Diane Sawyer report on Appalachian Poverty (Union, Cumberland: lease, taxes, safety)

[nawog]

Originally Posted by Davart

Oh please I heard them fine without them. I saw no subtitles for Diane.

No offense, but I am from Bardstown KY and moved away 40 years ago. I have trouble understanding my brothers when I return. I needed those subtitles. KY twang is different dialect!

[Miss Blue]

Originally Posted by marmac

"the many ,many,volunteers who deliver the food to the ones who have no transportation and no food stamps left"--------

Where were those--------" many ,many, volunteers "---- when the guy and woman walked 8 miles each way to the GED classes ?

Where were those--------"many,many, volunteers"-------when those innocent kids stated they had no food after the food stamps ran out ?

Where were those-----" many,many, volunteers"----when the star high school football player was living in his pick up ?

Why didn't the woman tell the welfare worker she had no way to get to school? I didn't say that we volunteers were mind readers..

Why didn't the parents get in touch with someone of the churches, food banks?

Why didn't the kid tell his school counselor he had no place to live?

Volunteers are just common ordinary people who have a passion for their brothers and sisters, neighbors, etc...who help the ones who either get in touch or who they hear about from word of mouth..We do not have super powers of reading minds or seeing around the bend

It has been nice talking with you Marmac, but I believe we have reached the brick wall now..Happy Valentines day to you

[nawog]

I personally think Sawyer did a great job and left me feeling compassionate for not only the children but the parents. I have worked with homeless, domestic violence perpetrators, inmates, people on Indian reservations, seniors in inner cities, addicts. I see the same attitudes and concerns and poverty. It doesn't matter where you are. You need help from outsiders, money, and resources and education to get out of the cycle. Some think the adults are already lost and one must concentrate only on helping the children but I disagree. The children are greatly influenced by their parents and need that emotional connection.

I think it only happens by helping one person at a time, one GED obtained at a time, getting one adult back into the workforce at a time. Unless there are jobs to go to, I can't imagine anything can change.

[censusdata]

I didn't watch the program because NASCAR's first race of the season (Craftsman Truck Series @ Daytona) was on at the season.

I can image the things on it: people walking 20 miles to work at McDonalds, children going to school without shoes on, etc. All of which is complete bull. Eastern KY is bad but nowhere as bad as the New York stations like to think it is. Given the very low cost of living the poverty figures are exaggerated as well

I'd like to see Bell / Harlan/ Letcher counties develop more of a tourism industry as they have some of the most beautiful mountain country anywhere in this nation. Black Mountain is quite a bit cooler year round (due to high elevation - 4100 feet) and would be a great place for a ski resort.

[nightrider127]

Originally Posted by missymomof3

By the way we are loyal and proud of our state, not "over sensitive"

We need a clapping smilie.

[nawog]

Why are so many posters in the defensive mode instead of commenting on the report and discussing the issues of the Sawyer report? Northerners and people from outside KY don't think all of KY is backward because poverty exists in Appalachia. But the report is documented. The kids are real. Something needs to be done. It has existed for generations and isn't going away.

[dixiegirl7]

Originally Posted by marmac

I agree, rnc76

I was amazed at how thinskinned and defensive many of the Kentucky posters were.
Many stated they refused to watch it.

DENIAL of a severe problem has never made that problem go away.

Neither has sensatiionalizing a problem for the sole reason of tv ratings. No one is denying those problems exist, but they exist in many states in this country. The people of that area deserve to be respected, not to be made a spectacle of for the viewing pleasure of the rest of the nation.

[Blue Grass Fever]

Originally Posted by Miss Blue

Btw, my 22 year old grandson works for a large coal company..He makes good money, has great (free) health insurance, 401 k, retirement, guaranteed bonuses, uniform, shoes and gasoline allowances..He also has the opportunity for help with college tuition..Not bad in this declining economy..Coal miners are not dumb, and they are safety conscious and look out for each other.. Did you notice the rock dust in that mine? There are very stringent dust control laws to help prevent Pneumoconeosis (black lung), and regular chest x-rays are provided..

Does your grandson work in a union coal mine? If so, he's lucky....

The trend nowadays, especially around Cumberland, Benham and Lynch is coal companies are starting "sister co.'s" and paying coal miners 14 dollars an hour with little or no benefits and a high turn-over rate to boot doesn't help with safety matters either.

[nawog]

Originally Posted by dixiegirl7

Neither has sensatiionalizing a problem for the sole reason of tv ratings. No one is denying those problems exist, but they exist in many states in this country. The people of that area deserve to be respected, not to be made a spectacle of for the viewing pleasure of the rest of the nation.

I certainly didn't consider it pleasurable to watch someone's dire poverty and suffering. Neither did these people seem like a spectacle. They seemed to be courageous, doing the best with what they had.

Poverty could have been portrayed in LA, CA, NY, SD, anywhere. Sawyer choose to spotlight an area that is unknown to most Americans outside of KY.

[Spotted1]

I abhor these types of "reports". Does Appalachia have a problem with drugs, poverty, etc? Yes. Guess what? So does the rest of the country. And just like the rest of the country rural eastern Kentucky has got out fair share of booming towns, sprawling suburbs, and yeah - even Starbucks. You don't see stories featuring the upsides like that because it doesn't draw in viewers.

I'll tell you one thing, though. Some of those parents in the "report" needed their heads knocked off. Pepsi in a sippy cup! I've got two children, and there was once a time when we lived on $180 a week unemployment compensation after my husband lost a job. We drew food stamps (and MUCH less than what that family in the video did. I can't fathom a $600 a month grocery budget!) , and not once - not ONCE in 5 years of being a mother - have I ever needed to put pop in a toddler's bottle or sippy. There's the need for a little responsibility on these parents' parts. A case of pop is $8. You can get 2.5 gallons of 2% milk (Which is what a 2 year old SHOULD be drinking) for the cost of one case of pop. A bag of potato chips is $3. You know what else you can get for $3? A head of lettuce, a cucumber, and a bottle of salad dressing. Junk food is FAR more expensive than health food.