Can we have a serious discussion about West Virginia? [View All]

[last1standing]

I want to start out by saying that, yes, racism did have a role in the final results in West Virginia last night. I'm not saying a majority of West Virginians voted against the black man, but anyone out there arguing that racism did not influence the totals is either incredibly naive or perversely cynical. What also caught my eye, however, was the obvious sexism on display in the Democratic primary yesterday.

The final totals ended up 67% Clinton - 26% Obama. While the obvious first conclusion is that a vast majority of participants preferred a white woman over a black man, the second thing that should stand out is the missing 7% that is not accounted for in the totals. Those people voted for a white man, John Edwards, who is no longer even in the race.

I supported John Edwards and would normally like to see him do well, but I don't think I can be happy about the reason he did so well here. Since Edwards left the race he has seldom reached 1% of the vote yet in WV he suddenly spiked up to 7% over 3 months after abandoning his bid for the white house. This means that while many Democratic voters in WV voted for the white woman because of racism, and assuredly some people voted for the black man because of sexism, a goodly number voted for a non-running white man because of both.

I'm not writing this post to smear West Virginians, they are my family and I have spent a large portion of my life in the mountains of KY and WV. I know these people and I know their warm hearts and perseverance in the face of overwhelming poverty and lack of opportunity. The vast majority are good people who have not had the privileges that even most poor people in other states have had. Generations of oppression have left its mark on these people, however, and that mark is one that can not be dismissed. Racism, sexism, homophobia and religious zealotry run rampant in WV because they found long ago that hating the real cause of their suffering is futile.

So what do we do about this? Do we jump onto message boards and insult these people as ignorant, one toothed racists like I've read from so many here? Do we ignore the obvious problems that have caused these stereotypes to propagate through the years by claiming it just doesn't exist as others here are doing? Do we do what politicians have been doing for over 100 years and just avoid millions of Americans who live in the worst economically blighted area in US history?

Or do we finally realize that these are people, not pieces in a game, and actually try to help them get out of the hopeless situation they face?

Isn't it time we stopped spinning the results of a primary and start focusing on helping people who have been robbed of a future? Support your candidate but quit using West Virginians as your crutch.