Trump Supporters: Deplorable People or Deplorable Conditions?

For months, I was puzzled about why Donald Trump had any supporters, stunned when he was the Republican nominee for President of the United States, and incredulous that I am still worried that he could be elected. Why would anyone consider voting for Trump for President? Two things happened last week that got me thinking about an answer to that question: my sisters reported that Trump signs are posted throughout the small town we grew up in and I watched the first Presidential debate.

                Anyone who watched the debate and assessed it based on a candidate’s depth of knowledge, experience, and public service knows that Hillary Clinton is the ONLY choice in this election. So why are there people in my hometown supporting Trump?  As tempting as it is to think his supporters are ignorant, evil, or deplorable, I cannot put my hometown folks supporting Trump into these categories.

                I grew up in Sebring, Ohio, which at one time employed over 3000 people in the pottery industry. B.L. Miller, the founder and president of Royal China Company, established a 4-year college scholarship for one boy and one girl in the high school graduating class of 1965. I was the fortunate girl who received that scholarship, enabling me to obtain my B.A. at Kent State University in 1969. At the time I received that scholarship, Royal China was a large thriving business. It reached its peak in the 1970s when it was the third largest dinnerware plant in the United States   After being sold and passed from one investment group to another for over a decade (e.g. Coca Cola, The J Corporation, Nordic Capital), the doors closed in 1986 (Sebring Historical Society). 

                Northeastern Ohio where Sebring is located is one of those regions where Trump has support. Some are predicting that Trump will win Ohio even if he does not win the election (Kondik 2016). Ohio is predominately a white state with expectations that half the Ohio electorate will be white people without a college education and one-third white with a college education (Kondik 2016).  According to 2010 census data, Sebring is 99.25% white and .75% Hispanic or Latino origin.  Sixteen percent of Sebring residents have college degrees and the median income is $35,000. In comparison to the rest of Ohio, the Sebring population is whiter and older and has a lower income, less education, and higher unemployment. Since the 1980s, drug abuse has soared. Earlier this year, Sebring was rocked by the news that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency had known that Sebring drinking water had high lead levels six weeks before informing Sebring citizens (The Columbus Dispatch 2016). 

                So, Sebring is a town where until the mid-eighties, white people with a high school education or less could earn a decent living and raise their kids with expectations of a safe environment. Today, many people in Sebring are not earning a sufficient living nor can they have expectations of a safe environment. I cannot be angry or incredulous that people want a better situation and that they support a politician who speaks about their plight. What I can be angry or incredulous about is that I have focused on “what is wrong with those people” rather than “what is wrong with their situation.”     

                I encourage all of us to talk to people not voting, voting third party, on the fence, and in the Trump camp about how they believe the results of this election will affect their lives. Before we can persuade anyone to vote for Clinton, we need to listen. I know there will be people who will express white privilege, racism, sexism, and xenophobia (and I don't know if I can bear it) but I believe to address the very deep schisms in this country that have been so rawly and painfully on display and to truly challenge deep-seated ideas about white privilege, racism, sexism, and xenophobia, we need to hear about and address the deplorable conditions that are also creating support for Trump.