First, I am looking forward to reading her book which will be published in about two weeks. Second, her book is probably a very interesting ethnographic study with some keen insights. That said, I think her talk was actually fairly weak on sociology, especially theory. How much of the "Mary Beths" of Louisiana's "deep story" is actually rooted in her felt experience? While Hochschild constructed a metaphorical "deep story" of waiting in line on a hill, how did the participants actually construct their own "deep story"? How much of this "deep story" is acquired through the major institutions in their lives? I would suggest that much of the "deep story" is rooted in their religion which is very Calvinistic. In her recent (August 2016) Mother Jones article, she wrote that one woman, Sharon, viewed taking welfare from the government as "shameful." Sharon looked down on the white working class men who were given permission by Trump to take government benefits because they needed them. It is also rooted in their Confederate historical experience. Hochschild alludes to this larger social force but then immediately jumps back to Mary Beth. It is also shaped by Fox News, conservative talk radio, and Christian radio and television. If you read other studies of the Tea Party movement, especially what Tea Party activists actually say, there is hardly an original thought in the entire movement. Hochschild does not mention in her talk--though she might in her book--the massive messaging apparatus and infrastructure that informed Tea Party groups in the hinterland of what to support and what to oppose and what to mobilize around. Their literalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, for example, is not original to the Tea Party. Are we really to believe that Mary Beth came to the conclusion that Obama is a Muslim all on her own? Southerners were not always anti-welfare or anti-federal handouts. Just look at the history of the New Deal in the South. Southern leaders were opposed to Blacks benefiting from the New Deal and they made sure that Black folks did not benefit. Southern leaders did not turn down the TVA. They did not turn down WPA projects. But, they damn well made sure that poor whites and Blacks could not organize together and they made sure that Blacks could not participate in WPA projects. And just to give an indicator of how vacuous Louisiana is, if you drive (as I have) from New Orleans to Baton Rouge along "Cancer Alley," the only thing Louisiana is proud of is the LSU Tigers. They celebrate a football team with roadside signs. Nothing scientific. Nothing cultural. Outside of New Orleans they have nothing to celebrate. I am looking forward to reading her book.
The "honor" that Hochschild talks about is actually undeserved privilege. Specifically, the undeserved privilege to take from and shit on others different from you. This is the source of the sense of their loss. This is what Marybeth misses.
My problem with her thesis is, I tried reaching out. Only to get stabbed in the back by these people. Being beaten up, stabbed and even harassed for my sexuality or just made fun off. Even though I filled in their tax returns, helped them with their carpentry and did my best to listen to their problems. After 10 years of it, I'm kind of through with it. They want me gone, and to me the answer is very simple: Very well I'll go. I do not step over an Empathy wall anymore when the other side is digging an "empathy ditch" for me to fall into. I"m perfectly willing to make an "Empathy Pillow" for them to land on if they are willing to climb over their own wall. But I shall no longer try to climb over mine. I'm perfectly willing to meet them half way, not take their churches away and all that crap. But don't give me this "shit" about me being "poison" to them by simply existing as I got "Inline" for my "dream". This thing goes both ways.
Sad the richest yet the poorest country in the world.The rich could house and feed all the poor in the whole world and they would still be rich.They say LET THEM EAT CAKE.Dr Jill Stein the lonely logical choice.
