America's forgotten working class | J.D. Vance

Being raised in the ghetto by a mentally ill single mom. I remember being 14 and pg from rape. I walked past a fast food place thinking, "kids work there" and wondering how a person gets a job. I had no idea. I had absolutely no examples in my life of how to have a life, get an education, find a job, solve problems. As I got older, there were some people who I learned things from. One was a teacher who taught a vocabulary class that was really about systems and how they work. She felt that if you understood systems that vocabulary would then come naturally. That class changed my brain and my life. It helped me traverse the systems that often overwhelmed my life and enabled me to learn what I needed to learn. It made the world a place I could see clearly and interact effectively with. It's these little things that make the real difference in giving people a chance.

My father had abused my mother. One day, my father drank and broke my mother's arm. But my mother didn't abandon me and I went to college with my mother's support and love, and I was able to finish it safely. I feel a lot of gratitude to my mother. from south korea.

This reminded me living in the Bronx NY in poor neighborhoods, drug ridden, gangs but I survived and prospered because of family. I came from a strong family.

His grandmother did a very good job upon raising him well to be a good man now.

This is my favorite Ted Talk of all time. This speaks to my experience in a way very little else ever has. It’s heart breaking to see what JD Vance has become.

Amen, brother. Amen to all you say, Senator Vance.

That is the best speech I have heard in a long time. Very clear, eloquent, honest

Hillbilly Elegy is probably one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I knocked it out in just over 2 days

He grew up 3 blocks from me and it's two years older. The movie was great and brings back a lot of memories. His childhood mimicked a lot of my buddy's and mine own. Good ol mTown 513

I live in Appalacian Pennsylvania and a lot of these problems are true here as well. A lot of the kids in my town turn to drugs and alcohol for entertainment because nobody is making an effort to include young people in anything. There are no careers here either unless you want to be a McDonald's or WalMart manager. Then the older generation complains about the millenials moving away and wonders what's wrong with kids today. The "brain drain" is very real. There does seem to be a sense of pessimism in my town; people are content to live off welfare. My family is considered rich because we're NOT on welfare, but it's hard to make enough money to stay above the poverty line even in the usually well-paying fields. Child abuse is depressingly common. I hear it through the windows when I go on walks. I want to escape the cycle of poverty, and I'm damn lucky I have the opportunity to go to college on scholarship. I cannot afford to go to the college I'm attending, and I was never aware of how poor I was until I started freaking out about grades and a classmate said "Just fail and try again next year!" and I had to say "I literally can't."

We, as a society, need to focus on strengthening our families. Weak dysfunctional families leave children vulnerable and traumatized, but strong families can overcome virtually any obstacle together. The family unit is the basic unit of society; as families fail, society falls apart. Governments will never be able to compensate for failure in the home.

Wow, as an european, I never knew that some parts of america were so screwed. Good awareness speach.

He will be a good senetor. Go Vance!

i love his story! I am a 5th generation steelworker that grew up in a steel town in the Rust Belt also. Addiction also is hitting the Ohio Valley so hard, as is the steel industry failing. It's so sad to watch esp seeing the rest of the country turn and look the other direction. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone!

WOW,his life sounds like my life and the lives of alot of middle class people of color in my community. I'm from the southside of chicago and there's millions of good people over there of all looks and beliefs,that get demonized because of bad media coverage. this was super insightful and in some ways enlightening. the conditions he speaks of is common conversation in my community. glad to hear his view.

Wonderful Ted Talk. As a single mom on a low income I raise and amazing daughter who is now an amazing adult. I moved from Michigan to Los Angeles some 40 years ago with $500 in my pocket. In Michigan I went to Barber school on a government grant and I never made a lot of money but I always made sure I lived in a safe neighborhood to raise my daughter. I even lived in Beverly Hills, CA for 18 years. The rent was higher but my daughter was safe. I learned how to make Top Ramen a thousand ways. It was hard at times but my daughter came first. She did not have fancy clothes or drove an expensive car but she had lots of love in our home. I dropped out of Highschool in the 11 grade and my life would have gone to the dark side but having the responsibility of a child changed my life. I wanted a better life for her. Yes, I had loving parents in the lower middle class but I was a rebel as teenager and gave them many heart aches. But I grew up fast when I had my daughter and I wanted her life to be different. I respect my past as it taught me to be strong and to never let life take you on the road of destruction. I know when I look at my daughter I know I did the right thing by her and gave her a better life. She is very successful in life but most of all she had kindness towards all she meets. I did see the movie on Netflix and it made me cry. It is so true for so many when they feel like their life will never change. I love underdog films and I always cry when the underdog is successful because I know what it feels like to be an underdog. I have learned to never give up on life or your dreams. Thank you for reading this. Walk in peace. love, joy, kindness, compassion, and the light.

Very engaging !so proud of where he is now,and where he came from! Whst a Humble. Wonderful man hes become! Honest and Sincere! Excellent Speaker!

Just ordered the book, and hope to get it within a week or two. Like the author, I too was raised by my grandparents in a rural setting. I was raised on a small sheep farm in rural southern Colorado. We were poor, I just didn’t know it. We always had plenty to eat, and I had the entire farm and my dogs to play with. I too joined the Marine Corps after high school to see the world, and saw what real poverty looked like during my 15 month tour in the Philippines, and other countries I visited and trained in during my four year enlistment as a grunt infantry Marine. Went to college, majored in Criminal Justice with minors in Spanish and Cultural Anthropology. Became a Federal Agent, retired 20 years later with a good retirement. Started and ran my own Private Investigation business, and did that for 10 years, until my kids went to college. Did four years with the State of Arizona as a Social Worker working in a rural community, to include the White Mountain Apache Reservation. I now live in Mexico, as a retiree. I have concluded that there are a number of circumstances that must exist for someone to succeed and prosper. A supporting older family member, a stable home environment, a set goal (even if it’s modest), delayed gratification and a lot of drive, focus and ambition. Not so easy.

This is a great talk, addressing the struggles of majority and the ordinary people that are often being mis-understood or forgotten. This, of course, not just restricts to his hometown, but many parts of the U.S. and even the world. I grew up exactly in the similar background just like him, and this is also what drives me to give back to my community and help those children and teenagers in those places to be prepared for their future. It's an inspiring talk.

This is speech and his book makes me cry