RUX Member Ivy Brashear in The Huffington Post on Trump in Appalachia

Ivy Brashear is a tenth generation Central Appalachian, and the Appalachian Transition and Communications Associate at the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development in Berea, Ky.

Ivy is a member of the RUX Steering Committee.

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I Know Why Trump Is Winning In Rural Communities Like Mine, And It’s Not Why You Think

I come from the land of Trump.

Eastern Kentucky is a region that many in this country – and in the media – have white-washed into a place where everyone is voting for the demagogue. Not many of the analyses I’ve seen have been able to truly get at the core of why so many ballots from my home region will go for Trump.

I’m from Viper, an expansive community split into four distinct sub-communities in the southern end of Perry County, Kentucky. My family has lived on the Left Fork of Maces Creek in Viper for five generations. They’ve been in Eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia for 10.

Being who I am – a queer, liberal woman who has vehemently supported Hillary Clinton from the get-go – you’d think I’d be angry at Trump voters, or that I’d be confused by their choice of leader, or that I’d join in all the ridicule that’s being thrown at them. But the thing is, I understand them. I know exactly why they’re voting for Trump.

Let me explain.

Read the rest of the article at The Huffington Post.