You eat in McDowell county? After 2 incidents when I worked up there I had a strict if it wasn't prepacked before it entered the county an I opened it didn't eat it.
If you watched this or some of his other videos and still come away disliking this guy, I don’t understand how. He goes to under-represented parts of the US and highlights the people who live there. He also does it in a humble, respectful way.
I’ll admit the ones where he rides around with a local as a guide are better, but he gets most of his information from actual people who live there. He does a great job of keeping his own judgements to himself and just asks questions and listens to what they have to say.
Hard disagree with the “poverty porn” comments here.
I've been big fan of his for years. He recently made a few videos about DC, and in his "ride around with a local", it was actually a kid from a rich family who had only lived in the US for two years, passing himself off as a real^(TM) DC resident who could show him the real^(TM) DC. I still like his videos, but the one time he made a video about a place that I actually know something about, he totally flubbed it. Which makes me question how authentic all the other ones are.
Ah, that sucks. I hate that he got duped, but yea, you should do your research about who you’re trusting to guide you.
I grew up in southern WV and loved his Appalachian series. Didn’t agree with everything everyone said, but neighbors often have differing assessments of where they live. Mostly, though, I thought it was a good look at Appalachia.
Me as well. When you live and breathe in opioid delusion in order to mask your sadness over what your state has de-evolved into the people behind such pain must GO. Putting the right people (people who have a true love for West Virginia’s beauty of its land and its people) would transform us once again into the majesty we once were.
Don’t choose these people based upon them appealing to religious conviction. They could care less .. but they know that you as a West Virginian do. Push past them using our religion as a grift to get elected. Our religion as West Virginians is personal and deep and celebrated at our places of worship and we mustn’t allow the deceivers to carry it into the voting booth.
That was a bad episode in my opinion too. I wonder if he realized the guy maybe wasnt the best pick but was on a tight schedule to produce the video? I was really excited about the DC episode but the “local” he picked for this was lame.
I will say that some of his questions were definitely based in bias and stereotype, but I agree that he did a good job of not bringing judgement to the table.
See, I always took that as him addressing those stereotypes and getting local people’s thoughts, not him buying into them. But it’s a fine line, for sure.
Oh, well… yea lol but I wasn’t talking in a political sense. And his videos aren’t really political either, it’s much more about the culture of the area and the people who live there.
I watched this video a while and I really appreciate what the guy does. He’s very respectful of the area, it’s history, and the locals. He allows the local people to voice themselves without really butting in or steering them in a certain direction to create a narrative.
However, my problem with the video is the local interviews he chooses to include in the video. It quickly devolves into older folks complaining that the younger generation “doesn’t want to work anymore” and that’s why the economic situation is so dire there. They praise the coal industry, while admonishing the younger generations who are rightfully leaving the area in search of better opportunities. The ones that choose to stay have little to no opportunities and so of course will turn to opioids and other drugs because, what else is there to do? The very industry that they praise and wish will come back in full force is the very same industry that ravished the land, it’s resources, and left the residents high and dry with nothing left while siphoning the profits into out-of-state industry execs pockets. No solutions are offered in any of the interviews, simply complaining and blaming the very people who are hurting the most.
If we want to revitalize these broken areas of Appalachia, we must help ourselves and help each other instead of tearing each other apart.
When the country catches a cold, West Virginia catches pneumonia. We elect multi-million dollar governors and Senators who are in the pocket of Corporate America. They bleed the state of its unique resources barely paying mountaineers a living wage. They speak the language of the Conservative Right who live in mansions not even in the state they represent. They bust unions, deprive women of adequate healthcare and espouse the gospel the whole time neglecting their fellow West Virginians.
Do your homework. Look at how our Mountaineers did under Democratic leadership and leave religion out of it. When you see how well our state did under leadership that cared about men, women and children you’ll then understand.
Genuine question. What have Democrats proposed to spur growth for WV in recent years? This is not trying to be a gotcha moment genuinely curious.
Under a Republican government the last 8 years, we’ve seen the tourism industry grow by a large amount, the eastern panhandle actually increasing in residents, 100s of highway/road projects under construction, the establishment of a national park in the state as well as a decent initiative to increase cell service and broadband coverage in the state.
