I hate "real america" as code for the midwest. Why, bc that's most of the country? There's 69 million people in the 12 Midwest states, sure, but there's still 41 million in just the NYC & LA metro areas combined. It all just feels like a dogwhistle, ngl - ThreadSky

jakepaulsartre.bsky.social • 5 days ago

I hate "real america" as code for the midwest. Why, bc that's most of the country?

There's 69 million people in the 12 Midwest states, sure, but there's still 41 million in just the NYC & LA metro areas combined. It all just feels like a dogwhistle, ngl

Comments

schmrrrlex.bsky.social•4 days ago

"real America" is equally code for the interior west, prairie states and the south (the white parts). basically any white area that is not on the coast.

bganderson.bsky.social•5 days ago

And anyone who uses that term probably isn't including, say, Madison, Wisconsin.

potionseller.bsky.social•5 days ago

Or Chicago or Detroit.

vegetablegremlin.bsky.social•5 days ago

its barely a dogwhistle. "Real American" has been understood to mean distinct from Fake Americans since at least ww2, probably sooner https://youtu.be/vGAqYNFQdZ4

carlwilhoyte.bsky.social•4 days ago

"Real America" is actually just code for "white" which is strange because the Midwest is 25% non-white. It's very insidious because it assumes anyone non-white is illegitimate, a "fake" American.

jakepaulsartre.bsky.social•4 days ago

Exactly

colin.hoagie.fun•5 days ago

Most Americans live in one of the top eight or so Metro areas. That’s why they are the top metro areas.

outrageous.bsky.social•5 days ago

It’s weird how coastal people try and separate themselves from all the people between them

mel-med-larson.bsky.social•5 days ago

It IS a dog whistle

feralgoose.bsky.social•5 days ago

Right? I’m in Pittsburgh, it appears to be a real place in real America with real Americans. I had no idea I was a working poor coastal elite. Do I update my resume?

cargoweasel.com•5 days ago

its much like "working class" means "guy who works in a factory with a big wrench" and not "a 45 year old woman cleaning a hotel room" or "a cashier at the bookstore" or "an Uber Eats delivery driver"

adownie.bsky.social•4 days ago

I always thought “real America” was code for rural. Because they sure don’t consider Chicago “real”

seanfsez.bsky.social•5 days ago

REAL America is all America. The Midwest doesn’t own that.

impemboganecue.bsky.social•5 days ago

It's especially fun if you live in any of the metro areas, because people will slyly yank your "real america" card away

jakepaulsartre.bsky.social•4 days ago

Exactly. I used to get a lot of "you're an out-of-touch new yorker who has no idea what real america is like" shit on Twitter from other leftists & it was always like...why are you buying into blatantly right-wing rhetoric??

impemboganecue.bsky.social•5 days ago

So we're really talking about just a few million people who also don't live in any of the suburbs that are a liiiiittle too close to the fallen city hellscapes

toopis.bsky.social•5 days ago

But isn't the sauerkraut nice in ze little rustenbelt at least?

cryopunk.bsky.social•4 days ago

As someone who's lived in just about every region of the country, it is so funny watching Americans trying to separate themselves from each other while eating the same exact food and doing the same shit as someone 1500 miles away.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply