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Interesting article on poverty in Appalachia
Posted on 1/19/14 at 12:11 am
Posted on 1/19/14 at 12:11 am
Came across this on NPR.com and found it interesting especially being from Kentucky and having been in the region myself. I've always said there's different kinds of poor and this isn't the same as the kind of poverty you see in urban areas IMO.
Thoughts?
LINK
quote:
Many people here say they're rich in things that aren't included in any official measure of poverty. Things like family and faith. So they're understandably a bit bitter about how they're often seen from the outside.
Owen Wright of the Christian Appalachian Project, one of the non-profits that helps Slone, says that outside perception can hurt the self-esteem of the people who live in Appalachia.
"We're probably one of the last few groups that it's still politically correct to make fun of," Wright says. "It's still OK to tell, you know, hillbilly, redneck jokes."
"Once that's been drilled into them for so long, it's easy for them to start believing that themselves," he says.
Thoughts?
LINK
6
Posted on 1/19/14 at 12:30 am to BluegrassBelle
He's right. Everybody makes fun of poor whites and nobody really sees a problem with it. It's become very mainstream
Posted on 1/19/14 at 12:35 am to BluegrassBelle
Well paved roads and in Northern Eastern Kentucky. IOW, a load of horeshit.
Visit Bell Co. or Harlan Co. Kentucky or any of the East, TN counties nearby and get back to me. There's no comparison beyond mountain folks having a culture that judges wealth by friendship and family. This is a feel good story, imo. It feels good for wealthier Appalachians to be able to give the media the finger they so richly deserve because they so often exploit us as though we're nothing more than animals in a zoo and a feel good story for the rest of the country that enables them to ignore the very real issues in Appalachia that have been ignored for generations.
Poor Appalachia, and not all of Appalachia is poor, lives in 3rd world conditions and I'm willing to take anyone on a guided tour if they think otherwise. Even in the poor towns you can find those who are doing well but poor Appalachia is as bad off as it ever was.
Not knowing any different doesn't make it better.
Visit Bell Co. or Harlan Co. Kentucky or any of the East, TN counties nearby and get back to me. There's no comparison beyond mountain folks having a culture that judges wealth by friendship and family. This is a feel good story, imo. It feels good for wealthier Appalachians to be able to give the media the finger they so richly deserve because they so often exploit us as though we're nothing more than animals in a zoo and a feel good story for the rest of the country that enables them to ignore the very real issues in Appalachia that have been ignored for generations.
Poor Appalachia, and not all of Appalachia is poor, lives in 3rd world conditions and I'm willing to take anyone on a guided tour if they think otherwise. Even in the poor towns you can find those who are doing well but poor Appalachia is as bad off as it ever was.
Not knowing any different doesn't make it better.
This post was edited on 1/19/14 at 12:43 am
Posted on 1/19/14 at 8:12 am to BluegrassBelle
quote:
Thoughts?
drink less Mountain Dew in Appalachia.
Posted on 1/19/14 at 9:38 am to BluegrassBelle
That article reads like the people in Kentucky are upset that other people think they're poor. They are poor.
"People calling us poor makes us sad.
"
Well then stop spending all your money on liquor and meth and you wouldn't be so poor.
"People calling us poor makes us sad.
" Well then stop spending all your money on liquor and meth and you wouldn't be so poor.
Posted on 1/19/14 at 1:00 pm to BluegrassBelle
There are some sketchy spots in rural north East TN. Some wrong turn type areas that If you go missing they won't find you. It's beautiful and ehhh mixed together
A lot of those people still have dirt floors and no running. It's wild, quite literally.
A lot of those people still have dirt floors and no running. It's wild, quite literally.
Posted on 1/20/14 at 8:53 am to BluegrassBelle
Decent article, thanks for sharing. I'm a fan of NPR.
Having grown up in the Appalachians, this article brings about fair points. There is still a national stigma that people from the region are poor and uneducated. I remember being on a school trip to NYC in 8th grade, and we met some girls from CT that were in shock that we had shoes, seriously.
There are trashy types from there, just like anywhere else. To me, there's a magic about the Appalachians that I haven't seen anywhere else. Some of the best people I've met in this world were from there. But, there are still parts where I wouldn't want to be without knowing somebody for fear of getting shot from stumbling on somebody's pot patch, still, or meth lab. There are some rough areas.
Having grown up in the Appalachians, this article brings about fair points. There is still a national stigma that people from the region are poor and uneducated. I remember being on a school trip to NYC in 8th grade, and we met some girls from CT that were in shock that we had shoes, seriously.
There are trashy types from there, just like anywhere else. To me, there's a magic about the Appalachians that I haven't seen anywhere else. Some of the best people I've met in this world were from there. But, there are still parts where I wouldn't want to be without knowing somebody for fear of getting shot from stumbling on somebody's pot patch, still, or meth lab. There are some rough areas.
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