Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Don't call me your "bud" because that is one thing I definately am not.
You wont be hearing from me again, asshat. This site has a nifty function called ignore and that is where you are going as soon as I click on "Submit Reply".
Definitely*
I, asshat, think you are the prime example of the attitude and education that is going to be the death of the region?
Whoa!!!!! There is no need for name calling from anyone. UKUKUK and Nightrider, please cut the crap. Let's discuss the issues which both of you make excellent points about when you are on track.
The Scots-Irish legacies of the hills and hollows of eastern Kentucky can be a point of pride, but that pride can be critically self-defeating. I grew up in a poor Western Coalfields county during the 1950's & 60's. Yet, mostly because of three men and their wives plus a cast of other educational and business leaders, I was fortunate enough to get a better education than most poor folks.
Prior to the US Civil War, Kentucky was one of the most advanced educational provinces of the entire world. We had several superior colleges including Centre, Transylvania, Georgetown, and what would become the University of Louisville School of Medicine. After the war, of which Kentucky was divided almost in half, the distrust prevented a truly united Kentucky thereafter.
Now, if Kentucky is to ever have a chance at true economic revival, we must find a way to stop the medicade bleeding and divert all that redistribution of wealth back into a truly effective education system.
I'm not being a grammar cop, I'm simply using him, a proud southeastern Kentuckian, as an example of what slips through the cracks in the education system of most southeastern Kentucky towns.
I don't mean any offense to him, though he is quite rude. I simply want to point out that half of the people who graduate the high schools of the area have trouble reading.
I notice when people are stuck in a certain place in their lives, they automatically develop this sorta ignorant pride thing where they latch on to whatever is the "in" thing in the area they're stuck in. In most of southeast KY its stuff like UK basketball, Jesus & stuff like that. Its almost a given.
And "state pride" is fine, to a certain degree. But people like Nightrider who go into name-calling, exclamation points with capital letters defense mode whenever ANYTHING negative is said about their beloved area or state is almost always the sign of someone who probably isnt really all too bright (sorry, Im just being real about it) & are probably one of those people who have accepted their lives as what it is & that they cant change anything about it. So they kinda just roll over, accept it & root root root for them Cats, or Jesus, or whatever, simply because its the norm around them.
And anyways, what exactly has the state of KY itself actually done for you people who are these types of defenders? What have the Cats done for you personally that you feel you have to defend this type of stuff?? Seriously, doesnt it seem kinda stupid if you think about it. If you wanna be proud of something, be proud of the individual you are, or that you're raising your kids the right way, or that you're trying to give them a better life by getting the F up outta there, etc.
Point is, home is where you hang your hat, so knock off the "dumb, loud & proud" routine. You'll never get anywhere that way & you'll sure never make your surroundings better if you cant accept that it has faults. Quit worrying so much about the things that don't mean a hill of beans to you or your loved ones personally & worry about the things that do.
Point is, home is where you hang your hat, so knock off the "dumb, loud & proud" routine. You'll never get anywhere that way & you'll sure never make your surroundings better if you cant accept that it has faults.
KerryB, you made some excellent points. Thank you!!! Now, while I am not trying to discuss the politics of the 2008 POTUS election, IMO, it was exactly what you wrote of that has led us to the worst US Government since Warren Harding.
Whoa!!!!! There is no need for name calling from anyone. UKUKUK and Nightrider, please cut the crap.
You don't have to worry about the Nightrider saying anything to whoever this person is. This site has an ignore feature and the Nightrider knowes how to use it.
We've established that EKY has problems, and for the 1500th time on this forum at that. And yes, as long as its residents can acknowledge that there are problems and they are willing to work with local governments and community organizations to heal the area's wounds, then it will be on the road to recovery.
Furthermore, I don't want our moderator, stx12499, to shut down this thread. He isn't a particularly strict moderator but he puts up with zilch when it comes to name-calling.
Tomo, the current administration is far from bad, one of the better ones we've had. The health care reform will do good things for eastern Kentucky, they need it. Jobs are being made all throughout the "Rust Belt" (which is an area people look down on, much like EKY) and things are slowly getting better. I see it all the time.
