Help Me Do My Homework?
I have been given a writing assignment by my friend Jason Keeling at A Better West Virginia. OK, maybe it’s not an assignment. It’s more like we’re on a mission.
Eh. He’s wrong and had a moment of stupidity. I can get over it, we all make mistakes.
Our mission is to try to turn the typical stereotypes of
What ARE the stereotypes of
This is where I need your help. Excluding what you’ve been told about this state, what do you think of when you picture
Maybe it’s not really bad. I’m thinking of the people I know from
If you DO think poorly of us, go on and have your say, we don’t really mind. And if you have a nice idea of what a West Virginian is, would you mind sharing it and letting me use bits of your comments in a post on Friday for West Virginia Day?
I’d just like to hear what you think of when you picture a random West Virginian, based on what you know from your own experience. Maybe we’d be surprised about what our stereotype even is, or maybe we have a lot of work to do. I’m begging for comments this time, please help!!
Thank you for your time!
June 16th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
As a West Coaster, unfortunately my view of WV happens to be you!
That’s it. Just you.
So I think all WV people must be honest sweet, and really really nice.
Am I wrong?
June 16th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Okay, I know these aren’t really true, but here’s a few I’ve heard:
No indoor plumbing
Tens of stray dogs living under your porch
No phones (not sure how you setup this site using Morse code)
Legal (and common to marry your cousins)
Sandwiched between North and South Virginia
Go down the wrong street, end up on the set of Deliverance
But hey, my dad was born there (and you live there) so it can’t be all bad!
June 16th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I feel embarrassed to be honest because most of us on the West Coast know nothing about West Virginia and the stereotypes we think we know are so very wrong. Prior to the last year, what came to mind when I thought of West Virginia was hillbillies and coal miners. That’s it.
In the last year, I have come to know YOU and I have seen beautiful pictures of your state. I also have learned that there are some pretty famous people from West Virginia. I have learned how wrong the stereotypes are! I now view West Virginia as a beautiful place that I hope to visit one day. And I have learned that West Virginia has a lot of people who have great hearts and who desire to help others (I learned that from your blog!).
Maybe West Virginia is one of the most misunderstood states in the country?!?! I thinking that is probably true!
June 16th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Always thought of WV as a beautiful state. As I have not been through WV in some 20-30 years now my memories of it are a little faded. I just fondly remember the beauty of it and I always listened to the Wheeling WV Jamboree on my AM radio when I could get it on a good night. I don’t have anything bad to say about the state at all. I did think it was a state that had fiscal problems with the coal mining industries but that’s all I remember about it. I hope my humble opinion helps. Good luck with your poll. BH in NJ
June 16th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Well I would be dishonest if I bit my tongue and said I didn’t have a preconceived opinion of West Virginia. I think my perception of WV (excluding you and your family of course and the birth of Mr. Turner’s family), my thoughts immediately run too, someone with a lack of education, no teeth, trailers and farm animals.
And of course the Confederate flag a waving………. did I forget overalls
Sorry…… Love ya
June 16th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Sarah;
Coal Mining
Homer Hickam
Coal Mining
People talkin’ country
The crushing legal question; After the divorce are we still brother and sister?
The rumour is that its a beautiful states, but I’ve never been there and I’m from Pennsylvania. I’m embarassed.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Yep…Dez added very accurately to my thoughts. I had failed to mention the lack of teeth, trailers, and education. Oh, wait…I think a lack of shoes too. Aren’t all hillbillies shoeless? Ya’ll walk around barefoot all the time, right?
June 16th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Wow! A lot of these perceptions are the same ones I hear for Georgia. We really do have all our teeth, the streets are paved, and most of us are not barefoot and pregnant.
My perceptions of West Virginia are formed by the movies and coal mine disasters. Even after knowing someone from West Virginia for many years, I don’t know anything more. Rosalee is a coal miner’s daughter, loves NASCAR, country music and beer. I have affirmed she has all her teeth and is not pregnant.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Sarah-
Unfortunately for us natives, it seems the people that are shown on the news interviews almost always portray what I think of as the stereotypical West Virginian - teeth missing, hick accent, seemingly uneducated, poor grammar, overweight, dirty, and ill-fitting clothes.
I believe you could find the same people experiencing the same hardships in every state we border. For some reason, maybe because we’re the “little guy” people tend to make fun of us more than other states.
We need to spotlight the positive things about our state, like a low-crime rate and beautiful scenery. I think what “A Better West Virginia” is doing is an admirable goal.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
First, someone should name Sarah the new Ambassador of West Virginia.
