https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-race-and-ethnicity-financial-markets-ohio-99c9310e7a43c4a4a77d5a9ea1465f63
It’s a common view in the little towns that speckle the Appalachian foothills of southeast Ohio, where the pandemic has barely been felt. Coronavirus deaths and protests for racial justice — events that have defined 2020 nationwide — are mostly just images on TV from a distant America. These fears reflect a desolate worldview: People who a generation ago believed in the president’s promises to change their region forever now have a deep distrust of Washington - and a defiant sense that they are on their own.We came to this part of Ohio because it’s where President Lyndon Johnson decades ago first mentioned the Great Society, perhaps the most audacious federal push to remake America since World War II.
“We must abolish human poverty,” Johnson proclaimed, foreshadowing a torrent of federal programs that would eventually include Medicare, Head Start preschool, environmental laws and a push for equal justice. “I fear our country’s not far from collapse,” he said. “We’ve taken it and taken it. And there’s going to be a lot of people that just ain’t taking it no more.”“You’re just sitting here minding your own business, and things start crumbling all around you,” he said, shaking his head. Only God knows, he said, when America will return to normal: “And I sometimes think we’ve got Him scratching His head because this is a bunch of craziness.
Yet it’s impossible to paint a picture of this swath of Appalachia without describing its deep and pervasive poverty. While COVID-19 itself hasn’t hit hard yet, its economic impact is further squeezing a region that can barely afford it. The poverty is visible in the houses near collapse, the trailer homes fixed with duct tape, the buildings consumed by vines. These not-quite ghost towns were once thriving coal communities, now slowly dying decade after decade, leaving behind streams that still run a putrid orange from the drainage of old mines.
“I’ve had this problem with jobs - like authority,” said Lamm, who has been largely on her own since 14 and saw her father, brother and the father of her children succumb to heroin addiction.
I guess Appalachian poverty porn never goes out of style 🙄 LBJ was the last Dem to care. That’s why they gave up hope and turned red. OH, KY, WV are some of the best of America. They see the America on the tv and they don’t want that bs in their towns.
Mr. Sullivan, I read your article with serious attention as my mother was born and raised in one of the small un-named towns (Hemlock, Drakes, and Buckingham) between Shawnee and Corning. She was born in 1914 during the height of their prosperity based on coal and the railroads.1
“I think they want to take our freedoms,” Nogrady says, a baseball hat turned backward on her head. “I believe the government wants to get us all microchipped.” Well done.
I grew up in Appalachia VA. If we didn’t want to be poor and stupid our entire lives, we moved.
Might be selling Nelsonville a tad short.
Umm.... just clarify for you Appalachia is not fucking Ohio. It is the MidWest. The geographical ignorance is astounding and insulting. Is this an article from a high school news paper? If you got paid to write this article, the only decent thing to do is give the money back.
leave em be
Just once, could we do one of these “real American” pieces about something other than white people in Ohio? We get it, we’ve heard from them. How about African American communities in the Deep South or Hispanic border towns? So many untold stories.
Kind of like inner-city ghettos but with different scenery.
Another poverty tour of Appalachia?
have you or any other mainstream media outlet ever visited the midwest and even made an attempt to enjoy it without solely seeking out a dark, despairing view, hearing The New Yorker talk about Kansas, my home, is laughable. they would drive out of town and say hm sure is empty.
They cling to their guns and religion?
Seems legit. I know hundreds, if not thousands of people just like this in the Uplands of Pennsylvania.
But their not there bcs they're white-tragic.
Yessssss it's been a while since we've seen an infantilizing article blaming the rest of the civilized world for their shitty behavior prioritizing voting for bigotry over their well-being Opening line is a covid-denier lol
Appalachia is too smart to fall for all the nonsense.
Ahh pill poppers, welfare lifers, and their conspiracy theories
They are uninformed because they are constantly watching Fox News propaganda.
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