I live in deep red rural Pa.

[orangecrush]

About 20 miles South of Erie, Pa..

I deal with locals on a daily basis, as part of my job, and I can tell you something.

They moved all the unionized industry out of here a while back.

All that's left are low paying retail and service jobs.

The heroin and meth have destroyed most of the community cohesiveness.

The right wing pastors play these people for suckers.

It is not safe for liberals to live in areas like this anymore.

If conservatives move into a blue area, they will be pretty much ignored and left alone, provided they don't make a pain of themselves.

The reverse is not true.

These people at this point literally see themselves at war with us, and are waiting for someone like Trump or some other authoritarian asshole to give them legal cover to physically do away with us, which they tried to do on January 6th.

I am hoping to be out of here before the midterms.

Along the main road running North and South through here, there is a flashing DOT sign someone bought somehow, that flashes anti Democratic messages. You can't avoid it if you drive through here. Presently, it says "Fauci is a fool, prove me wrong".

Before that, it was "FJB", and "Trump won".

These people are stupid, sociopathic, and dangerous.

There is no appealing to reason with them, compromise isn't in their wheelhouse.

The light sentences given to the January 6th insurrectionists has emboldened them, and next time will be worse.

I wonder if the Democratic leadership knows what is going on at this level, and has awakened to the fact that this is no longer politics as usual, and come up with a strategy that reflects this reality.

After January 6th, if eyes aren't open, the future looks grim