"Why on earth would you go to rural Kentucky?" was the one question I heard time and again prior to my visit to the town of McRoberts. Ostensibly, I was joining a group of about 40 people -- two synagogue delegations led by the not-for-profit organization, The Good People Fund -- that was going to fix up homes and deliver food and other essentials to an impoverished former mining town deep in the Appalachians. But in reality, I didn't have a good answer for why I was going to leave the comfort and familiarity of New York City to fly via Charlotte, North Carolina, then into Charleston, West Virginia and then drive the final three hours deep into the Kentucky mountains. For all of my ambivalence, something compelled me to go.
I had done my homework before the trip and I steeled myself for what I was going to experience: a town of fewer than 900 inhabitants that was struggling to stay afloat since the mining interests left the area about 30 years ago. I learned about the high unemployment rate, the rampant drug use and the general sense of hopelessness that pervaded the community. But I also heard about the efforts of a few people -- outsiders and locals alike -- who banded together in an effort to improve the lot of the town. Could they really make a difference, or was the deck already stacked against them, I wondered.
My real reason for going was because I wanted to see for myself what happens when a town outlives its usefulness to the global economy; to get a better grasp of the true human cost of the decline of American industry. Is it possible that McRoberts is a place where people have become superfluous?
Driving in to Letcher County on highway 119, the first thing that struck me was the beauty of the countryside. Looking up, toward the sky, all I could see were rolling mountains covered with lush green trees in all directions. But down in the valleys, far from the heavens, there's only blight. Dilapidated houses. Broken down cars. A stray gas station. Family Dollar stores. The occasional fast food restaurant. This was it. Rural Kentucky. I was in it.
The first morning, after picking up all the necessary supplies, a group of us began painting the house of a woman who is raising her grandchildren by herself because their parents, her children, are too strung out on drugs to take care of the kids. She's not the only one in this situation. Later that day, the principal of the elementary school told me that many grandparents are raising their grandkids as a generation of parents is lost to drugs. The principal told me of the difficulties in getting some kids to come to school on time or to attend at all. They come from families who don't value education themselves, who don't read with their children, who often can't get up in the morning to make sure that their kids get to school on time. Some kids come to school hungry. Others leave school for the weekend without knowing when they're going to eat again.
The house we were painting looked like it should have been condemned rather than painted. Planks in the porch roof were hanging on for dear life and I truly feared that just scraping the old paint from them would cause them to crash down, bringing the entire house with it. Back porch screens were ripped to shreds and the back yard was strewn with old and rusted toys and furniture; remnants, perhaps, of a once better life.
Some of the volunteers were bewildered upon seeing a large, flat-screen TV inside one of the homes that was being renovated. The implication was clear: if they are so desperate, why do they have such an expensive television? Wouldn't that money be better spent on something more practical? Maybe so, but I can't begrudge anyone who lives in that remote location with so few amenities of modern life for wanting to own a nice TV set. We were lucky to be in McRoberts during the summer; I was told that life becomes harsher during the winter months. Roads become impossible to navigate when covered with ice and snow; a phenomenon that can cause the local schools to close down for days at a time. The kids lose between 20-30 school days a year due to the extreme weather conditions. If a nice TV helps get people through these rough patches, so be it, I concluded.
The woman cried when she saw the (nearly) completed paint job and said, "But there's so much more to do." She's right. A new paint job will not repair the years of neglect from which her home suffers. But it's a start. Maybe when she sees her house now, the woman will smile and be reminded that things can be better. Still, hoping that "good people" will come to the rescue isn't a long term or sustainable solution for her problems or those of the town. The best thing that they can hope for is that the people who run the schools can reach a few of the students and show them that their real salvation is through education.
Drug addiction. Unemployment. A culture that doesn't emphasize learning and achievement. What hope does a young person growing up there have? If they are lucky, they'll have parents who want them to get an education. If they are lucky they'll have a principal who makes sure that the elementary school has enough books for them to read despite the meager budget that is allocated by the state. If they are lucky, they'll stay away from the drugs that continue to ravage generation after generation of young people.
Some wait for a miracle. The mines will reopen. Factories will spring up. Jobs will be more readily available and there will be a future. But those are just dreams. There's not much to save the town or its people except for the people themselves. And sadly, many of them aren't the least bit equipped, able or interested in doing that.
