Equality means dignity. And dignity demands a job and a paycheck that lasts through the week.

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have been repeatedly mocked for trying to explain how my neighbors feel and why they feel the way they do. Racism, sexism, and a fear of both Islam and Latin[os] are present. So is a fear of not being able to feed children, not being able to take care of elderly loved ones, not being able to maintain dignity in the face of layoff after layoff. Yes, I’m sick and tired of humoring the white male working class. That doesn’t mean their economic and political concerns should be ignored. It doesn’t mean it’s OK to laugh at us for trying to maintain our rural lifestyle. Some of us live on land that our great-great-grandparents cultivated. Final point: my family is multiracial, and I am full of rage, fear, and heartbreak over the dangers that many of us are now in because of this election. My fellow “liberals” should have listened to those of us they call hillbillies, rednecks, hicks, and toothless idiots. They should have understood we don’t live in a “fly-over” state; we live in our home.

—Erin Brown