And I probably shouldn't have today. I'm not interested in nominating my subgroup for inclusion in some kind of victim list.

As far as I can tell Donald Trump is a fool. Or at least he convincingly portrays one. In no way am I defending him or his foolishness. I hate to see people I respect and admire falling for his act. But I understand their belief that the current political establishment doesn't care about them.

It does frustrate me that they're all lumped together (if they're white) as a bunch of uneducated ignorant racists.

Another of my neighbors works full time as a mechanic at the tractor dealership in town. He raises a large crop of tobacco on the side. He may have graduated high school, but I doubt it. As with the woman I mentioned, the idea that we ought to stop allowing Muslims to immigrate to the US probably resonates with him. He's never met a Muslim of course, but from watching the news it would seem to be a good idea to keep them at a distance. So does that make him an ignorant racist? By the way, he's black.

I regret having opened this can of worms, but having done so I'll just issue a couple of challenges. First, question why the political/demographic correlates exist. If poorly educated low income white people are disproportionately supporting Trump and Sanders, why is that the case? And don't stop with "ignorance" or "racism." Then ask why are they ignorant? Why are they racist? Second, when you read some categorical put-down of Trump supporters (for example), ask yourself how you'd like it if YOU or people you care for were included in the group being ridiculed. I think we could improve the quality of our political discourse a lot just by acknowledging that the specific life experiences of specific human beings lead them to political opinions. I know how tough that can be. Our neighbors all think we're weird hippies, even if they're too polite to say it to our faces.