I know some people hear “West Virginia” and think:
Coal Miners, and “Coal Miner’s Daughter” (even though that was set in Kentucky)
Dueling Banjo’s from “Deliverance” (even though that was Georgia)
Hillbillies
Interbreeding
Uneducated
It’s all sort of silly if you ask me. I have lots of family in Tennessee and they ARE hillbillies — and they are some of the most wonderful people you’d ever meet. Much of the “Deep South” has a bad image in lots of folks mind. Curious, as I never considered WV was really “deep south”.
WV is *stunningly* beautiful country. The few people I’ve met from there are real and down to earth. And all of them had a full set of teeth.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I can’t seem to shake the mental image of a really dirty coal miner driving a slightly older model pickup truck, with slightly oversized tires (not the really big ones) and a gun rack. He would be coming home from work (he probably worked 14 hours) with soot all over his face and really looking forward to throwing his son over his head when the boy ran to meet him at the door, then melting into his recliner for a nap. The fabric on the recliner would be from the late 70’s and broken in just as he likes it, not because he can’t afford the new leather, but because leather gets sticky, and he likes his recliner. hmmm……..I could go on and on, but the essence is people who work hard, like what they like and could care less about today’s fashions or what the outside world thinks of them, and holds their family in the highest regard……..especially if their sister is cute, hahahahaa!! (OK, that last part was a joke)
June 16th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Oh, then there is John Denver….
Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River….
Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze.
Country Roads, take me home…………
Well, you know the song…. And now it’ll be stuck in my head for the rest of the day!
June 16th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Sarah, I’ve done some kick a$$ white water rafting in West Virginia, though I have to say I had to go through some questionable areas to get there. But what I think of when I think of WV (besides the awesome white water) is the beautiful country, the mountains, and the people are super friendly. Yes, even in Kentucky, we are trained to think of dirt floors and uneducated people, but I truely think that it’s to help us feel better because you know us Kentuckian’s keep their women barefoot and pregnant.
In my travels through WV I have run across some amazing people, even just when I was lost and asking for directions. So, I know the rumors aren’t true
June 16th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Interesting that you ask this question at this time. I have been teaching a class this week about Appalachia. Your question today was my question as I began the class. I also asked the Twitterverse about it today. From the class I got lots of poverty (trailers, charity, broken down cars). From the Twitterverse I got lots of idealistic stuff (beauty, mountains, serenity, etc). My goal is that they see all of it in a unified view as these are all part of Appalachia. They’re also coming to the idea that some negative characteristics of Appalachia are indeed markers of poverty in other areas as well. I’m hoping that by the end of the class they can have an honest view of the problems of Appalachia while appreciating the items that make it distinct and fascinating.
June 16th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Ok… This is hard, because you have done a great job in changing what I thought of WV…… You do a great job representing your state and changing a lot of opinions/stereotypes I’d bet!
No teeth, ragged and shaggy dress, dirty, pig tails like Pippi Longstocking, freckles, pick up trucks, trailer parks, jeans (mostly cut off), land and nice views.
Hope that helps
I know I was all wrong, that quickly changed after I met you! (even virtually)
June 18th, 2008 at 10:34 am
In Ireland, WV was only known for a mention in the Country Roads song. I think some good was done with the Tad Hamilton and October Sky movies, though perhaps that was reversed by Wrong Turn and its sequel.
My current perspective… I admire what you & Jason are trying to do, but I work as a parking booth attendant. I encounter willful ignorance and racism. And I see the poverty that cripples this state. It’s going to be difficult to overturn a hundred of years of history, of a land raped by coal mining and a people taken advantage of by corrupt politicians.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:27 am
To me, I tend to think of the stereotype of being years behind everyone else as the plague that hurts us the most. No one seems to recognize that we aren’t hillbillies living in caves but instead are doing our best to go forward and keep up with the rest of the nation. We even have an idea first every now and then!! WV truly is moving forward and working to better life for our people.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Unfortunately, many of our stereotypes ARE true. For instance, we have less teeth than any other state according to a news report 2 years ago. We have replaced the shoeless West Virginian with some of the fattest people in the nation stereotype. (Not a good trade-off)
As far as our “good people”. Yes, in one way they are the best, but in another, the worst. I was born and raised here. My family goes back many generations from Webster County. I’ve studied “my people” all of my life, and I’ve found that they will smile at your face and stab you in the back, especially when it comes to politics. South of 60, my good people are offended if they aren’t offered something for their vote. We continue to vote into office the very same people who help keep us from progress, and his process has helped to keep WV dead last.
I used to be embarrassed by national stereotypes of our state, but not anymore, because behind every troubling joke, there’s a lot of truth.