“There’s also hope”

Teressa Glazer of Gainesville, GA, finds similarities between her town and Springfield, Ohio in this Washington Post Letter to the Editor.

Thirty-five years ago, our city here in the mountains of northern Georgia was much like Springfield. We are the poultry capital of the world and the processing plants began hiring immigrants from Mexico to fill staff shortages. There was an influx of workers that continues to this day. More recently, many of the new immigrants are from Central America. Those original workers from Mexico are now business owners and homeowners. Schools have adapted to welcoming English-language learners and there are now a number of churches — even a Jewish shul — that have Spanish-speaking congregations. Today, Hall County’s population is almost 30 percent Hispanic and Latino.

But this is also a Trump town, so, things have sometimes been rocky — mostly “go back where you came from” grumblings and letters to the editor. There’s plenty of racism of every stripe.

But there’s also hope: When a young Hispanic girl disappeared here in the spring, the whole community came together — searching, holding vigils, raising money for a reward, putting up posters everywhere. And the entire city celebrated when, months later, she was found and returned home. Her alleged abductor is currently awaiting trial.

Overall, I think we’ve made a good adjustment. Of course, we didn’t have Donald Trump and JD Vance betting against us.