West Virginia My Home

When i was in 2nd grade, I had a buddy named Scott and we shared a table in school. We used to look up "snakes" in the encyclopedia and giggle with fright, but we once found, in the out-dated library, a book of "West Virginia Songs". At one point, the state song was "West Virginia my Home" and it had the lyrics, but not the sheet music, so we made it up. Let me try to convey this phonetically:[Wes' Virginni Mah Hoooooooooooooommmmme] and as you do the "ooooommm" part you have to close your eyes, pucker your mouth and scrunch your face. Okay, maybe it needs a visual. Anyway, it's a memory I treasure and looking back, "West Virginia" seems to be a concept along with a state, and one in which i feel I'm more an observer than a participant, let alone a resident.


And yet, I was born here. Born among the nuns in Huntington (though on questionnaires I will say I was born in Ireland- i lie), and raised in the working class neighborhood next to a flood wall erected after a devistating flood in '37. So, not only am I surrounded by "mountains" (there are technically no mountains in the Mountain State) but i was also next to the imposing flood "wall" for 15 years. I feel that being from here and continuing to live makes me qualified to write about the experience of a West Virginian, but yet I'm not really a participant in anything uniquely WVian. And, since my academic area is in Appalachian Studies, I feel more than qualified to analyze the people, the culture, and the stereotyping, but that too is at as a witness and scholar. No one listens to witnesses and scholars, and what's funny is that especially in a region that doesn't trust outsiders (why should they?) and resents uppity academics, studying Appalachian Studies doesn't impress a soul.

So, feeling qualified, I will remark on the stereotyping of our region. I recently read a call to replace it with "positive" stereotypes and have to disagree with the expression because we need to stop perpetuating stereotyping as a means of passive understanding. That's what it is- it's a blanketed and uninformed way of judging others, good or bad. We need to challenge each other to be more critical. But whatever... the state and Appalachian region has had an eventful year being the center of at least 3 weeks coverage of the Democratic primary and judged "white, uneducated racists" because we didn't vote for the media's darling and in their displeasure they chose unfortunate souls who made ignorant soundbites to prove it. But, it's a blip in a long-flowing stream of identifying WV as this mythic 3rd world within the United States. A backward people, clannish, prejudiced, toothless, and obese. Shame on them, right? They're buffoons- and the rest of us are so much more fortunate, right? My god, retards are funny, am i right? The images come from the 1920's and I suggest you read "Hillbilly Land" which discusses the origins and continuation of the stereotypes, along with the romantization of the Hatfields and McCoys right up to the Vista Missionaries and War on Poverty. And then there's the stereotypes WVians embrace- the "home spunness", quilt-weaving, moral superiority due to unworldiness- those too are based on the mythology and lemonade from the lemons.

People across the nation don't realize that WV was born out of a resistance to join the confederacy. It wasn't a pious stance against slavery, of course, but it's an interesting story you should read. Also, i recommend Wilma Dunnaway's "The First American Frontier" to understand the diversity in WVa. Misinformation fuels the bigotry of liberals and conservatives against the region, and it's no wonder we're a battleground state politically. Each want our votes based on what little they know about our needs. For instance, in the Dem primary both Hillary and Obama talked about Coal as giving more power to state government and "clean coal" technology. The truth is that it's a dying industry and we need a better one to invest here, and Jumping Jesus, why give more power to our corrupt state government? And no mention of the actual people fighting against Mountain Top Removal? Do they even know? The way to combat stereotypes is not so much by anger but by dialog. No, they might not listen because they think we're submissive and stupid, but if we keep a factual straight face, i'm confident that their charges and lies will look even more ludicrous until the absurdity causes them to question themselves. The lines the Coal Industry has about how wonderful reclamation is should show us that.

I do not have a quaint picture of WVa- aaah, the hills... aaaah, the whatever. The stereotypes leveled at us to have an ounce of truth. We need better access to healthcare, dental care, better schools, better communion with different communities, and a better economy which will help a lot of that. There are a lot of sad people struggling and living in a world of darkness, poor diets, and cable television ethics. That needs to change and it might once we stop defending it and being proud of it- it's our burden, and we must not be blind to it.

The positives I see are there as well. WVians i like to associate with are no-bullshit people. We're not impressed by someone's title unless they prove themselves. We believe in the integration of nature to art and spirituality. We're oddballs and allow differences- Huntington is the San Francisco of Appalachia with regard to the gay and pagan population. Every place is weird, and we do it in spades. The state is gorgeous, and we need to stop taking mountains away, littering, de-foresting, and dumping god knows what into the streams. Remember the BLUE CLOUD?

I'm not a big optimist regarding the future. I see national culture getting even more shallow, immature and passive and don't see WV being a leader in changing the tide. The internet might bring people together, but WV has a serious clique issue from the self-important towns of Charleston and Morgantown to the non-participants in Huntington, Parkersburg, and the eastern panhandle which doesn't like to claim residency. We're a state of satelites and no unity. Having tried to spark an anti-war movement in Huntington, I have seen 1st hand how difficult it is to get Huntingtonians off their ass or out of the mawl and into the streets. Each town has a personality, and we often forget or would like to forget we're a part of the same state. I'd like to see more inclusiveness and acknowledgement of activities outside of Charleston. And yet, with fuel prices, we have even more reason to stay home and isolate ourselves in self-importance.

So, i am not a compass, I am the Passenger- i am a witness, a social scientist and a critic. I'm writing this after a prompt to write about WV eventhough lately i've really wanted to tell it to fuck off. Give me more reasons not to shake my head and give me more opportunities to share the good news within the state rather than proclaim for the umpteenth time how wrong everyone is. I'm tired of it.

GO HERD!
And... turn West Virginia Blue!!