its not just in the mountains.

Huey

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Mar 6, 2012
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This post’s title is a rhetorical question. Of course poor whites exist, but not that you’d know so if you’re informed by the mainstream media. While Ronald Reagan was successful in painting urban black women as “welfare queens”, whites receive nearly 2/3 of all welfare benefits administered by the federal government. Still, Shaniqua Jackson, not Samantha McMullen, is the face of American poverty.
Last Friday’s edition of ABC’s 20/20 tried to shed some light on the woes of dirt poor rural white Americans, a group of folks so routinely (and IMHO, intentionally) ignored they’re damn near considered invisible. And while A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains is a fairly nuanced portrait of life in the hills of Kentucky, it both informs and pisses off at the same time.
The promo trailer:

A young girl discusses her Mom’s drug problem.

Notice how Whoopi is literally biting her tongue as Sawyer pitches her special on The View. Peep her under the table remark about the tooth-rot. I love me some Whoopi, mane.

I’ll admit, despite having grown up in an area with lots of impoverished white folks, even I didn’t realize the depths of the issues in Appalachia. Children out-of-wedlock, awful graduation rates, incest, generational curses, excessive prescription drug abuse, abysmal heath statistics, rampant crime, broken families, and joblessness abound. If you closed your eyes, you’d swear they were talking about Detroit. It’s all packaged together in a pretty intriguing (albeit depressing) 60 minutes.
The thing that sorta pisses you off is how the one hour story is told. ABC’s Diane Sawyer, a Kentuckian (from Louisville, not the hills) herself, tells a well-rendered story of the invisible residents of her homestate with the sort of compassion and restraint seldom afforded when the media depicts poor minorities.
The drug problem is blamed on pharmaceutical companies who systematically dump OxyContin in the mountains as a catch-all pain reliever.[1] The declining coal industry leads to unemployment. Poorly-funded schools lead to high school dropouts. An epidemic of toothrot is blamed on Moutain Dew addiction.[2] A football player who feels alienated and leaves behind a college scholarship (after just 8 weeks) does so because of the pressures from back home, not because he found himself suddenly overmatched on the gridiron. These issues all accumulate and take their toll on the ties that bind the families featured. It’s almost as if there’s a logical explanation for why everyone’s so f*cked the f*ck up. They’re victims of circumstance and products of their environment. Personal responsibility isn’t even discussed. The word “bootstraps” isn’t uttered a single time.
Contrast this with the way poor blacks are blamed for everything. Pumping drugs into their communities. Leaving their children behind with single moms. Killing each other. Leaching off the government when they should really just get off their lazy black asses and do better. Hell, some folks are even blaming Negroes for the recent mortgage crisis. No, really.

Never mind the fact that merely 6% of all “risky” loans were given to minorities. It sounds so much better to say the gubb’ment was forced at gunpoint to hand these shifty, lazy Negroes keys to a duplex, for fear of otherwise being tabbed as racist. As if the GOP was ever concerned about being accused of racism.[3] Also never mind the fact that the Republican who presided over this nonsense was the main dude claiming that minority home ownership reaching all-time high levels in the mid 2000′s was proof of his commitment to leveling the “soft bigotry of low expectations”. That’s right, when you’re writing revisionist history, you can have it both ways. Those are the rules.
The next portrayal of blacks as “victims of circumstance” I see at the hands of the MSM will be the first. I’m not holding my breath, because that would be pointless. A similar Diane Sawyer expose about poor minorities in Camden, NJ a few years ago was pockmarked with the typical “violent, babypoppin’, lazy gubb’ment leachers” nonsense. And lest anyone get it confused: inner-city poverty is hardly an exclusively black thang. If you’ve been to Fishtown in Philly[4], or any random backstreet from B-More or Beantown, you’ll know exactly what I mean. You can attempt to marginalize it to your liking, but white poverty isn’t just some epidemic confined to a handfulla’ folks up in dem’ dar’ hills. Lets change that tired narrative for once and for all, please.
Just so nobody gets it confused, I’m emphatically not saying black folks don’t need to claim personal responsibility for their own destiny. Of course I agree with that, this blog more or less says so everyday! The problem is, when that very same set of expectations isn’t extended to poor whites, we’ve got a really big disconnect. And I don’t know bout’ ya’ll, but I smell a Grand Hu$tle here.
Question: Did you see ABC’s A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains? Why do you think the MSM portrays poor blacks as shiftless and lazy, yet chooses to completely deny the existence of whites living in even more dire situations?
Watch ABC News 20/20 A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains [ABC.com]
[1] Hmmm, but saying the gubb’ment might could have something to do with the crack epidemic in inner cities is batshit crazy?!?
[2] No, seriously. They more or less blamed toothlessness on the soft drink industry.
[3] Barack The Magic Negro CD’s anyone?
[4] I had the misfortune of taking a couple of wrong turns off I-95 once. That sh*t looked like Beirut with white people. I had no idea this sorta thing even existed before then.:clap2:
 
