Journal #2

"Having spent virtually my entire life in West Virginia, I can say with some authority that the strange, woebegone place called Appalachia and the hillbillies who inhabit it are a myth -- one devised a century ago to justify outsiders' condescension and exploitation."

I chose those quote because I agree whole-heartedly that most thoughts my outsiders are based on exaggerations and lack of experience with what people are really like from this region. You can go to any state or region and find people just like the ones perceived only in Appalachian regions. The stereotypes and opinions lead you to believe that "hillbillies" only exist in this area and that they are to be treated as lesser because of those stereotypes and opinions which are based on misconceptions, lack of knowledge and lack of experience. I have traveled this country and the world abroad and no one seems to think I have some distinct quality of someone from this region only because their knowledge is based on what the world presents to them. I hope eventually people will realize that the people from this region are much more like the rest of the world than the way they are viewed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syUwFmYeSVw

Source
O'Brien, J. (2003, May 10). Tall tales of appalachia. . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/10/opinion/tall-tales-of-appalachia.html


ABC news. (Photographer). (2009). A hidden america: Children of the mountains. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syUwFmYeSVw