Rural bashing in the context of the Eastern Kentucky floods

Courtney Lucas published this essay in the Washington Post a few days ago, the third day of the record-breaking floods that have hit the area.  It's become typical--liberals telling folks living in conservative states and conservative regions that they're getting what they asked for when they suffer from natural disasters.  Why?  Because they elect conservative politicians.  Here's an excerpt from Lucas's column:  

The disaster here in eastern Kentucky was like nothing I’d ever seen before — but some of the online response to it was depressingly familiar. “These people got what they voted for,” said one post. “Elect a turtle, learn to swim,” read another. “Maybe it’s God’s punishment for being a bastion of ignorance and regression.” Or, my personal favorite, “What are those houses doing there along the river in the first place?”

* * *

I support the Black Lives Matter movement, abortion rights, same-sex marriage — all the things good Democrats are supposed to support. I have also always been an Appalachian, a part of my identity that I cherish. I was born and raised in Pikeville, as were my parents, my grandparents and many generations before them.

This week, when I saw two very different stories about the flooding unfold on social media, I wondered if I was an “us” or a “them,” if I should stand with my party or my people. Democrats often justifiably accuse Republicans of choosing party over people. You don’t have to look hard for examples — in mid-July, it was Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania voting against federal protections for same-sex marriage and then three days later attending his son’s same-sex wedding.

Democrats tend to view themselves as being above such behavior. But what I saw on social media suggests that more than a few can’t put people before party even when lives are in danger.

* * *

The flood waters didn’t check voter registration before taking cars, homes and lives. Yard signs proclaiming “In this house we believe …” were not going to make the water change course and spare the homes of Democrats. But even if this were possible, even if the only people affected by the floods were those who voted for McConnell and Trump, even if the only homes destroyed belonged to gun-toting, Capitol-insurrection-attending, bigoted, worst-of-the-worst Republicans, they are still human beings, and no one deserves the devastation that I’ve seen. No one.

If the choice is between party or people, I’ll choose to stand by my people every time. 

We also saw this phenomenon out of Montana in June, when the area around Yellowstone National Park flooded and social media was alive with people saying Montanans deserved it because they'd elected Gianforte their governor. Never mind the folks who didn't support him. Or even those who did. Didn't they deserve government assistance. The first time I saw it commented on by a big-name writer was this piece by Margaret Renkl, who writes for the New York Times from Nashville.

I'm currently writing a law review article about this phenomenon--and how counterproductive it is. Stay tuned for more--and keep an eye out for this in the media you consume. Maybe you'll even get motivated to push back against the rural bashing.

Other news coverage of the devastating floods in Eastern Kentucky--the poor part of the state, the Appalachian part of the state, is here, here, and here.