shorthand that represents an entire worldview. When others see that as on par with “Yes we can”, “I can’t breathe”, or “Defund the police”, they’re making a mistake.

What’s seen as politics on the coasts is seen as a direct attack on our culture and way of life in the middle of the country.

As always, I want to be clear and say that I’m neither complaining nor offended here. My fear is that the factions in the US will cross each others’ red lines without even understanding what they’re doing. Historically, that’s been the left doing something the right finds untenable without realizing the consequences. These days the opposite is looking more and more likely.

[jihadjihad]

> What’s seen as politics on the coasts is seen as a direct attack on our culture and way of life in the middle of the country.

And the framing of "middle of the country" matters, too. There are many rural parts of New York and California, too, some of which are as deep a shade of red as parts of the South.

[Ancapistani]

Yeah, I was trying to be as inclusive as possible.

I'm in the South - Arkansas - but have lived in other areas (Appalachia). This applies to both Southern and Midwestern cultures to my knowledge, and likely others.

Obviously, I'm greatly generalizing here, but I think what I'm saying is clear enough to be understood.

[bryanlarsen]

A good litmus test is their position on solar panels, batteries, wind mills et cetera.

They'll save you money, increase your independence and increase your resilience.

Those are 3 core rural values. In practice, in my experience, most rural folk tend to be anti-solar. But there are a sizeable chunk of highly conservatively voting rural folk who are proponents of solar.

[Ancapistani]

I'm not exactly "conservative" in my beliefs, but definitely align more closely with conservative communities.

I'm pro-solar in that I see no reason to see it in a poor light. There are definitely applications that don't make sense that are being pursued, but I'm dealing with a roof leak now and am considering either replacing my asphalt shingles with solar shingles, or will get a roof that will support solar installation in the future if and when the economics make sense. I've not done the math yet, so that may be now.

I'm pro-EV, too, but again - context matters. I drive a '91 GMC pickup because it fits my needs, is in good condition, and I drive very little compared to most people in my situation. The numbers don't work for me to buy an EV. When I bought a car for my daughter, I went with an ICE vehicle because that's what made sense given the requirements (fairly small, "peppy" (esp. acceleration), capable off-road and in snow and ice, reliable, and as inexpensive as practical. I went with a '24 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness not because it was ICE, but because it was by far the best value I found and met all her needs.

But yes, I know what you're saying - lots of people here are politically motivated and wouldn't even consider installing solar or getting an EV. I see those people as being defined by the political alignment, and that's not really who I'm talking about. The vast majority of people feel like they're more "center" than they really are, which means they're not tied to illogical positions as a result. That's a good thing.

[tencentshill]

I know several wealthy MAGA families who have nearly grid-independent solar on their rural northern cabins. They understand the money aspect, if little else. These properties are often passed through generations, so a 10 or 20 year payoff still makes sense.

[krapp]

>those outside “rural America”/“red states” simply do not understand those inside - and to only a slightly lesser degree, vice-versa.

I don't know, a lot of people say that "city-dwellers" (an obnoxious term) don't understand rural Americans and the left doesn't understand the right, but from where I sit the left has been trying to warn everyone about the creeping approach of fascism and the far right within the Republican party for years, and rural people are the ones just now realizing the leopards are coming for their faces too.

Rural Americans still talk about Hillary Clinton's "deplorables" comment as if it were the greatest insult to their honor and dignity since the burning of Atlanta, but she was spot on. And predictably, rather than clean their own house, rural Americans preferred to trauma bond with Nazis and pedophiles than admit a "New York liberal" could have a point.

Rural people aren't as special as they think, you'll find Gadsden and Confederate battle flags in big cities everywhere. I promise you that people in Portland and New York understand "Don't Tread on Me" and that "Defund the Police" came from just as serious a place. It just happens that black activism gets commoditized, sanitized and rendered inconsequential by the same system that romanticizes the Lost Cause and right-wing activism.