Actress Bette Midler has apologized after declaring that the people of West Virginia are all “poor, illiterate, and strung out.” The comment was meant as an insult for Senator Joe Manchin, who represents the state. Manchin has refused to support President Biden’s Build Back Better spending plan, effectively killing the legislation and making himself a public enemy in the eyes of Democrats who were emotionally invested in Biden’s plan.
Bette Midler expresses disdain for the poor
Better Midler represents a certain brand of elitist liberals who dwell in New York City and Los Angeles and think of everything in between as a barbaric wasteland.
The comment about West Virginia employed a common urbanite stereotype which assumes that West Virginia is eternally dirt poor and backwards.
Leftists used to pretend to represent the interests of the poor but that appears to have faded away now. Instead, liberal elitists have apparently decided that poverty is a negative character trait.
Rather than having empathy for the plight of the rural poor in Appalachia, liberals have effectively decided that poverty and death is what they deserve for not being in step with their worldview.
It’s more surprising that Bette Midler’s scorn for the poor isn’t very surprising in 2021. Some leftists have even begun to realize that being patronizing and dismissive is not the way to win people over.
Even if her comments weren’t snobbish and insulting, Midler’s dismissive stereotypes about West Virginia are not reflective of the state.
Liberal elitists hate rural Americans
West Virginia undeniably has some problems. The opioid crisis has hit the state particularly hard and the coal industry which once supported the state has declined significantly.
Still, elitists like Bette Midler should think twice about insulting the good people of West Virginia and first take a look at what is happening in the cities they inhabit.
Rich white liberals in gated communities might not know it but violent crime in America’s cities in far worse than it is in the poorest areas of Appalachia.
If Bette Midler were to take a stroll through the rougher parts of Chicago for a day she would likely end up robbed or shot. West Virginians would be far less dangerous for her.
This is similar to the sentiments expressed by some Democrats recently claiming that Kentucky deserves tornadoes for electing Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul or that Wisconsin deserved the parade massacre after the Rittenhouse verdict.
A certain breed of snobbish liberals are becoming downright bloodthirsty at the thought that there are economically less fortunate people living in conservative states who do not share all of their insane values.
