I live in a red, conservative state. You don’t have to drive very far to see Confederate flags hanging from people’s homes or vehicles. Not just from trailers. Nice homes. Expensive trucks.
You’ll also see Trump 2024 and Let’s Go Brandon flags. Fuck Joe Biden flags. Don’t Tread on Me Flags. Police Lives Matter flags. So many flags.
Idaho is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. We have the beauty of the outdoors all around us. We have four seasons of mostly wonderful weather. And we have a BIG problem with racism, bigotry, sexism, and homophobia.
You see, Idaho is controlled by religion. We have a large population of Mormon citizens. Many of the members of this religious organization are politicians, business owners, and wealthy or well-off people. Think of Gilead from The Handmaid’s Tale, but not quite that fucked up. Yet.
We also have a large percentage of our population that are conservative Christians. Most of which are in name only. Many of them are the biggest racist, bigoted, hateful assholes you could imagine. Some would love to see a Gilead-type world here in Idaho.
59.3% of Idahoans voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. 63.9% voted for him again in the 2020 election. Idaho citizens approved of his racist, ignorant, angry ranting and ravings, and chose a douchebag with zero political experience as their choice for president.
I hate people’s hypocrisy and ignorance. Christians are taught some basic things in their beliefs. “Love Thy Neighbor”. “Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged Yourself”. “Thou Shalt Not Have Any Other Gods Before Me.”
Few seem to follow these basic commandments. They openly hate minorities or members of the LGBTQ community for no justifiable reason. They worship Donald Trump as if he were some intelligent, charismatic cult leader instead of the fuckwit he is.
Jim-Bob’s truck here represents all the ugly, hateful things that I detest. It’s sad that any time I see a big truck with American flags flying from it, I instantly get the feeling that the person driving is probably racist. This person might hurt my gay daughter if they had a chance. If not physically, with angry, hateful words. Or covertly, by telling nasty jokes or lies.
I had a friend who recently put up an LGBTQ Pride flag on their home. It lasted less than 24 hours. Ripped down so violently that it bent the nails in the hardware it was mounted to. This happened on her own property. It also happened up and down one of the main streets in a historic neighborhood this month during our local Pride event.
Some thought they were within their rights to trespass onto peoples’ property and yank down their flags that represent support and love for a persecuted community of citizens. Ones who are murdered every year for existing and choosing to love someone of the same gender. Hate is deplorable and wrong.
Racism is a big problem here. We have openly racist people within our ranks. We have people drawing swastikas around town, on Anne Frank’s monument, on buildings, and in other public places. These pricks think their trashy, ignorant selves are superior to others only because they are “white”. If your number one source of pride is that you can’t tan worth a shit, you are failing at life.
Women are treated as second-class citizens here in Idaho. Our horrendous laws on abortion care are among the most restrictive in the United States. There are no provisions for children conceived by rape or child abuse. Not that women should NEED provisions.
A woman’s body is her fucking choice. Elderly, religious men should NOT be dictating what a woman can or can’t do regarding her own body. Women have every bit as much right to have autonomy over their own bodies as men have over theirs.
We have a growing, but still disproportionate percentage of citizens that are people of differing races. You don’t have to look hard to notice that Caucasian people outnumber people of color in any given social setting by a LOT. Diversity is close to non-existent in these parts.
My Bride recently was selected for jury duty. They had about 200 people among the prospective jurors for a case involving an African-American man, and guess how many of the possible jurors were black? 20? Lower. 10? Lower. 5? 1? ZERO. That’s a problem.
There’s a reason I often refer to Idaho as “The Mississippi of the Northwest”. And it doesn’t even have much to do with our abysmally low education standards and ratings, similar to the states in the Deep South. I’m surprised we have colleges and universities here in Boise.
It would be easy to generalize that every person driving a truck like this one, or one with a “Let’s Go Brandon” flag flying from it is an openly racist, bigoted, homophobic person. But I know that isn’t true. Many of those people are far more covert than that.
I don’t think every Republican conservative person is racist or bigoted. I’m sure many of them are decent, respectable people. But their voting patterns tell me that they’re not on the side of justice and equality for all citizens. They don’t give a goddamn about my family members’ best interests. I cannot respect or be close to those kinds of people.
If you are reading this and feel anger or hatred because of these words I’ve written, fucking GOOD. Think about making a change, if this hits too close to home. If you consider yourself a good Christian, then stand behind that book you put so much stock in.
Hypocrites with hate in their hearts, people who want to hurt others for simply existing, will not see the kingdom of God. “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, for I know you not.” See, I remember those things Jesus said in the Bible from my upbringing. Do you?
In fact, forget the religious aspect of everything. Why don’t we all just have a little pride and some manners? If you treat others with kindness and respect, most people will return the favor. You see it in retail stores and restaurants, where it’s required to keep your job. Why not in real life, with your neighbors, family, and friends?
So let’s turn the volume way down on the constantly angry, overly loud Fox News broadcasts. Let’s turn off all the news channels and stop reading so many political articles. And for fuck’s sake, we should certainly stop reading the comments on them.
Perhaps we could just get to know our neighbors again. It wouldn’t be so bad to learn something new from someone with a different background than we have and enjoy humanity before it’s too late. The clock is ticking as we edge ever closer to our own self-destruction.
© 2024 Jason Provencio. All rights reserved.
I grew up there, but left at 18. My entire family still live there, and I visit occasionally. My husband and I live in Washington and drive a Volvo with WA plates. I've lost count of the times I've been flipped off, cut off and once even been spit at for being a liberal. None of these people knew me, but felt compelled to hate me anyway. My husband is a Marine and the day we saw a bubba truck with an American flag-- AMERICAN FLAG-- with "FUCK JOE BIDEN" superimposed on it cutting us off on the freeway in Nampa, was the last straw for him. My family are all Trump humpers, so there really is no need for him to visit. Incidentally, not a single person in my family has ever served in the armed forces, but they sure have opinions about what is offensive to "our troops." First and foremost what offends my Marine is the desacration of Arlington Cemetery and next is using our nation's flag as background for hate speech, both of which my family thinks is great because, that's how you "own the libs." Such a naturally beautiful place with the ugliest population around. It's a shame.
I live in Spokane Washington, near the Idaho border. I applaud your writing about these unfortunately very real issues in your home state- and rampant in other states as well. When I hear comments from supposedly Christian individuals who act as you have described, I don’t understand how one can use that term yet behave in such a way that is completely non- Christian. Love thy neighbor as yourself, Do onto others as you would have them do onto you…… What will be the tipping point- will it be November 5? I pray that it is, and that one step at a time, our nation starts the work of coming back to center. Stay safe💞