Yes, there ar definitely a lot of poor white people, and yes, there are a lot of white people on welfare.

This certainly runs contrary to what I hear on this site everyday that the issues the U ha with crime and poverty are because of illegal immigration....!
 
In Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy, Martin Gilens explains that, inconsistent with common belief about American’s attitudes regarding social spending, Americans are dedicated to the welfare state programs that help people out of poverty. While there is greater support for event based social programs rather than “means tested” maintenance programs, the majority of Americans who respond to survey questions express the belief that we should be doing and spending more to help the poor. Divided opinions concern what programs serve that end most efficiently and fairly, and who should receive how much and what kind of help.

Most important to the divergence between attitudes regarding the bulk of the safety net programs and cash welfare are media distortions that portray black Americans as the greatest recipients of cash and cash like welfare, and racial stereotypes that depict them as shiftless people with a looser connection to a work ethic many white Americans feel is uniquely their own. These beliefs about welfare in general and black Americans in particular not only perpetuate suspicions of laziness regarding welfare recipients, but also generate greater barriers to the very participation in the workforce that a large minority of white Americans view as lacking in the black community.

Discrimination deprives minorities, women, and those in the lower economic classes of the opportunity to develop human capital and to use it in the market, keeping poor people in poverty and adding to the generational pressure of their progeny. Even when the economy improves, discrimination keeps poor and minority people in low paid jobs, and prevents them from advancement.

Subjective and changing images of poverty in the US media
The US media started reinforcing racial stereotypes during Civil Rights gains made by black Americans in the 1960s and 1970s that decreased the states ability to discriminate in application of welfare policies, and again during the recession of 1982-1983. After ignoring poverty suffered in black communities throughout US history, the poverty images the media published the 1960's and later in the 1980's disproportionately depicted black faces. However, unlike the positive stories accompanying images of white poverty, black people were overwhelmingly connected to negative news coverage and commentary.
 
...whites receive nearly 2/3 of all welfare benefits administered by the federal government. Still, Shaniqua Jackson, not Samantha McMullen, is the face of American poverty.

I suspect that has to do with the rate of recipients compared to the overall population. Blacks make up about 12-13% of the population but also make up almost 40% of all welfare recipients...or something close to that, the numbers vary slightly.

Of course, that's because everybody is a racist...:eusa_eh:

IMO, the entire argument is bullshit. Even the poorest Americans are rich compared to the rest of the world and when you look at what America's poor own, they're not exactly hurting for modern conveniences. Facts about persons defined as “poor” by the Census Bureau as taken from various government reports:

  • 80 percent of poor households have air conditioning.
  • 92 percent of poor households have a microwave.
  • Nearly three-fourths have a car or truck, and 31 percent have two or more cars or trucks.
  • Nearly two-thirds have cable or satellite TV.
  • Two-thirds have at least one DVD player, and 70 percent have a VCR.
  • Half have a personal computer, and one in seven have two or more computers.
  • More than half of poor families with children have a video game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.
  • 43 percent have Internet access.
  • One-third have a wide-screen plasma or LCD TV.
  • One-fourth have a digital video recorder system, such as a TiVo.

Understanding Poverty in the United States: Poverty USA

I argue all these handouts are not helping anyone of any race. Dependency on government is cruel and debilitating.
 
Even the poorest Americans are rich compared to the rest of the world and when you look at what America's poor own, they're not exactly hurting for modern conveniences.

