J D Vance

I didn’t recognize the name. Then I read that he was the author of Hillbilly Elegy. I listened to that book before. The following is my notes from five years ago.

Half awake, half asleep, I finished listening Hillbilly Elegy. J D Vance, the author of the book, is a recent graduate from Yale Law School. He acknowledged that there is nothing to brag about being a Yale graduate. Yet few white working class people manage to get into elite schools.

His mother is a drug addict, changing men like changing clothes. She was also an abusive mother. When he was small, he often face the prospect of being sent to a foster family by the court system. But he prefers to stay with his family, his grandparents, instead of those certified foster families. Blood relatives, however abusive, genuinely care about their kids. So he lied about his mother’s abusive behavior to the court. He knew the legal system was there to screw him, not to save him. His grandmother called those lawyers crooks. Not surprisingly, when the author grew up, he chose to attend a law school.

He wrote that he judged people especially by the way they talked. He noticed that people in the legal profession often speak in a neutral tone. He mentioned Obama as an example. I had the same impression. When Obama talked, I don’t know what he actually thinks, how he actually feels. Neutral voice, like poker face, is the best way to advance in the game of life.

The author was amazed by the grandeur of the buildings in Yale. Yet he never mentioned (or he mentioned while I was asleep) the shabby town of New Haven that surrounds Yale campus. To talk about New Haven would spoil the magic of Yale. No doubt a piece of paper from Yale would greatly enhance one’s career prospect. But so many smart brains and so much money pouring into Yale could not lift the tiny town of New Haven out of poverty.

While at Yale, the author experienced the initiation into the high class. Why one needs nine forks, spoons and knives for one meal? But overall, he is a true convert. Upper class kids are better mannered, better educated, less crimes, less drugs. But he didn’t mention that the fertility rate of upper class people is much lower than the replacement rate. This is the most important reason why the door to upper class is not completely shut. Similarly, low fertility rates in wealthy countries open the door for mass immigration. Low class people, whatever virtue they might lack, have more children.