For people who live in the really impoverished parts of Appalachia, the norm is to not go to college, to do labor intensive, dangerous jobs or end up selling drugs, living with 8 or 10 or 12 people in one tiny house. They grow up with this, expect this, and don't dare to dream about being more or trying to get out because it will only lead to dissapointment.
I saw a video about Appalachia and the problems they are facing there. In the video there was a segment that followed a highschool senior. He did dare to dream about getting out. He lived in his truck so he could get away from his backwoods family, he tried hard in school and football so that he could get a scholarship and get a higher education. He didn't want to end up like the rest of his family, stuck in a tiny house with too many people, doing a difficult job for not enough pay. He did get a scholarship and was able to go to college, but ended up having to drop out because he couldn't keep up with the rest of his classmates socially. he tried to evade the Appalachian trap, but he got caught up in it anyway. The saddest part about his story, to me, is that he did everything he could to get away, but once he did get away, he succumbed to easily and ended up right back where he didn't want to be.
There was another part of the video that talked about how it isn't strange to see a middle aged person in Appalachia with missing teeth. I thought this was the most absurd thing in the whole video. If you were to walk through the halls of my highschool, you would see row upon row of straight, white, shiny teeth. I don't think that there is a single person in the school who is noticeably missing teeth. What is making the Appalachian folks lose their teeth is all of the soda that they drink, Mt. Dew in particular. They drink so much of it because it is cheap, and with not very much money, it is easier to buy Mt. Dew then worry about not having enough money for something else. They showed footage of Mt. Dew being put in sippy cups for little children. Little children! They drink so much soda, and then don't have proper health and dental care, so it's not really all that surprising that they have this problem.
Over all, it is just disheartening to know that places exist here in the United States, and everywhere for that matter, that are so impoverished while there are other places that are just rolling around in the excess of wealth that they have. The huge gap that has occured in the wealth of this nation is ridiculous, frankly it's just plain unfair. If we were to distribute the wealth more evenly, a lot of these impoverished societies could be helped, more opportuinites could be given to help the children in these situations because they are the ones that are going to suffer without our help.
We live in a nation with so many powerful, prestigious, wealthy people, and none of them are doing anything to help the rest of us. Tell me, how is that right?
it's not. but it is so.
ReplyDeleteI have the same empathy for this area, having grown up in a great family situation it still shocks me that this is how some people in the USA live. I lived in Appalachia for 4 1/2 years with my first husband and was surprised at how people have been forgotten and in essence have given up. This country's wealth distribution is a complete joke, I have learned that your core upbringing is usually what we all fall back on as normal. They fear stepping out and making better because that is not how they were raised and what if they fail and end up alone. Very sad situation, my ex in-laws are somewhat like this although they have learned that they must work in order to survive.
ReplyDeleteYou saw a video and so you think you know everything about us. If I watched Jersey Shore, does that mean I know what it's really like to be from New Jersey?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry if this post upset you. I don't believe I claimed to know everything about your situation but I'm sorry that I offended you. I had to make this blog post and this entire blog as part of my sociology class last year, so most of my posts were made half-assed at the last minute. Don't take what I say too seriously because although this is on the internet for the whole world to see, it was just a class assignment.
DeleteNo one really knows until they have lived it,I grew up in a cotton mill town in Georgia and after high school i ended up in the cotton mill where i made a living for my family and worked hard to move up and i did i later at the age of 50 went to college and went to work for a big communication company it can be done you just have to want to.
ReplyDeleteby the way, you really should give credit to the photographer who took these pictures. It is not fair just to rip them off and not even give the artist credit, just saying
ReplyDeleteTeeth are over rated.....
ReplyDeleteWealth distribution is disgusting. I work too hard for my money to have someone tell me where to spend it. I'm not wealthy but I give my money and time to help those who need it. It is my choice. It is part of the freedom we enjoy in a democracy. What are you doing to close the gap?
ReplyDeleteI guess it's a good thing that you're learning this now, but your sense of surprise about this, and the simplistic, wrought-with-stereotype, description of a huge, diverse, group of people, is just shocking to me. Our schools really need to do better, even the ones in privileged communities.
ReplyDelete