Yes, that is true, but it is also relative.

Some 12% of Americans live below the poverty line.

In Switzerland it is 6.9%, Canada 9.4% and Holland 10.5%.

Now the poverty line does vary from country to country, but I do think 12% is quite high for a country with as much wealth as the US.

Also, the US has the least distributed wealth of any developed country - so maybe more needs to be done to ensure that 12% work their way out of poverty.
 
Even the poorest Americans are rich compared to the rest of the world and when you look at what America's poor own, they're not exactly hurting for modern conveniences.

Yes, that is true, but it is also relative.

Some 12% of Americans live below the poverty line.

In Switzerland it is 6.9%, Canada 9.4% and Holland 10.5%.

Now the poverty line does vary from country to country, but I do think 12% is quite high for a country with as much wealth as the US.

Also, the US has the least distributed wealth of any developed country - so maybe more needs to be done to ensure that 12% work their way out of poverty.

And the MOST PROGRESSIVE tax rates. So maybe we're doing plenty.

There will always be poor. In America, we've raised the overall wealth so high that even our poor are considered rich, both in terms of income and possessions.

It's the PURSUIT of happiness, not guaranteed happiness.
 
Even the poorest Americans are rich compared to the rest of the world and when you look at what America's poor own, they're not exactly hurting for modern conveniences.

Yes, that is true, but it is also relative.

Some 12% of Americans live below the poverty line.

In Switzerland it is 6.9%, Canada 9.4% and Holland 10.5%.

Now the poverty line does vary from country to country, but I do think 12% is quite high for a country with as much wealth as the US.

Also, the US has the least distributed wealth of any developed country - so maybe more needs to be done to ensure that 12% work their way out of poverty.

And the MOST PROGRESSIVE tax rates. So maybe we're doing plenty.

There will always be poor. In America, we've raised the overall wealth so high that even our poor are considered rich, both in terms of income and possessions.

It's the PURSUIT of happiness, not guaranteed happiness.

Not in the right direction.
The Federal Tax Code and Income Inequality | Center for American Progress
The primary role of the federal tax code is to raise sufficient revenue to pay for government services, benefits, programs, and investments. But so long as the overall federal system is progressive, it also serves to dampen income inequality. Over the past three decades, income inequality has been rising rapidly, and by some measures is now at heights last seen before the Great Depression. University of California economist Emmanuel Saez recently marveled that “The United States is getting accustomed to a completely crazy level of inequality.”
 
And the MOST PROGRESSIVE tax rates.

Really?

Can you prove that?

Yes. According to an OECD report "Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries" (OECD © 2008 - ISBN 9789264044180), America's income taxes were the most progressive of the 24 countries in the sample. This ranking takes account of employee-side payroll tax as well as the federal income tax.

There are many articles out there demonstrating that the US has the most progressive tax system. I like this piece in particular because it also takes into account all the loopholes::

The Increasing Progressivity of U.S. Taxes: And the Shrinking Tax Base | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Congressional Testimony

From the article:

Even aside from the uniquely generous U.S. tax credits, the study found the ratio of taxes paid to income received among the top 10 percent was by far the highest in the U.S. at 1.35, compared with 1.1 for France, 1.07 for Germany, 1.01 for Japan and 1.0 for Sweden.

Bottom line, the US has the most progressive tax system out there. Big picture, we have the top 20% of earners footing the bill for the other 80%.
 
Yes, there ar definitely a lot of poor white people, and yes, there are a lot of white people on welfare.

This certainly runs contrary to what I hear on this site everyday that the issues the U ha with crime and poverty are because of illegal immigration....!

25% of blacks are on welfare
 
Yes, that is true, but it is also relative.

Some 12% of Americans live below the poverty line.

In Switzerland it is 6.9%, Canada 9.4% and Holland 10.5%.

Now the poverty line does vary from country to country, but I do think 12% is quite high for a country with as much wealth as the US.

Also, the US has the least distributed wealth of any developed country - so maybe more needs to be done to ensure that 12% work their way out of poverty.

And the MOST PROGRESSIVE tax rates. So maybe we're doing plenty.

There will always be poor. In America, we've raised the overall wealth so high that even our poor are considered rich, both in terms of income and possessions.