As I drove out of McRoberts after a few days, the answer of what will happen to this town was no clearer to me than it was before I arrived. But there was a profound difference; the people who lived there, so easily derided as a bunch of "dumb hillbillies," became human to me. Just like the rest of us, they wake up every morning and struggle to deal with what life hands them. Their circumstances are more dire than most, perhaps, but their stories deserve to be heard.
Appalachia Service Project: Life-changing, turn-key mission trips
'A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains' - ABC News
AMC's Appalachia Journal - America's Longest Running Journal of ...
What's the use in finishing high school when you look around and know it won't make a difference.
Like any group of abused people a few will escape. But the pride, the survival above all else creates a bond. A bond of survivors. A bond that reminds me of the victim defiantly saying, "Hit me again, my daddy used to beat me worse than that".
Thanks for the insightful article showing a poverty of will, effort, and morals that plagues the lower-income strata of our society. A few passages of your article really resonated:
‘Some of the volunteers were bewildered upon seeing a large, flat-screen TV inside one of the homes that was being renovated.’
Rather than take charge of her life and go out and seek to better her circumstances, she would rather just sit at home, watch TV on here better-than-average TV, & wait for strangers to show up and give her a handout.
‘The woman cried when she saw the (nearly) completed paint job & said, "But there's so much more to do."’
Yes, even after volunteers donated their time & money to help her…she still feels she is entitled to more.
‘Drug addiction. Unemployment. A culture that doesn't emphasize learning & achievement. What hope does a young person growing up there have?’
Outstanding confirmation that these problems are not the fault of the rich, or inequality, but rather due to a poverty of family values & moral backbone. Thanks for making that clear. People have choices in life & those that make bad choices have bad outcomes. Good to see that this social and economic Darwinism is alive and well in Kentucky.
‘Some wait for a miracle.’…or more probably a welfare check.
The key takeaway is that they are passive in their situation instead of trying to better themselves. A Poverty of Will.
Kai
If America continues to embrace Christian fundamentalism in our government policies, if we keep embracing the mantra of trickle down and global economics, if America does not see American society worthy of an exceptional education system, sound domestic business infrastructure, or Americans as worthy of the benefits progressive legislative policy, McRoberts, Kentucky will be the new title of The United States of America, Christian Inc. Educate and equp our populace with information, education, and jobs that offer a living rather than wages that disenfranchise Americans from generational progress. Appalachia is and for the most part has always been a study in the harm caused by corporate malfesiance and Christian fundalmentalism.
The popularity of a war on poverty waned after the 1960s. Deregulation, growing criticism of the welfare state, and an ideological shift to reducing federal aid to impoverished people in the 1980s and 1990s culminated in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, which, as claimed President Bill Clinton, "end[ed] welfare as we know it." The late historian, Prof. Tony Judt, said in reference to the earlier proposed title of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act that "a more Orwellian title would be hard to conceive" and attributed the decline in the popularity of the Great Society as a policy to its success, as fewer people feared hunger, sickness, and ignorance. Additionally, fewer people were concerned with ensuring a minimum standard for all citizens and social liberalism. Nonetheless, the aftermath of the War on Poverty remains in the continued existence of such federal programs as Head Start, Volunteers in Service to America, and Job Corps."
"As part of a sweeping effort to address the growing federal deficit, House leaders have unwisely committed to slash government support of a host of critical programs, and AmeriCorps is chief among them."
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/2/24/americorps-service-president-communities/
Sen Mitch McConnell's state, Kentucky, can lay claim to Four out of the top Five poorest counties in the U.S.
#1 Owsley County KY
#2 Lee County KY
#3 Breathitt County KY
#5 Magoffin County KY
Are there poor people here? Yes. Are there dilapidated houses and broken down cars? Yes. Do the local school systems suck? Yes. Is there an insane drug problem? Yes. But guess what? Our country has overlooked this region since they first found hillbillies living in these mountains...and then they came for the coal. You want to make a difference Brad? Stop insulting these people by talking about the toys scattered around their yards and demand that the coal companies stop poisoning the air and water and demand that the billions of dollars that come out of these mountains, stay in the mountains.
And watch the documentary, "Stranger with a Camera", then come back for a visit.
It seems there is a proliferation of non-profits and some that seem to have found their own unkeep in being associated with them. How can so many non-profits continue to claim the non-profit status and the poverty remain unabatted for half a century.
