Sarah Smarsh

Um, but, uh, but yeah. And God bless him. He had a good run. Um, So what I'm getting at here is I'm not so sure that it's that the structures themselves are unresponsive by definition, but rather the folks who are driving, who are behind the wheel have – Enormous class blind spots and often racial blind spots and gender blind spots as well.

Um, but, uh, but yeah. And God bless him. He had a good run. Um, So what I'm getting at here is I'm not so sure that it's that the structures themselves are unresponsive by definition, but rather the folks who are driving, who are behind the wheel have – Enormous class blind spots and often racial blind spots and gender blind spots as well.

But across the board, there is just a gross inability to truly understand race. the day-to-day lives of the average American. And that's true in both parties, of course. I talked about the little trick that the Republicans pull off meanwhile earlier. But if the Democrats also have that problem and then they're telling you you're wrong, that the economy sucks, recipe for disaster.

But across the board, there is just a gross inability to truly understand race. the day-to-day lives of the average American. And that's true in both parties, of course. I talked about the little trick that the Republicans pull off meanwhile earlier. But if the Democrats also have that problem and then they're telling you you're wrong, that the economy sucks, recipe for disaster.

Yes, 100%. So when I moved to New York in my 20s, a question I often got was, how did you get out? And I think the idea was it was a compliment. And I actually love the place I'm from. I live there again now in rural Kansas, happily. But I had no choice in terms of my career path and my goals and my aspirations professionally and academically, but to leave.

Yes, 100%. So when I moved to New York in my 20s, a question I often got was, how did you get out? And I think the idea was it was a compliment. And I actually love the place I'm from. I live there again now in rural Kansas, happily. But I had no choice in terms of my career path and my goals and my aspirations professionally and academically, but to leave.

I'm kind of a homecomer, if you will, who returned home. um with the on the Odyssean journey um but uh that's how I ended up back in Jersey same thing Yeah, you get it. But yes, home and place. And I believe those things often kind of relate to class. But the capitalist and industrialized and globalized and urbanized way of looking at reality often leaves place out of the equation.

I'm kind of a homecomer, if you will, who returned home. um with the on the Odyssean journey um but uh that's how I ended up back in Jersey same thing Yeah, you get it. But yes, home and place. And I believe those things often kind of relate to class. But the capitalist and industrialized and globalized and urbanized way of looking at reality often leaves place out of the equation.

Boy, is that still a tie that binds, I find, when I talk to people about my work. um, all colors and ethnicities and, and, uh, uh, political stripes, even, you know, where I'm from, you just, you say, where are you from? And what, uh, so your daddy was down at, oh, you worked at that grain elevator. And, um, and there's different versions of that all, all over this beautiful country, of course.

Boy, is that still a tie that binds, I find, when I talk to people about my work. um, all colors and ethnicities and, and, uh, uh, political stripes, even, you know, where I'm from, you just, you say, where are you from? And what, uh, so your daddy was down at, oh, you worked at that grain elevator. And, um, and there's different versions of that all, all over this beautiful country, of course.

And, um, if, if all of the policy and the aspiration that you're talking about, you know, something we haven't mentioned yet is how like, um, the Democrats, uh, throughout that campaign, uh, John, I don't think I heard him say the word working class once, the term. Maybe I missed it. It wasn't in an important economic policy speech.

And, um, if, if all of the policy and the aspiration that you're talking about, you know, something we haven't mentioned yet is how like, um, the Democrats, uh, throughout that campaign, uh, John, I don't think I heard him say the word working class once, the term. Maybe I missed it. It wasn't in an important economic policy speech.

It wasn't mentioned in 82 pages of a policy book that I read about their economic plan. But the reason I point that out is because it's always about the middle class. We're talking about how do we get you in the middle class? We know you want to be in the middle class. We're jerking off the middle class with every overture we make with our messaging, exalting the notion that

It wasn't mentioned in 82 pages of a policy book that I read about their economic plan. But the reason I point that out is because it's always about the middle class. We're talking about how do we get you in the middle class? We know you want to be in the middle class. We're jerking off the middle class with every overture we make with our messaging, exalting the notion that

And meanwhile, we're defining like the demarcation line as a college degree.

And meanwhile, we're defining like the demarcation line as a college degree.

And so the notion is, so if we know you want to make it and you want to get into the middle class, I know people that are perfectly happy with their modest lives in a rural landscape and they're proud to be doing the work of tending and protecting a piece of land. Yeah. And maybe they're extremely well self-educated, read a bunch of books.

And so the notion is, so if we know you want to make it and you want to get into the middle class, I know people that are perfectly happy with their modest lives in a rural landscape and they're proud to be doing the work of tending and protecting a piece of land. Yeah. And maybe they're extremely well self-educated, read a bunch of books.

But if the current pathways are like, and now you've got to leave your home and go take this coding class and now enter this completely different world that you don't even want. I mean, you know, like another thing, of course, the What's the saying about New York? If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.

But if the current pathways are like, and now you've got to leave your home and go take this coding class and now enter this completely different world that you don't even want. I mean, you know, like another thing, of course, the What's the saying about New York? If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.