West Virginia is a joke

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glad to see posters here who are dispelling the stereotype of WV being cruel to blacks and other minorities.
Unfortunately, this is a stereotype being advanced by those with an agenda and those that want to marginalize the wonderful people of WV.
Everyone I have ever met from WV has been polite and kind. And, very concerned about their neighbors and friends.
And, I love the poster who pointed out that their priorities are not about money.
Some DCUM posters should take note.
There are more important things in life.

So, as an interracial couple/family, we wouldn't get rude stares/comments there?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My dad is a West Virginian. It's a beautiful state. I went to WVU and had the time of my life (and have a great career now).

But but but....for many years I've tried to defend it and have finally made peace with the fact that the stereotypes and negative impressions are mostly true. MTV's Buckwild was the last straw for me.

I'm in an interacial marriage. I would love to visit WV as I've heard some parts are truly beautiful, but I fear going there with my family.

*sigh* WV is not a racist place. There are lots of AAs, Hispanics and even Asians in WV.

So, if we went to the Appalachia we wouldn't get stared at, have racist comments thrown at us?

White (non racist) person here: I wouldn't travel to WV if I were not white. They are very racist still. I hear racist phrases all the time that I've never heard in VA/DC.

My daughter and I are white. We were stared at in Appalachia. Why? We were not from there

Next time, smile and say hello to everyone. It is expected, down to the guy at the cash register at the gas station. You need to chitchat about the weather too. Do this with everyone you meet and you will be just fine.

Oh, and never, ever honk. Or drive close to someone's tailgate. Or fail to wave as you pass someone on a two lane road. Rude!

Oh, no one was rude at all. Very nice in fact! We were just not from there and that's noticeable in small towns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glad to see posters here who are dispelling the stereotype of WV being cruel to blacks and other minorities.
Unfortunately, this is a stereotype being advanced by those with an agenda and those that want to marginalize the wonderful people of WV.
Everyone I have ever met from WV has been polite and kind. And, very concerned about their neighbors and friends.
And, I love the poster who pointed out that their priorities are not about money.
Some DCUM posters should take note.
There are more important things in life.

So, as an interracial couple/family, we wouldn't get rude stares/comments there?

PP here from West Virginia. Three of my (very small) high school classmates are in interracial marriages. It's fine.

No one I know would be rude to you. If some jerk is openly rude to you, other people will very likely stand up for you. We don't care for that nonsense in West Virginia. but there are a few bigots there still, I am sure, just like there are everywhere. If you run into one, it isn't being a West Virginian that ruined him. he'd be an asshole anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Oh, you gotta watch The Wild & Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, it will blow your DCUM mind. (The Whites refer to a family)

"I'm the sexy one of the family."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, you gotta watch The Wild & Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, it will blow your DCUM mind. (The Whites refer to a family)

"I'm the sexy one of the family."

What blows my mind is that someone thinks reality television is a good way to learn about West Virginia. They don't make money by filming normal people.

[Anonymous]

That is like saying DC is like the Real Housewives version.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the University, but the state itself. Did you know that 75% of the population is on welfare??? Jesus Christ, its like those people don't even try to get a damn job. If not for Mississippi, WV would be the worst and poorest state in the union.

Source?

[Anonymous]

Lived in WV for a short period a few years ago. I think the most of the stereotypes are true. People there are largely uneducated/ignorant (but not all of them are rude) and places look like dump. A new theater built was advertised like a Disney theme park came to town. Pathetic!
There is no way in hell I would raise my kids in that kind of environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, you gotta watch The Wild & Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, it will blow your DCUM mind. (The Whites refer to a family)

"I'm the sexy one of the family."


What blows my mind is that someone thinks reality television is a good way to learn about West Virginia. They don't make money by filming normal people.

I didn't say it was a good way to learn about West Virginia. The movie could have been any where in the Appalachians. The thread is a great segue to that movie and an excuse to mention it. If someone were to post about people screaming in the drive way at Taco Bell I would have mentioned it. If anyone had said they snorted oxycontin on the back of a public toilet in a bar I would have mentioned the movie. Mention getting married in the floral department of Safeway.....

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The war on coal.

They need to diversify, figure out some other way to create jobs, not just lament days gone by when coal was king. And the irony is that they mostly vote Republican, known for cutting welfare.