It's the PURSUIT of happiness, not guaranteed happiness.

Not in the right direction.
The Federal Tax Code and Income Inequality | Center for American Progress
The primary role of the federal tax code is to raise sufficient revenue to pay for government services, benefits, programs, and investments. But so long as the overall federal system is progressive, it also serves to dampen income inequality. Over the past three decades, income inequality has been rising rapidly, and by some measures is now at heights last seen before the Great Depression. University of California economist Emmanuel Saez recently marveled that “The United States is getting accustomed to a completely crazy level of inequality.”

What the hell do you care about income and wealth inequality? ESPECIALLY when our lowest earners are rich compared to the rest of the world!

You talk about wealth like it's a fixed pile of cash from which we all must draw. That's nonsense! Just because one man makes a boatload of money does NOT mean someone else made less. Wealth can be created or destroyed. Bill Gates' success did not require others to earn less!

In addition, our wealth "inequity" acts as a driving force for innovation:

Does U.S. Economic Inequality Have a Good Side? | PBS NewsHour | Oct. 26, 2011 | PBS

Consider also the uniquely American concept of "economic mobility". We may have VERY rich people in this country, but IT'S NOT THE SAME PEOPLE year after year. Same is true for our "poor". Some rich lose their wealth while some poor increase their wealth. In America, you have a shot...at least traditionally.

Does Inequality Matter? | Bleeding Heart Libertarians

At the end of the day, one wonders if you're really concerned about the "poor" or just jealous of the rich?
 
And the MOST PROGRESSIVE tax rates. So maybe we're doing plenty.

There will always be poor. In America, we've raised the overall wealth so high that even our poor are considered rich, both in terms of income and possessions.

It's the PURSUIT of happiness, not guaranteed happiness.

Not in the right direction.
The Federal Tax Code and Income Inequality | Center for American Progress
The primary role of the federal tax code is to raise sufficient revenue to pay for government services, benefits, programs, and investments. But so long as the overall federal system is progressive, it also serves to dampen income inequality. Over the past three decades, income inequality has been rising rapidly, and by some measures is now at heights last seen before the Great Depression. University of California economist Emmanuel Saez recently marveled that “The United States is getting accustomed to a completely crazy level of inequality.”

What the hell do you care about income and wealth inequality? ESPECIALLY when our lowest earners are rich compared to the rest of the world!

You talk about wealth like it's a fixed pile of cash from which we all must draw. That's nonsense! Just because one man makes a boatload of money does NOT mean someone else made less. Wealth can be created or destroyed. Bill Gates' success did not require others to earn less!

In addition, our wealth "inequity" acts as a driving force for innovation:

Does U.S. Economic Inequality Have a Good Side? | PBS NewsHour | Oct. 26, 2011 | PBS

Consider also the uniquely American concept of "economic mobility". We may have VERY rich people in this country, but IT'S NOT THE SAME PEOPLE year after year. Same is true for our "poor". Some rich lose their wealth while some poor increase their wealth. In America, you have a shot...at least traditionally.

Does Inequality Matter? | Bleeding Heart Libertarians

At the end of the day, one wonders if you're really concerned about the "poor" or just jealous of the rich?

Yeah, let's consider that.

Class Mobility in the United States | Raj Patel

George Carlin has a fine line about how it’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it. Yet it’s one of the most pervasive myths that America is the place that will reward hard work and application. One of the ironies of the spread of free market fundamentalism is that with the spread of free markets, it has become increasingly difficult to move up (or down) a class. A fine study a few years ago by David Leonhardt and the New York Times looked at class in America over the past three decades. Do click on the link for more, but see below for two graphs that distill the arguments pretty clearly.

Graphic: How Class Works - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/u...er-rungs.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

WASHINGTON — Benjamin Franklin did it. Henry Ford did it. And American life is built on the faith that others can do it, too: rise from humble origins to economic heights. “Movin’ on up,” George Jefferson-style, is not only a sitcom song but a civil religion.

But many researchers have reached a conclusion that turns conventional wisdom on its head: Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in Canada and much of Western Europe. The mobility gap has been widely discussed in academic circles, but a sour season of mass unemployment and street protests has moved the discussion toward center stage.

snip

Liberal commentators have long emphasized class, but the attention on the right is largely new.

