Monday, September 24, 2012

Beyond Guns & God - the complex politics of the white working class

President Obama once regrettably remarked that some people are bitter and "cling to guns and religion".  Brian, erstwhile owner of Brian's wharf, Hatchet Cove, Friendship, Maine has a decal on his pickup truck that says "Guts, Guns & God - we need all three".  This despite the fact that nobody around town has ever used a gun to ward off an intruder, or protect himself against a police garrison state.  God has helped him find his way free of the sauce, and guts has served him well in a life of fishing - hauling traps and boxes of bait.  But his guns have never bagged more than deer.  Now comes the Public Religion Research Institue (PRRI) to instruct us in a nuanced way on how working class and the college-educated people see god, guns, and guts.   Turns out where you are may be more important than who you are.  = GWC

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