For a looooooong time, Democrats ran the state. Joe Manchin, Earl Ray Tomblin, Jay Rockefeller aren't exactly Repubs, even though 2 of them sort of lean that way.

But they usually vote Republican for President, and it's the Federal gov't that doles out a large chunk of the welfare.

WV has been a reliably Democrat state for decades. WV was one of only a handful of states captured by Jimmy Carter in 1980. They are that loyal to the Dem party.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The war on coal.

They need to diversify, figure out some other way to create jobs, not just lament days gone by when coal was king. And the irony is that they mostly vote Republican, known for cutting welfare.

For a looooooong time, Democrats ran the state. Joe Manchin, Earl Ray Tomblin, Jay Rockefeller aren't exactly Repubs, even though 2 of them sort of lean that way.

But they usually vote Republican for President, and it's the Federal gov't that doles out a large chunk of the welfare.

WV has been a reliably Democrat state for decades. WV was one of only a handful of states captured by Jimmy Carter in 1980. They are that loyal to the Dem party.

Their state Democrat politicians are not like your standard Democrats.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/in-west-virginia-coal-means-more-party-less/?_r=0

"The more fundamental answer, however, is that Democratic candidates in West Virginia often bear little resemblance to national Democrats. State Democrats tend to be more conservative on a range of issues. Moreover, they emphasize their independence from the national party.. West Virginia is 94 percent white and rural. There just aren’t that many liberal or progressive voters in West Virginia. In 2008, 48 percent of voters were Democrats, but just 18 percent of voters described themselves as liberal, according to exit polls."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in WV. you are perfectly safe going to West Virginia. No one is going to stare at you, we've all seen black people before. The only way you'll get comments is if you are rude to us first. If you smile and say hello, we will always be polite and friendly. If you are rude and gruff, we might very well put on the redneck show you're looking for just to entertain ourselves.

Black person here. I campaigned for John Kerry in WV back in the day. Yes the people are poor and vote against their own interest. However, for the vast majority of the people I spoke to, they were polite and friendly as they said repeatedly, "No, Bush is a God fearing man who will look after us, I'm voting for him". I did not feel fear as a Black person in what appeared to me as a strange land. I did feel despair because these people, both Black and White (Sorry, I did not encounter any Asians), were so poor and they were voting for someone who wanted to cut their financial resources and give a tax cut to the rich.

You do realize WV went to Kerry in the election?

[Anonymous]

I Googled WV welfare and came up with numbers like 18% below poverty level and 20% on food stamps. I would really like to see where the 75% figure came from.

As far as WV being reliably Dem, that's a thing of the past. Joe Manchin is probably the last Dem Senator you'll see from there, and although the House Delegation was all Dem 15 years ago, it's now all GOP. Similar changes in the state legislature.

Incidentally, OP, was there a point to this thread, or do you just enjoy finding people to dump on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the University, but the state itself. Did you know that 75% of the population is on welfare??? Jesus Christ, its like those people don't even try to get a damn job. If not for Mississippi, WV would be the worst and poorest state in the union.

Cite for your erroneous fact? It is a high level of welfare in the state, but to get to 75% you have to include social security, and *any* kind of aid. Also, please look into the history of the coal industry in the state and then examine your superiority. It's hard to imagine a state more exploited by unregulated monopolists. And now that the coal well is running dry, they leave and the people there have nothing. OF course, what do I know, I just grew up there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dad is a West Virginian. It's a beautiful state. I went to WVU and had the time of my life (and have a great career now).

But but but....for many years I've tried to defend it and have finally made peace with the fact that the stereotypes and negative impressions are mostly true. MTV's Buckwild was the last straw for me.

I'm in an interacial marriage. I would love to visit WV as I've heard some parts are truly beautiful, but I fear going there with my family.

WV girl here. You do not need to be afraid of WV. There are parts of VA and MD that are far more racist than WV. Honestly, you should be much more afraid of many southern states. Are there some backwoods collections of freaks in the mountains? Sure. But that's true all over the place. Go to the Eastern panhandle, the northern panhandle, or near Charleston. It's fine.
I didn't see overt racism until I *left* WV and went to Boston. Seriously.