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Week 4 Day 1 – Post your own
March 1, 2019 | 1 Comment
Class, Culture, Representation
March 1, 2019 | 1 Comment
Please feel free to post your own question, passage, or comment for discussion here.
March 3, 2019 at 8:46 pm
The article “In Appalachia, Poverty Is In The Eye Of the Holder” was relatable for me through both personal experiences as well as the discussions we have had in class. Reading this article reminded me of the country music clips we watched last week. Although the lyrics were comparable to the rural lifestyle, the relationship surfaced for me through how the lyrics were being said. The songs create a proud, prideful environment. An attitude of we like what we have, and you can screw off. Take your rich, easy lifestyle because we do not want it. That proud attitude reflects the proud people in Appalachia. One member of an Appalachian community said “Because we are educated. We’re poor, but we’re educated, and everyone’s pretty proud.” This was in reference to news and media portraying these people as poor and hopeless. They`re not. They are proud and do not need the upper-class feeling sorry for them.
Reading these articles, as well as some others assigned for this week also reminded me of my own hometown. Where everyone is dressed in Mossy-oak and Carhartt, and drive beat-up pickups. The people I grew up with resent the high class. They are strong, working-class people who take pride in getting up every day to do manual labor. They also possess that isolation attitude where they don`t want or need anyone infiltrating their class. Rich kids do not fit in with them. This has created a high-tension between Middlebury College and the town of Middlebury. A recent example of this is when Middlebury tore down the town`s old high school to make a park. Despite an incredible deal for the town, as Middlebury would pay a generous sum to build the new town center, the vote barely passed. It was not about the money, it was about the high class infiltrating their town. They did not want the rich school taking away parts of their history.