It's mind boggling he has this completely backwards.
Does he actually believe this, is he trying to be provocative, or flipping the script to satisfy his audience?
The violence, gun-toting, and uneducated are in blue cities. No one is burning crosses.
This is the worst of SJWs.
As a violent gun-toter, I would easily invade and enslave to peaceful blue enclaves inside of a week.
Its projection. Stephenson is intelligent enough to see the urban decay caused by progressive policies but has to comfort himself by inventing a far worse red world outside. The Left has done quite a number selling this same dystopian vision to Asian voters - its why they keep selecting Democrats against their own economic interests.