Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

by Arlie Russell Hochschild

By 2016, Louisiana’s financial sinkhole had exacerbated the Great Paradox. Their beloved Louisiana still ranked 49th out of 50 on general well-being and 44 percent of its state budget still came from the dreaded federal government. The state itself was a “poor me” who had to “cut in line” in front of other states—a situation worsened by Jindal’s policies. But people weren’t talking about Jindal or the unmoving Great Paradox. They knew it was there. They disliked it. But it wasn’t on their minds. The deep story was. “Victim” is the last word my Louisiana Tea Party friends would apply to themselves. They didn’t want to be “poor me’s.” As Team Loyalists, Worshippers, and Cowboys, they are proud to endure the difficulties they face. But in the loss of their homes, their drinking water, and even their jobs in non-oil sectors of the economy, there is no other word for it: they are victims. Indeed, Louisianans are sacrificial lambs to the entire American industrial system.