Diane Sawyer report on Appalachian Poverty (Paintsville: big house, luxury, salary)

[lovethetruth]

Originally Posted by missymomof3

They now have the whole show on, I am going to watch it and give comments after.

Really? On what channel? On ABC here, it is just news, not 20/20, or are you watching it on the internet?

[lovethetruth]

By the way, thanks vec101, for the rep.

[kentuckydad95]

I'm still trying to figure out why Mt. Dew is the drink of choice? I've come to the conclusion that if a person WANTS to work, they will find a job somewhere. That goes for urban and rural poor. And if your area somehow doesn't have a job, pack a duffle bag and hitch to the next town/city. And if the government would give welfare and food stamps to those who are truly unable to work, you would see people get off their a-- pretty quick. Laziness is a worldwide epidemic.

[lovethetruth]

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

I'm still trying to figure out why Mt. Dew is the drink of choice? I've come to the conclusion that if a person WANTS to work, they will find a job somewhere. That goes for urban and rural poor. And if your area somehow doesn't have a job, pack a duffle bag and hitch to the next town/city. .

Kentuckydad95, Eastern Kentucky has the highest Pepsi consumption of anywhere on earth, and probably the same with Mountain Dew, since they are both owned by the same company. There was a time not too long ago when you couldn't even find Coke in some of the stores there, in fact several fast food chains that normally serve Coke, serve Pepsi in Eastern Ky.


As for the second half of your question, alot of people are just so attached to their hometown, that they can't enjoy the thought of leaving. I too used to live in Eastern Ky, and even though my wages were low there, I was happy, and had alot of friends, also I felt a sense of community there that just isn't felt in most places. I wish I had never left in the first place, but I did.

[marmac]

As I stated many times,------you can't eat the scenery
None of that area looked like you could--"live off the land"--by farming, thus one needs a job .

If there aren't enough jobs in an area that pay a liveable wage, the people must re-locate.
This is nothing new to other rural areas of America.

Many people who live and work in cities in different states say they would move back to their hometown immediately if they could find a job in their hometown that earned them a living.

The solution is to stress to adults the importance of education so the children can be equipped to re-locate to areas where they can earn a living and they can support themselves and their families ( not the govt supporting them and their families)

Yes, there are some people in KY ( as Diane Sawyer showed) who have made living off govt checks generation after generation the norm.

If you can't find a job or opportunity where you live, you must re-locate.
That is true if you are an innercity black kid hanging around the street corner or a white kid on a mountain in KY.

Saying you have---------"Appalachia in my blood"--------or saying you have --"the hood in my blood"------is a cop out for not getting educated and becoming self supporting.

[missymomof3]

I watched it on the 20/20 website and until the cycle of drug abuse and alcoholism is broken, it will never end. I think the program was tastefully done myself and I don't think the answers are as easy as just pack up and leave. You have to have money to move, most of those people don't have access to the internet to find a job somewhere else and simply know nothing else. I hope that that show will bring more hope to those people and that those of us ion the more affluent parts of Kentucky step up and do something to help. Maybe there is a way to donate to those wonderful people who own the health clinics?

[lovethetruth]

One thing I realy really want to stress is that not everyone in Eastern Ky is an alcoholic, in fact I would bet that 1/2 to 2/3 of Eastern Ky don't drink at all--not even a drop. I want to dispel that myth right now. Most of the people I knew there did not drink one bit.

[Davart]

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

I'm still trying to figure out why Mt. Dew is the drink of choice? I've come to the conclusion that if a person WANTS to work, they will find a job somewhere. That goes for urban and rural poor. And if your area somehow doesn't have a job, pack a duffle bag and hitch to the next town/city. And if the government would give welfare and food stamps to those who are truly unable to work, you would see people get off their a-- pretty quick. Laziness is a worldwide epidemic.

Likely for the same reason they drink Sun Drop by the gallons here and Ale 8 One up around Lexington it's just the regional choice.

I remember what I was a kid in the mountains Mountain Dew use a hillbilly to advertise and everyone drink Mountain Dew or Dr Pepper. It's all about marketing.

[lovethetruth]

Originally Posted by marmac

As I stated many times,------you can't eat the scenery
None of that area looked like you could--"live off the land"--by farming, thus one needs a job .

If there aren't enough jobs in an area that pay a liveable wage, the people must re-locate.
This is nothing new to other rural areas of America.

Many people who live and work in cities in different states say they would move back to their hometown immediately if they could find a job in their hometown that earned them a living.

The solution is to stress to adults the importance of education so the children can be equipped to re-locate to areas where they can earn a living and they can support themselves and their families ( not the govt supporting them and their families)

Yes, there are some people in KY ( as Diane Sawyer showed) who have made living off govt checks generation after generation the norm.

If you can't find a job or opportunity where you live, you must re-locate.
That is true if you are an innercity black kid hanging around the street corner or a white kid on a mountain in KY.

Saying you have---------"Appalachia in my blood"--------or saying you have --"the hood in my blood"------is a cop out for not getting educated and becoming self supporting.

You are right, the scenery may be beautiful, but scenery don't pay the bills.

I think it is much more deeper than scenery though, it is about a sense of place, or a sense of community, most of the people have life long friends there and family, and just can't imagine living apart from them, I imagine some would feel like a fish out of water in the bigger cities, I know I do !

There are a few cities in Ohio where we can go and find a community of our own people, but other than that I can't think of other areas of the country where this may be true.

Here is another thing to think about, the news media portays our economy to be so horrible, and if it as bad as they say, then really where can anyone find a decent job these days?

[rbryant]

Originally Posted by missymomof3

That kind of stuff happens in Louisville. It's not exclusive to the mountains.

Missy, I agree. I grew up and lived 32 years in Louisville. I still have family that live off Bethany Lane in Valley Station. However, I'm not exaggerating when I say that there is a significant problem with pain pills,meth, etc here in SE Kentucky. Bear in mind, I'm not slamming Eastern Kentucky. My dad's side of the family is from Harlan County and this is my home now, just as L'ville was for 30 + years.