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.

I spend a fair amount of time in WV. I have had friendly conversations with people about our very differing political views. I have not seen a lot of blacks, but those I have seen appeared perfectly comfortable being there.

Historically, WV was strongly Democratic. Their primary was the one that proved that Jack Kennedy could win Protestant votes. Byrd, as their Senator, moved leftward over the years, and they kept re-electing him, and they elected Jay Rockefeller for years. But nowadays a Dem like Manchin has to be at the rightward end of his party to win an election. The legislature has recently swung from Dem to strongly GOP, and Republican Shelley Moore Capito easily won the election to succeed Rockefeller.

But I think the most important thing to remember is that it is a sprawling state that has a lot of variation, and care should be taken in making generalizations.

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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!

I have found West Virginians to be very friendly people.

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.

Thank you for coming to our state and treating us respectfully. I will always be a West Virginian at heart, even though I no longer live there. My entire family is there. They just don't vote based on economics and they never will. It's not about the money, which might be hard for some people to understand especially when you go there and see that they have so little, comparatively. It will never be about the money. How could it, because if you really cared about money, you would have left a long time ago.

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.

Now I want to go, especially to meet more like you. Love this post

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

*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

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.

Black person here. Went to W VA on a whim and was shocked by how friendly they were to us.

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.

Even worse, people might not even notice - or give you accolades for being so broad-minded. Most Americans don't really care anymore

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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.

Let's not forget Bobby Byrd, former top appropriator when earmarks ruled Washington. This wasn't a state starving for funds, just lacked the will and opportunity.

I'd call them Dixiecrats, they might have had the (D) after their name but they had very little in common with the typical Democrat of today.

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.

Anonymous wrote:The war on coal.

Aw, bullshit, "war on coal"

Wanna know what's killed far more coal jobs than anything else? The coal industry itself. They have automated and mechanized a lot of coal extraction. Mountaintop removal, for example - they need far fewer human laborers with the equipment and techniques they use these days.

Wanna know what else has killed far more coal jobs than the so-called "war on coal?" The free market. The natural gas sector for example has been eating coal's lunch.

As for what you call the "war on coal" - there's no "war on coal" - the only thing out there is sound, sensible, rational policy around improving and protecting air quality and water quality, lessening our dependence on non-renewable fuel sources, and diversifying our national energy portfolio - the last two of which are crucial to national security.

Any time one of you says "war on coal" all I can think is that you are either a.) a clueless ass or b.) a dishonest, disingenuous shill or lobbyist for polluting industries - and there is no c.)

Anonymous wrote:Unions. Democrat policies.

They should charge no state taxes for corporations and bring in Delaware style corporate law. They would be a USA Hong Kong.

Only 1 out of 20 miners is union.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Ever consider they want jobs, not welfare?

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Byrd. Nuff said