i discussed this a few pages back
the racial composition of blue and red states collectively is not much different...not enough to account for the significant and growing gap in murder rates between blue and red states
as best as i can tell the difference mainly reflects three interrelated thangs: ignorance, low levels of education and the prevalence of cracker culture (which is distinctly anti-intellectual and violent)
as an aside it should be noted african american culture is mainly derived from cracker culture
there are a couple books that I would recommend to anyone trying to understand the cultural origins of some of these regional differences:
Albion's Seed by David Fisher
Cracker Culture by David McWhiney
In some ways, the great hope for the advancement of red states is the migration from blue states, which hopefully will transform some of the anti-intellectual aspects of culture in those areas. It won't happen overnight. But it is happening. Especially in certain urban areas: Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh, Orlando, Dallas, Houston. Those areas are being transformed at a rapid clip. The hinterland much more slowly if at all. But the urban areas carry demographic heft.
The phenomenon of the hinterland's resentment of the more dynamic urban areas is not new. But it receives a new expression these days with social media and we see quite a bit of it on these very boards. New York and Los Angeles are far from perfect and no claims they are. The obsession that some people have with saying they are awful places mainly reflects a certain insecurity. A very old insecurity but one that gets expressed in new ways. Libs of Tik Tok and all that jazz.