Last edited Wed Feb 19, 2014, 01:24 PM - Edit history (1)
... is because larger, richer, more populous states need Appalachian gas, Appalachian coal and a convenient dumping ground for their waste. And since it's only a bunch of us hillbillies who will have to deal with it, out of sight and out of mind, TPTB figure no one will care -- just as long as its not in their backyard.
The way you sustain this system is by not investing federal money in Appalachia and the incentives to provide the kind of jobs that would steer their economy away from such a dependence on fossil fuels. Don't give their kids a decent education; recruit them as fodder for your next war because for too many of their young poor, putting on a uniform is the only way to draw a paycheck, even if it costs them their lives. Poverty breeds desperation at home and from the outside, derision, because you can always make someone feel better by playing the role of their trash.
It's not like the people of West Virginia haven't put Democrats into office, because they have. Almost to a person (with one Republican exception) they have elected Democrats to all of the statewide offices. Governor, both Senators, Lt. Governor, Sec'y of State, etc., not to mention a Democratic majority in the House of Delegates and a supermajority in the State Senate. Where has it gotten them? Obama didn't even campaign in Appalachia during the primaries and since he's been in office, how many visits? I can only speak for myself right now but I am deeply resentful that for Appalachia, there's not been much "change" at all. We're the invisible people... unless, of course, when something like the recent spill happens and provides everyone an opportunity to point out how those dumb hillbillies got what they deserve. It's business as usual -- big business, and everyone profits except the people. But when I did my homework and found out how much campaign money Obama himself had accepted from the mining industry, I resigned myself to the fact that it's all bought and paid for, lock, stock & barrel.
I wish I knew where the answers could be found. I feel like someone groping around in the dark for the light switch.
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