“It’s becoming conventional wisdom that the U.S. does not have as much mobility as most other advanced countries,” said Isabel V. Sawhill, an economist at the Brookings Institution. “I don’t think you’ll find too many people who will argue with that.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...ard-mobility/2011/11/09/gIQAegpS6M_story.html

In fact, over the past decade, growing evidence shows pretty conclusively that social mobility has stalled in this country. Last week, Time magazine’s cover asked, “Can You Still Move Up in America?” The answer, citing a series of academic studies was, no; not as much as you could in the past and — most devastatingly — not as much as you can in Europe.

and, finally, where movement DOES take place:

The downward mobility of the US middle class - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

The downward mobility of the US middle class

Berkeley, CA - January's increase in hiring is good news, but it masks a bigger and more disturbing story - the continuing downward mobility of the middle class in the US.

Most of the new jobs being created are in the lower-wage sectors of the economy - hospital orderlies and nursing aides, secretaries and temporary workers, retail and restaurant. Meanwhile, millions of US workers remain in jobs only because they've agreed to cuts in wages and benefits. Others are settling for jobs that pay less than the jobs they've lost. Entry-level manufacturing jobs are paying half what entry-level manufacturing jobs paid just six years ago

The percentage of those in poverty in the US is its highest in two decades, and more of us are impoverished than at any time in the past 50 years. A recent analysis of federal data by the New York Times showed the number of children receiving subsidised lunches rose to 21 million in the last school year, up from 18 million in 2006-2007. Nearly a dozen states experienced increases of 25 per cent or more. Under federal rules, children from families with incomes up to 130 per cent of the poverty line, $29,055 for a family of four, are eligible.
 

What the hell do you care about income and wealth inequality? ESPECIALLY when our lowest earners are rich compared to the rest of the world!

You talk about wealth like it's a fixed pile of cash from which we all must draw. That's nonsense! Just because one man makes a boatload of money does NOT mean someone else made less. Wealth can be created or destroyed. Bill Gates' success did not require others to earn less!

In addition, our wealth "inequity" acts as a driving force for innovation:

Does U.S. Economic Inequality Have a Good Side? | PBS NewsHour | Oct. 26, 2011 | PBS

Consider also the uniquely American concept of "economic mobility". We may have VERY rich people in this country, but IT'S NOT THE SAME PEOPLE year after year. Same is true for our "poor". Some rich lose their wealth while some poor increase their wealth. In America, you have a shot...at least traditionally.

Does Inequality Matter? | Bleeding Heart Libertarians

At the end of the day, one wonders if you're really concerned about the "poor" or just jealous of the rich?

Yeah, let's consider that.

Class Mobility in the United States | Raj Patel



Graphic: How Class Works - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/u...er-rungs.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www



snip



The downward path of upward mobility - The Washington Post



and, finally, where movement DOES take place:

The downward mobility of the US middle class - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

The downward mobility of the US middle class

Berkeley, CA - January's increase in hiring is good news, but it masks a bigger and more disturbing story - the continuing downward mobility of the middle class in the US.

Most of the new jobs being created are in the lower-wage sectors of the economy - hospital orderlies and nursing aides, secretaries and temporary workers, retail and restaurant. Meanwhile, millions of US workers remain in jobs only because they've agreed to cuts in wages and benefits. Others are settling for jobs that pay less than the jobs they've lost. Entry-level manufacturing jobs are paying half what entry-level manufacturing jobs paid just six years ago

The percentage of those in poverty in the US is its highest in two decades, and more of us are impoverished than at any time in the past 50 years. A recent analysis of federal data by the New York Times showed the number of children receiving subsidised lunches rose to 21 million in the last school year, up from 18 million in 2006-2007. Nearly a dozen states experienced increases of 25 per cent or more. Under federal rules, children from families with incomes up to 130 per cent of the poverty line, $29,055 for a family of four, are eligible.

Are you not capable of using your own words? Your links fail to address the concept that wealth is not finite. Try using your own noodle.
 
What the hell do you care about income and wealth inequality? ESPECIALLY when our lowest earners are rich compared to the rest of the world!

