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Southern West Virginia to Eastern Kentucky is the largest region of economically distressed counties in the country. In many ways, it's a different America here. But what's it feel like to travel through this region in Appalachia and what do the locals have to say? ....
Maybe people just like this kind of living. Nothing wrong with not wanting development, traffic, crazy people etc. Money doesn't buy happiness. I think some of the most beautiful nature and peace and serenity is in Appalachia.
IF WV is so poor, Why are we the ONLY State NOT getting checks from the state during these Covid times? While All the surrounding States need to keep bailing their people out?
Maybe people just like this kind of living. Nothing wrong with not wanting development, traffic, crazy people etc. Money doesn't buy happiness. I think some of the most beautiful nature and peace and serenity is in Appalachia.
Unfortunately, the poorest counties in Appalachia are also where the worst of the mountaintop removal coal mines are, causing big problems with poor water quality, contamination, and erosion/runoff issues that make flooding issues worse.
The border counties in TX are in far worse shape than the counties in Appalachia in many, many ways. Also the MS Delta counties in ARK/MS/LA are in a very similar economic situation as the counties in central appalachia.
WV received Covid relief. $1.25 billion under Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act; another $1.35 billion under the American Rescue Plan. Over $600 million wasn't spent for Covid relief and was diverted into economic development which benefited those least in need of relief, not those in need. It's not surprising that folks didn't see it.
Governor Justice and his family businesses got relief funds. The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, Justice’s firm that owns and operates the luxury resort, received a loan of at least $5 million and they still laid off people. Greenbrier Sporting Club, his residential development company got at least $1 million. Blackstone Energy LTD and Bluestone Coke LLC, two coal companies owned by Justice’s family, each received at least $2 million; Justice Energy Company Inc. received at least $150,000.
That it did not make its way down speaks to the systemic issues facing WV. Its natural beauty should make it a tourist hotspot. The stripped mountain tops should make it ideal for wind and solar; yet as Justice's actions show, its wealth and future is diverted.
The border counties in TX are in far worse shape than the counties in Appalachia in many, many ways. Also the MS Delta counties in ARK/MS/LA are in a very similar economic situation as the counties in central appalachia.
To be blunt, Appalachia gets more 'press' on that because it's (1) much closer to the major elite centers of the country in DC, NYC and Boston and (2) the people affected are primarily white which is a curiosity.
Wealthy people have no difficulty imagining poor Mexicans (such as in the RGV) or poor black people (as in the Deep South), and people mostly just feel bad for them, but poor white people trigger a mix of pity and revulsion. As in 'those people should be doing better, what's wrong with them? why are the way they are?'.
To be blunt, Appalachia gets more 'press' on that because it's (1) much closer to the major elite centers of the country in DC, NYC and Boston and (2) the people affected are primarily white which is a curiosity.
Wealthy people have no difficulty imagining poor Mexicans (such as in the RGV) or poor black people (as in the Deep South), and people mostly just feel bad for them, but poor white people trigger a mix of pity and revulsion. As in 'those people should be doing better, what's wrong with them? why are the way they are?'.
Good post. This goes all the way back to the "local color" period of Appalachian reporting. You know, the stories of some city guy who rides a train as far as it takes him, then enters "the hills" where Elizabethan accents, Scots-Irish social patterns, subsistence living, and other 1/2 mythical stories can be reported back to the outside world.
Good post. This goes all the way back to the "local color" period of Appalachian reporting. You know, the stories of some city guy who rides a train as far as it takes him, then enters "the hills" where Elizabethan accents, Scots-Irish social patterns, subsistence living, and other 1/2 mythical stories can be reported back to the outside world.
I cannot count the number of people I have encountered in the Dayton/Cincinnati area...literally a two to three hours drive from West Virginia...who literally believe things like cousin/sibling relations and marriage are socially acceptable, that people in West Virginia lack things like supermarkets, malls, department stores, access to basic info about the world etc etc
I love bringing out-of-state friends and family to WV, showing them around, them watching them realize the media stereotypes they’ve heard their entire lives are either completely untrue, or maybe rooted in some truth, but vastly exaggerated.
I’ve said this before on other threads, but I’ve never once hosted someone in WV and heard them say “yup, this is exactly what I pictured”. Every single person will say things like:
“Wow, I never knew xyz existed here”
“WV has so much more than I expected”
“I’ve never been somewhere with people this friendly before”
“I can’t believe I’ve overlooked this place”
“Why do I always here negative things about this place, there is so much going on”
“I want to live here” <-I’m actively recruiting multiple people who can’t wait to move here, all inspired just by a couple weekend visits.
I don’t mean this to toot my own horn, but I have found over and over again that once you get people physically here, their pre-conceived expectations (mostly based around media stereotypes) completely shift.
The most negative, degrading things I’ve heard are people who have never even been here. I know that because it’s the first thing I ask when someone criticizes me when I say I’m from WV. “How much time have you spent in WV?” The answer is almost always none, then they share some story they heard growing up, Deliverance or Wrong Turn (neither of which were filmed here) or some other movie/TV show.
Truly, the only way to counteract the negative press is to get people here and share all of the good we have to offer. WV’ians tend to be our own worst critics too, but that’s an entirely different discussion.
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