ENOUGH CONDESCENSION: RURAL AMERICAN'S ARE INGENIOUS, IMAGINATIVE AND INNOVATIVE

Vice President Kamala Harris was widely criticized after suggesting it may be "almost impossible" for people living in rural communities to make photocopies of their IDs.

The vice president made the remarks during an interview with Soledad O'Brien for Black Entertainment Television News. Harris told O'Brien that she asked President Joe Biden to lead his administration's efforts to protect voting rights because the issue is "so fundamental." Asked if she would possibly support compromising on voter ID laws, Harris replied: "I don't think that we should underestimate what that could mean.”

"Because in some people's mind, that means well, you're going to have to Xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove you are who you are. Well, there are a whole lot of people, especially people who live in rural communities, who don't ... there's no Kinkos, there's no OfficeMax near them."

What? The fact is that rural folks are accustomed to doing more with less in an ambitious and ingenious fashion. Kinko’s hasn’t existed anywhere since 2008. Has the vice president never heard of digital imaging, websites and apps such as GotFreeFax.com, CamScanner and a multitude of available printer/scanner/copiers for the home or office use?

In fact, many big city folk are fleeing in increasingly large numbers to the greener pastures of a rural small town honest to goodness way of life, away from idiocy and the radical ideologies fostering lawlessness and fueled by the unrealistic expectations of entitlement. The benefits of rural American life far outweigh any obstacles encountered. Respect and standing in the community is earned here. It’s somewhere where the Joe Biden's and Kamala Harris' of the world would not have been able to continually fail upward.

Harris continued: "People have to understand when we're talking about voter ID laws, be clear about who you have in mind and what would be required of them to prove who they are. Of course people have to prove who they are, but not in a way that makes it almost impossible for them to prove who they are."

Perhaps then the vice president should have a serious talk with her social media buddies at Facebook. When the Facebook policy on paid boosts addressing topics deemed to be inclusive of “politics and issues of national importance” was implemented, Facebook required verification of a US residential mailing address through utilization of what it called “trusted sources.” In all the years I had been on Facebook, my location of residence was never before questioned. However, I had to engage in a lengthy dispute with Facebook over the validity of my US residential address when it refused to validate it as a legitimate American and West Virginia address.

A quick Google search would not only verify the existence of my home but the fact that I really do reside here. It is the address of record on both my valid West Virginia Driver’s License (of which I provided digital copies to Facebook) and my Federal Communications Commission Amateur Radio License. Even the Google car found my home a few years back photographing my property for inclusion on Google Maps! (Perhaps the Silicon Valley types neglected to be aware that West Virginia IS in fact a state?)

I kept getting the same automated response touting Facebook’s mandated approval process ignoring the issue of overcoming their unwillingness to recognize my address in my home state of residence. Each time I continued the appeal process I received a response categorizing the case as “closed.” Hence, my attempts to complete authorization to run ads related to my promotion, which had a conservative law enforcement theme, were stymied unnecessarily until finally resolved after much time and effort being consumed on my part.

The Biden administration and their allies would be well-served to learn to respect rural Americans. Personally, I found my Mayberry over 25 years ago and am glad to have left behind the big city life. We do not do without here, finding ways to overcome all obstacles and challenges. We collectively enjoy our freedoms and respect our proud and diversified cultural heritages all while taking personal responsibility and honoring family values.

It’s “Almost Heaven.”

Joel E. Gordon is a former Field Training Officer with the Baltimore City Police Department and is a past Chief of Police for the city of Kingwood, West Virginia. He has also served as vice-chair of a multi-jurisdictional regional narcotics task force. An award winning journalist, he is author of the book Still Seeking Justice: One Officer's Story and founded the Facebook group Police Authors Seeking Justice. Look him up at stillseekingjustice.com