I just remember being invited to a few birthday parties of my classmates, and the mansions they lived in were so opulent, the concept of people living within a 5 mile radius needing financial assistance was just incomprehensible. This was back in the day when "the Washington suburbs" did not eat up the northernmost 20% of Virginia, and one only had to drive 15 minutes south to see "how the other half lived." We always figured poverty was an abstract concept to the Bethesda/Chevy Chase kids. To us Virginia kids, it was a 15 minute drive away.
Although I have cousins in Tennessee, I haven't been to the State in 40 years. But in any ruby red state in the South, it isn't hard to imagine people struggling under Republican State governments who couldn't care less about them. When I was growing up, some southern states still had special tests that one had to pass in order to be allowed to vote. There was the "white test" and the "black test."
The standard legend (since I was in northern Virginia, this didn't exist) had it that the white test was "What is the biggest city in the United States?" Answer: New York City--"How many people live there?" Answer--"Eight million." The black test had one additional question: "What are their names?"
The other thing was a so-called literacy test. A white person was shown local newspaper, and asked if he could read the headline. Answer: "Sure." Election official: "What does it say?" White guy: "It says, 'Rain expected tomorrow.'" A black person was shown a Chinese newspaper, and asked if he could read the headline. Answer: "Sure." Incredulous (white) election official: "You can read THAT?" Black guy: "I sure can." Election official: "What does it say?" Black guy: "It says, 'here is one black guy who won't be allowed to vote this year.'"
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