5/7/2022

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Have you read Hillbilly Elegy? Seen the movie? Should we be paying attention to JD Vance (JDV) & his run to replace Rob Portman in the Senate. Apparently, JDV is prone to vulgarism & his candidacy doesn’t “sit well” with some of the suburban voters in Ohio. Did you get that sense when you visited yesterday? What did you make of the fact that Dem Senate candidate Tim Ryan stayed away from your event at Performance Metals? By the way, what did you learn about additive manufacturing?

            I’m ruminating about toxic masculinity today as I seek to understand the appeal of folks like JDV. I wonder if places in Ohio, like Steubenville where my bro-in-law went to high school, still suffer from some kind of macho residue from all of the years that guys sweated out their testosterone in the steel mills. My bro-in-law reports that in the 70s, a teacher punched a student in the face in his classroom & didn’t get in trouble for it. Can you imagine?

You might recall that Steubenville’s only shining light these days is their football team, where players are idolized. In 2012 they got some horrible press because the stars of the team filmed themselves abusing an intoxicated young woman.

I bring this up because I worry that this lingering mentality among a small # of folks in towns like Steubenville has taken hold. I wonder what we can do about it. I know you do, too. Perhaps the jobs you are promising will help folks reestablish their sense of self-worth & they won’t have to drag us all down.

In case you missed it, May 5 was the 1st anniversary of the PDF in Burma. They are proud of the fact that they have 259 battalions fighting the junta. They have learned to make their own rifles & are trying to get their troops to follow orders. They are convinced that the only way to communicate with the junta is through violence. More toxic masculinity!

BYBS,