Yep, sounds like my father in law.
It’s crazy how cultural political views are these days. When I was a kid, everyone I knew just about was a democrat (coal country).
One goofy hat later, bam.
What really shifted my area though was environmentalism. People came out talking about how terrible their only means of living was for the world, started working to eradicate it, and forgot about the people dependent on it.
I imagine that in an ideal world, the end of the 90s wouldn’t have resulted in manufacturing jobs all going to China. Factories would have been built in Appalachia, unions would have thrived, and my people wouldn’t have shifted so drastically.
Nothing motivates hatred quite like taking the food out of a man’s mouth.
The perspective is similar in Alberta, except with oil and gas - and nearly everyone in the industry is quite well off rather than living in poverty like many in coal country. It’s very difficult to change anyone’s mind regarding the negatives when the entire industry has made them and the generations before them wealthy while requiring very little education out of the gate.
