United Yet Divided

For John, BLUF:  We, as a nation, are divided, between those living in Blue Cities and those living in the hinterlands.  There is an intermixing of folks with different outlooks, but the Cities tend Democrat and the hinterlands tend Republican.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Diner breakfasts are perfectly normal, no matter what D.C. elites think

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Reporter Salena Zito, 13 March 2022.

Here is the lede plus two:

BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. — For nine years, Shawn Stanford has called Dean’s Diner her second home.  On a recent grey Tuesday afternoon, the petite 30-year-old in a crisp white uniform offered an infectious smile and warm greeting to anyone who walked in the door.

At the heart of the reason she loves her job is a sense of community — “outside of the money,” Ms. Stanford said, laughing.  “There is a great mix of regulars who I know what their order will be as soon as they walk in the door as well as travelers passing through on the highway looking for some good homemade food and a place that feels welcoming.”

The Hay family from State College were the latter; they quickly grabbed one of the green leather booths located by a window overlooking U.S. Rt. 22 and ordered some stick-to-your-ribs nourishment for their drive from Pittsburgh back to Happy Valley.

This column was provoked by a Tweet from a DC-Based journalist, which denigrated the idea of diners as being for serious people.  He evoked this response:

A Washington, D.C.-based journalist working for a well-respected newspaper — seeing someone being interviewed at a diner for another reporter’s story — recently tweeted:  “Who has time to sit down for breakfast at a diner on a weekday?  Feels like people who have time for a leisurely weekday diner breakfast are not normal!”

It was another reminder that those who work for our cultural curators — corporations, academia, Hollywood, Silicon Valley and our national newsrooms — often have very little in common culturally with many of the people who buy their products, attend their schools, stream their shows, use their social media platforms or read their news stories.

(It was also a swipe at yours-truly, made explicit in a follow-up tweet about “the salena zito-style real american interview.”)

Unfortunately, many of these people who live and work and socialize in the “super zip codes” amuse themselves by mocking people who frequent diners, gas stations, Dollar Generals, Dunkin Donuts and other un-trendy places.

Keystone College political science professor Jeff Brauer sees it as a big part of the cultural divide in this country that has caused both the Republican and Democratic coalitions to shift so significantly over the past few years.

The column then goes on to talk about the sociological and political factors at play, as Professor Prauer lays it out.  Well worth the couple of minutes to scan through or read.

Yes, the Americans in big cities on the two coast tend to look down on those in the hinterlands.  But, across the fruited plain the people have a low opinion of those college educated manderins in our centers of power.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff