Poll: Rust Belt White Males Don't Like Being Called That

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A new AOTL/Tregor poll out today has revealed that nearly 99% of Rust Belt white males hate being called Rust Belt white males. From the mid-Northeast to the Great Lakes states, white males, particularly those whose incomes are tied to manufacturing are not keen on their convenient political moniker.

“There’s no good connotation to it” complains Tom Simpson, a Milwaukee contractor. “Whether you think that I, as a white male hold my pants up with a make-do corroded strip of metal or that I live in a place where people don’t know what waterproof paint is, I don’t come out looking too bright. Why don’t they call it the Flounder Belt. You catch great flounder here. Okay, maybe not that.”

Pep Mueller, a high school shop teacher from Cleveland takes his indignation one step further.

“It sounds like I should be in a zoo with one of those description plaques. You know, ‘Rust Belt White Male. Lives in a soon-to-be foreclosed house, drinks too much beer, tells racist jokes, lives an unhealthy lifestyle. They have prostate trouble. They’re so stupid that they can be hoodwinked by a tacky conman running for president. Their unemployed son’s been rebuilding the same damn ’72 Monte Carlo in the garage for 15 years,’ or what have you. Oh.” Mueller pauses to self-consciously remove his “Make America Great Again” baseball cap.

“I just wear this to be ironic. It’s a joke. And my prostate is just fine.”

In the small minority is Milo Cornish who says he loves the term.

“I say don’t get angry, get smart.”

The wiry 20-something college dropout holds up a piece of merchandise made by his small Bay Shore, Michigan clothing company. It’s a small neon pink t-shirt emblazoned with the words “Rust Belt White Male” in bold black letters.

“It’s a huge seller in Japan and the great thing is I can just keep ripping this stuff from the political headlines. We’re doing ‘white suburban mom,’ ‘child of undocumented parents,’ ‘college educated black woman over 30.’ That one is really popular for some reason. So yes, I love ‘Rust Belt white male.’ It’s making me money in the Rust Belt. Hey, I’m making lemonade!”