Here's what I think would fix EKY, challenge it if you like, but be constructive, not destructive:
Evolve past coal culture. I'm far from a hippie or liberal, honestly. I wanted to cast my vote for Huckabee, even. My point is - mountaintop removal isn't so bad as deep mining, but we'll run out of coal eventually and the entire industry corrupts and screws over the entire region. I say we get a move on for solar, wind, and biomass energy sources.
Improve health care - SO MANY people don't have health insurance or live so far from hospitals it's an inconvenience to have a checkup. There are no healthy eating habits in traditional Appalachian culture, get over fried chicken and pork 'n' beans. Open the region up to new foods and new medical opportunities. I've seen so many sick and dying people who shouldn't have been sick and dying.
Improve education, open minds. - I visited a few larger cities as a kid and knew I wanted to wear a suit one day. While that's not the path I'm headed towards now, as a GIS major, I definitely got my ass in gear for some good 'ol book-learnin'. So many kids think their only destiny is in the mines or peddling drugs... It's ****ing ridiculous. Give them some hope, give the area some educated talent, hire some teachers who will push the children to do great things. With great talent comes people looking for great talent.
Consolidate towns and cities, make them more dense, make them walkable. Give them a downtown, something to attract people.
Conduct non-ATV ecotourism, set up a new standard for development that follows something like Asheville, NC has. Plan more for larger population centers, attract people to that pleasant mountain town with all the amenities PLUS peace and quiet like people so desire. Get rid of the hollows and make something great with what little flat land there is in valleys.
Yeah, it may change the culture of the region, it may change the entire dynamic... But eastern Kentucky, as it is, is unsustainable, and is doomed to fail moreso than it already is unless major changes are done.
Tomo, the current administration is far from bad, one of the better ones we've had. The health care reform will do good things for eastern Kentucky, they need it. Jobs are being made all throughout the "Rust Belt" (which is an area people look down on, much like EKY) and things are slowly getting better. I see it all the time.
Here's what I think would fix EKY, challenge it if you like, but be constructive, not destructive:
Evolve past coal culture. I'm far from a hippie or liberal, honestly. I wanted to cast my vote for Huckabee, even. My point is - mountaintop removal isn't so bad as deep mining, but we'll run out of coal eventually and the entire industry corrupts and screws over the entire region. I say we get a move on for solar, wind, and biomass energy sources.
Improve health care - SO MANY people don't have health insurance or live so far from hospitals it's an inconvenience to have a checkup. There are no healthy eating habits in traditional Appalachian culture, get over fried chicken and pork 'n' beans. Open the region up to new foods and new medical opportunities. I've seen so many sick and dying people who shouldn't have been sick and dying.
Improve education, open minds. - I visited a few larger cities as a kid and knew I wanted to wear a suit one day. While that's not the path I'm headed towards now, as a GIS major, I definitely got my ass in gear for some good 'ol book-learnin'. So many kids think their only destiny is in the mines or peddling drugs... It's ****ing ridiculous. Give them some hope, give the area some educated talent, hire some teachers who will push the children to do great things. With great talent comes people looking for great talent.
Consolidate towns and cities, make them more dense, make them walkable. Give them a downtown, something to attract people.
Conduct non-ATV ecotourism, set up a new standard for development that follows something like Asheville, NC has. Plan more for larger population centers, attract people to that pleasant mountain town with all the amenities PLUS peace and quiet like people so desire. Get rid of the hollows and make something great with what little flat land there is in valleys.
Yeah, it may change the culture of the region, it may change the entire dynamic... But eastern Kentucky, as it is, is unsustainable, and is doomed to fail moreso than it already is unless major changes are done.
UKUKUK, not sure where you are coming from, but every point you made is a "throw money at the problem" solution, when throwing money at the issue is just the opposite of what will fix all of Kentucky and the US's mess.
It's all about attitude. We must realize that there are enough schools, books, and quality of teachers to bring Kentucky to the top as is. The old story of being able to lead a horse to water, but not being able to make them drink is real. We must choose to improve with what we have first, once that occurs, we'll be able to make progress.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