You talk about wealth like it's a fixed pile of cash from which we all must draw. That's nonsense! Just because one man makes a boatload of money does NOT mean someone else made less. Wealth can be created or destroyed. Bill Gates' success did not require others to earn less!

In addition, our wealth "inequity" acts as a driving force for innovation:

Does U.S. Economic Inequality Have a Good Side? | PBS NewsHour | Oct. 26, 2011 | PBS

Consider also the uniquely American concept of "economic mobility". We may have VERY rich people in this country, but IT'S NOT THE SAME PEOPLE year after year. Same is true for our "poor". Some rich lose their wealth while some poor increase their wealth. In America, you have a shot...at least traditionally.

Does Inequality Matter? | Bleeding Heart Libertarians

At the end of the day, one wonders if you're really concerned about the "poor" or just jealous of the rich?

Yeah, let's consider that.

Class Mobility in the United States | Raj Patel



Graphic: How Class Works - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/u...er-rungs.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www



snip



The downward path of upward mobility - The Washington Post



and, finally, where movement DOES take place:

The downward mobility of the US middle class - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

The downward mobility of the US middle class



The percentage of those in poverty in the US is its highest in two decades, and more of us are impoverished than at any time in the past 50 years. A recent analysis of federal data by the New York Times showed the number of children receiving subsidised lunches rose to 21 million in the last school year, up from 18 million in 2006-2007. Nearly a dozen states experienced increases of 25 per cent or more. Under federal rules, children from families with incomes up to 130 per cent of the poverty line, $29,055 for a family of four, are eligible.

Are you not capable of using your own words? Your links fail to address the concept that wealth is not finite. Try using your own noodle.

my links addressed
the uniquely American concept of "economic mobility".
and the simple fact that the only measurable MOBILITY of American wealth is DOWN.

:bang3:
 

Are you not capable of using your own words? Your links fail to address the concept that wealth is not finite. Try using your own noodle.

my links addressed
the uniquely American concept of "economic mobility".
and the simple fact that the only measurable MOBILITY of American wealth is DOWN.

:bang3:

Monumental fail there Barbie. OF COURSE, overall economic mobility is trending downward. We're in a frickin' recession. Duh. That doesn't change the fact that we mobility in wealth...further proving that wealth can be created or destroyed.

Now, address if you can, using your grown up words, why you seem to thing wealth is finite.

If you're ready to accept this fact, then why are you bitching about the so called 'wealth gap'?
 
Are you not capable of using your own words? Your links fail to address the concept that wealth is not finite. Try using your own noodle.

my links addressed
the uniquely American concept of "economic mobility".
and the simple fact that the only measurable MOBILITY of American wealth is DOWN.

:bang3:

Monumental fail there Barbie. OF COURSE, overall economic mobility is trending downward. We're in a frickin' recession. Duh. That doesn't change the fact that we mobility in wealth...further proving that wealth can be created or destroyed.

Now, address if you can, using your grown up words, why you seem to thing wealth is finite.

If you're ready to accept this fact, then why are you bitching about the so called 'wealth gap'?

In what have I written are the words you are trying so hard to place in my mouth?
I provided links with quotes to refute your most egregious supposition. You won't address those points, because you are pointless in that regard.

But hey, thanks for playing, and better luck next time.
 
483067_491178697559780_1856323535_n.jpg


perspective.

See, my generation saw both sides of this, and we're old enough to remember.
 
This post’s title is a rhetorical question. Of course poor whites exist, but not that you’d know so if you’re informed by the mainstream media. While Ronald Reagan was successful in painting urban black women as “welfare queens”, whites receive nearly 2/3 of all welfare benefits administered by the federal government. Still, Shaniqua Jackson, not Samantha McMullen, is the face of American poverty.
Last Friday’s edition of ABC’s 20/20 tried to shed some light on the woes of dirt poor rural white Americans, a group of folks so routinely (and IMHO, intentionally) ignored they’re damn near considered invisible. And while A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains is a fairly nuanced portrait of life in the hills of Kentucky, it both informs and pisses off at the same time.
The promo trailer:

A young girl discusses her Mom’s drug problem.

Notice how Whoopi is literally biting her tongue as Sawyer pitches her special on The View. Peep her under the table remark about the tooth-rot. I love me some Whoopi, mane.