I recall the book by the acclaimed child psychiatrist, Robert Coles, a professor at Harvard, "Still Hungry In America", 1969, that detailed how the children in Appalachian region suffered from unbelievable poverty. Why is it that a person such as Sen Mitch McConnell can be re-elected repeatedly?
I don't believe Brad Rothschild meant to demean these hollows. However, the people that live there deserve much better. If there was real, widespread opportunity the drug problem could be all but eradicated. I know first hand how resourceful and industrious mountain people can be. I also know how fiercely independent they are. That said, none of those qualities should have to be exclusive on one another in the bid to help them.
And did the independent filmmaker mention anything about Appalshop? An independent media arts center in Letcher County. We've been making documentary films about our region for more than 4 years, and teaching local kids how to do it too. Oh, and we also run one of the most admired community radio stations in the country, WMMT-FM. But painting this region and these people as living in squalor will get more clicks on this jackass article I'm sure.
Take a free tour of the big Toyota plant north of Lexington. Over 7,000, but see how
many are NOT AMERICANS ! Maybe 10-15% or more. Same or worse at other
Japanese, Korean, etc. plants, that Promised US jobs !?!?!
It's obvious they are not giving thousands of jobs to us because we dont demand it !
When IBM or P&G goes into Japan, etc. they tell us virtually all will be Japanese, etc.,
and we often agree as it's a bit cheaper in many cases. But they see this as exporting
their unemployment....and likely keeping US workers from learning too much of their
technology, etc....
In just the states of Ohio and nearby you have literally hundred's of Japanese plants
feeding the big ones, and therefore probably 10-20,000 good jobs that should go
to Americans ! Just in the Midwest.
And like illegals, they send lots of their money "home," so it's not spent here as
most of it would be with Americans. Both parties, particularly the GOP, have
been asleep and weak on this important issue.
Call Congress and your state government. Demand that virtually all of the
jobs go to US !
If this is a one-industry town and the industry has closed down it is time to move elsewhere if you cannot afford living expenses.
Our manufacturers ship factories and jobs overseas and keep their profits there to avoid USA taxes while enjoying the protection of our worldwide "Defense" establishment. This is the most important responsibility of our far flung naval battle groups and army bases, and the manufacturers pay nothing for it. All the while we can't afford yo provide work for the millions of our citizens such as those described by Rothschild.
this story is what it is. Many reading it will NOT feel sympathy.
Let's not resort to pitting poor against poor.
We are all in this together.
p.s. I'm not yelling with caps. Just putting emphasis on specific words.
Unfortunately, the same way blacks have lived with these conditions for generations, people in Central Appalachia have too. And while reading this I thought, "why is it that the reasons for the poor blacks in inner-cities are always talked about, but the reasons for the poor mountain people are never talked about?". And by the way, we're not all while here...there are black folks that came to work in the mines too, raised their families here for generations and then fled like everyone else when the mines shut down.
Oh, and the "free loaders" in these mountains are hated for their dependency on welfare...hated, trust me.
I especially like what you said about, "Here's NYC!" Some people actually believe ALL Blacks are on welfare, because that's all they ever show on the news; that and crime. You know how narrow minded people think. Slanted journalism is inexcusable...
When you are born in poverty to people who do not emphasize a good education or (trying to) get ahead.....you are less likely to do so.
Poor women are more likely to be malnourished during pregnancy.
Poor kids are likely to be nutritionally shortchanged and go to low quality schools.
The environment they live in may be conductive to skipping school, drug abuse, alcoholism, lack of ambition, and settling for low wages.
That is their normal.
Yes, people CAN overcome their backgrounds, but it is not easy and too many do not escape.
I have no easy solutions, but demonizing the poor because they are lazy and worthless doesn't help.
However, the poor make good scapegoats.
They become scapegoats for (some of) the upper classes like banksters and Wall Streeters who do dirty but want the "lazy" poor to be blamed for the country's troubles.
One suggestion though that will go nowhere (because there is money for war but not for poor kids) is making education a priority for low income areas with longer school hours where the kids can do sports, have hobbies, have study and tutor time, and be kept off the streets.
It's really not as difficult as people make it out to be; the problem is trying to continue the "old" paradigm when it is obviously not going to work any more. Start a new one; create your own reality! If you don't have the money to live in "their" world, then create your own world - one that doesn't revolve around money! :)