Trump’s Great White Wall: Part II

National Review contributor J.D. Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy is a love story. It begins in the Appalachian town of Jackson, Kentucky known as the “holler” where grandparents are not referred to as grandma and grandpa. They are “Mamaw” (pronounced ma’am-aw) and “Papaw.” “These names belong only to hillbilly grandparents,” writes Vance.

If you were to ask him where he is from, he would say Jackson, Kentucky. But he grew up in Middletown, Ohio when in the 1940s Mamaw and Papaw packed the family up and headed up Route 23—the Hillbilly Highway—for better opportunity in the Rust Belt. “Thanks,” as Vance explains, “to the massive migration from the poorer regions of Appalachia to places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, hillbilly values spread widely along with hillbilly people.”

And the situation today back in Jackson, KY? It’s even worse. Vance talks about his cousin Mike, who, after his mother died, immediately thought about selling her house. “I can’t live here, and I can’t leave it untended,” he said. “The drug addicts will ransack it.”

Read Parts I, III and IV.

J.D. Vance on his new book Hillbilly Elegy

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E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.