I’ll admit, despite having grown up in an area with lots of impoverished white folks, even I didn’t realize the depths of the issues in Appalachia. Children out-of-wedlock, awful graduation rates, incest, generational curses, excessive prescription drug abuse, abysmal heath statistics, rampant crime, broken families, and joblessness abound. If you closed your eyes, you’d swear they were talking about Detroit. It’s all packaged together in a pretty intriguing (albeit depressing) 60 minutes.
The thing that sorta pisses you off is how the one hour story is told. ABC’s Diane Sawyer, a Kentuckian (from Louisville, not the hills) herself, tells a well-rendered story of the invisible residents of her homestate with the sort of compassion and restraint seldom afforded when the media depicts poor minorities.
The drug problem is blamed on pharmaceutical companies who systematically dump OxyContin in the mountains as a catch-all pain reliever.[1] The declining coal industry leads to unemployment. Poorly-funded schools lead to high school dropouts. An epidemic of toothrot is blamed on Moutain Dew addiction.[2] A football player who feels alienated and leaves behind a college scholarship (after just 8 weeks) does so because of the pressures from back home, not because he found himself suddenly overmatched on the gridiron. These issues all accumulate and take their toll on the ties that bind the families featured. It’s almost as if there’s a logical explanation for why everyone’s so f*cked the f*ck up. They’re victims of circumstance and products of their environment. Personal responsibility isn’t even discussed. The word “bootstraps” isn’t uttered a single time.
Contrast this with the way poor blacks are blamed for everything. Pumping drugs into their communities. Leaving their children behind with single moms. Killing each other. Leaching off the government when they should really just get off their lazy black asses and do better. Hell, some folks are even blaming Negroes for the recent mortgage crisis. No, really.

Never mind the fact that merely 6% of all “risky” loans were given to minorities. It sounds so much better to say the gubb’ment was forced at gunpoint to hand these shifty, lazy Negroes keys to a duplex, for fear of otherwise being tabbed as racist. As if the GOP was ever concerned about being accused of racism.[3] Also never mind the fact that the Republican who presided over this nonsense was the main dude claiming that minority home ownership reaching all-time high levels in the mid 2000′s was proof of his commitment to leveling the “soft bigotry of low expectations”. That’s right, when you’re writing revisionist history, you can have it both ways. Those are the rules.
The next portrayal of blacks as “victims of circumstance” I see at the hands of the MSM will be the first. I’m not holding my breath, because that would be pointless. A similar Diane Sawyer expose about poor minorities in Camden, NJ a few years ago was pockmarked with the typical “violent, babypoppin’, lazy gubb’ment leachers” nonsense. And lest anyone get it confused: inner-city poverty is hardly an exclusively black thang. If you’ve been to Fishtown in Philly[4], or any random backstreet from B-More or Beantown, you’ll know exactly what I mean. You can attempt to marginalize it to your liking, but white poverty isn’t just some epidemic confined to a handfulla’ folks up in dem’ dar’ hills. Lets change that tired narrative for once and for all, please.
Just so nobody gets it confused, I’m emphatically not saying black folks don’t need to claim personal responsibility for their own destiny. Of course I agree with that, this blog more or less says so everyday! The problem is, when that very same set of expectations isn’t extended to poor whites, we’ve got a really big disconnect. And I don’t know bout’ ya’ll, but I smell a Grand Hu$tle here.
Question: Did you see ABC’s A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains? Why do you think the MSM portrays poor blacks as shiftless and lazy, yet chooses to completely deny the existence of whites living in even more dire situations?
Watch ABC News 20/20 A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains [ABC.com]
[1] Hmmm, but saying the gubb’ment might could have something to do with the crack epidemic in inner cities is batshit crazy?!?
[2] No, seriously. They more or less blamed toothlessness on the soft drink industry.
[3] Barack The Magic Negro CD’s anyone?
[4] I had the misfortune of taking a couple of wrong turns off I-95 once. That sh*t looked like Beirut with white people. I had no idea this sorta thing even existed before then.:clap2:

If there really are more whites then blacks as is always stated then its natural to assume that many of them would be on welfare and that a larger number would be consistant with their being the majority.
 

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