Fifteen years ago, my husband and I left the once-sleepy college town turned retirement mecca and moved south across the river (think wrong side of the tracks). We bought a farm, grew some food, raised pigs and chickens. While we have mostly left farming behind, we continue to live in our old farmhouse on the edge of a tiny town. In those 15 years, we have learned a lot about what it means to be underprivileged and underserved in America.

It was with that perspective that I read a thread from an urbanite this morning who listed all the companies he and his family would be boycotting from Amazon to Walmart. He also helpfully shared the businesses, both online and offline, that his family would be supporting. If you were wealthy and lived in a city with a car or good public transportation, it sounded quite doable. He admitted it took more time and planning but was willing to make the sacrifice to lodge his protest.

When one of his followers did suggest that those in “rural-esque” areas (fyi: we call it the country) might find this more of a struggle, the writers and his followers immediately went to the buying online argument, noting that you might incur shipping costs. But, again, all in sacrifice to this greater good they were pursuing.

I had to put the phone down and walk away as I make it a general rule not to engage on social media and, by this point, was just shaking my head at how little these people understood of the world beyond their bubble of privilege. My favorite part was the discussion of toilet paper. Of course, they all use bamboo toilet paper that, according to the writer, is generally the same price as the regular stuff. Seriously? Maybe in the city. The brand he referenced runs about $2/roll. In my “rural-esque” community, toilet paper is widely available at less than $1/roll. It may not be as soft or smooth on your bum, but it gets the job done.

One replier talked about missing the lovely vegetables at his upscale market. Unless you grow them and slaughter them yourself, fresh vegetables and meat are not available in my town. There was a grocery store in the town when we moved there: it smelled bad, and I learned that “manager’s special” meant items were often long out of date. It closed a decade ago so now the nearest full-service grocery store is almost ten miles away. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot for suburban commuters, but many people in my town do not have cars. There is no public transportation. They are limited to what can be purchased from one of the three discount stores. While those stores increased their inventory of food when the grocery has closed, they do not have fresh food, and the packaged food is low-end and over-processed. Even now, the milk delivery truck doesn’t always make it in time to replace the outdated milk. I laughed out loud at the writer when he described how they were now buying directly from a butcher and a baker, “just like the old days.” Again, seriously? My town probably had those things in the old days, but when the lumber mill closed, most businesses went right along with it.

I hesitate to jump into the conversation about why Democrats lost, but this thread gives a glimpse into one possibility. Poor “rural-esque” people (I just can’t quite get over that description) are struggling and were largely invisible in the previous election. As far as I know, neither of my senators, both good Democrats, has ever visited our town. At the fall festival, the local Democrats couldn’t even put together a booth.

Since Democrats seem to be starting from scratch, here’s a humble suggestion: come to my town and every other town like mine. There are plenty of them: if you drive Route 460 in Virginia to get to the beach, you pass through them. You may have gotten a speeding ticket because you decided you didn’t need to slow down to 35 when you passed through my town. Sorry, not sorry. Your law breaking (yes, friends, speeding IS breaking the law) helps fund our police force that does a lot of good community work.

I am sending out an open invitation to anyone who is interested to come to my town. We are happy to have you stay with us since the closest hotel is 30 minutes away on the interstate. On second thought, if you do stay at the hotel, your drive to my town will allow you to experience rural America: there are still crops and fields and animals, but more and more of the land is being taken over for industrial solar. I support solar as I know most liberals do, but I wonder how happy those in surbuban-esque areas would be if the fields outside their town suddenly sprouted solar panels. I can’t say for sure, but I suspect they would come down with a whole lot of NIMBY.

I know a few people who read my writing, and my intention is not to offend but rather help you see past your privilege. It took me some time, too. I remember how shocked I was to discover the closest dry cleaner was in my old town, a ferry ride away. What did these people do? Well, clothing at the dollar store is never dry clean only. And, to be completely transparent, my privilege is one of the reasons I can live here. I can afford to have food and essential supplies delivered to my house. I have a car to get to the “urban-esque” areas when I need to. We provide rides when we can and help our neighbors order online as their Internet access is often limited to cell phones with strict data plans.

Phew! I think I have had this rant in me for awhile. I know you may be wondering who, if anyone, these people voted for. It doesn’t matter. They have been left behind by everyone, Democrats, Independents, Greens, and Republicans alike. They are mostly invisible to the rest of the country. Perhaps I can help bring them into the light.

Meanwhile, go on with the boycotts and the protests. Wealthy white people tend to get attention and if your dollars start to make a difference in the pocketbooks of these companies, it could help. And, also spend some time learning about the struggle of rural communities. This article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy is a good starting point. You can learn more about poor people in the United State at the Poor People’s Campaign.