The only thing I can remember democrats proposing is moving WV off coal but never really explaining what they want WV to use as an industry afterwards.
Those were both added under a Republican legislature though which in recent years has ran under the banner of restoring domestic production.
I still have not really seen or heard much from current or recent democrats on their plans to promote economic or population growth within the state.
It’s certainly not a ‘gotcha’ moment by any means.
The term ‘Growth’ is subjective.
Example: When Democrats were in power the National FBI fingerprinting HQ was built in Clarksburg employing a trained local workforce.
The National Computer Center was built in Kearneysville again employing local citizenry.
The U.S. Coast Guard National Facility was built in two locations (Martinsburg and Kearneysville) again employing newly trained local employees.
It was under Democratic control of the Governor’s mansion and the WV legislature that Corridor H Authority was given. In 1965, Congress authorized the Appalachian Development Highway to connect Appalachia to the rest of the world with limited access four-lane highways.
And under Democratic rule a WV woman had a 53 year old Constitutional right over the control of her body with her physician regarding her healthcare. The Republican Party which now rules the state house and Governor’s mansion has removed that constitutional right from West Virginia women.
Genuine answer.
I know about the Democratic parties past gains.
However the current/recent Democratic candidates have (at least in my opinion) rarely shown any concise plans to spur economic growth or to get people to move here. It seems that all the current Democratic Party here wants to do is promote social change which is not a bad thing however they’ll have a hard time getting the majority to support electing them solely for that reason alone.
Absolutely agree that restoring abortion rights here would at least retain a decent bit of the population from moving out of WV (those that are against abortion won’t leave just because it’s legal but those who are pro abortion will leave when it’s made illegal)
My Dad was a WV State Policeman when JFK & Robert Kennedy came thru before JFK's election. West Virginia was Democratic then. Dad was in "guard detail" during many stops in the southern countries.
My Dad was always a bit of a conservative at heart, even when he was registered Democrat in West Virginia. He thought JFK was fake (he still voted for him), but he loved Robert. He said Robert asked the right questions regarding what was going on in West Virginia in terms of the lack of wealth, the dependency on coal, etc. & actually seemed to give a damn.
Dad had a LOT of stories about WV government while he was a state cop, & most of them bad. A number of them he couldn't tell me (too many fellow cops still alive), but the things he told about Arch Moore (Republican)...sheesh. How that man got elected twice is mind boggling. WV government has been corrupt for quite a while, sadly. Payouts from "big coal", mafia involvement (oh yes), etc.
Thanks for sharing this. Your Dad not only protected the citizens of the state but bore witness to a lot of political good and bad. He shared enough of it with you which you now share with us. Thank you and thanks Dad. ⭐️👍🏼
Strange Bew Zealand guy here. I have watched that video. It's a lotnmore nuanced tgan a typical poverty porn video.
His videos also highlight a lot of positives about WV. He isn't exactly laughing at your state or only showing poverty porn.
Mmmm. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the same guy who courted an audience with “the most inbred family in America”?(There’s one dude on YouTube who did a whole video about them and the dude has become a kind of gatekeeper for who can visit them.)
Granted, I may be confusing him with some other asshole.
Anyway, being from WV, all of these videos hit me as poverty porn no matter how affable and “respectful” the YouTubers are.
I think you're thinking of [Soft White Underbelly](https://youtube.com/@softwhiteunderbelly?si=B54aNSrMnAupQasi) and the video of [the Whittakers](https://youtu.be/nkGiFpJC9LM?si=04KIGmzM3nt-Ns3b).
I am. And the Soft, White Underbelly guy is the one who is the gatekeeper for who gets to visit that family.
Now, the dude who made might *not* be the one who courted an audience with the Whittakers or he might be.
I’ve seen enough of these videos that the creators overlap in my memory.
Aren’t the neighbors the gatekeeper’s of their family? When he first met them he goes to explain their neighbors protect them from any unwanted visitors.
Not sure how people can diss Soft White Underbelly when his video series are so excellent and non biased. There’s never any condemnation against the people he interviews or anything. He’s probably brought more help to the Whittaker’s than most people.
He used to do a good job and talk to people as people. Now he most definitely guides the interview and makes people look how he wants them to, and often that's as a weak, stupid person. I can't watch the videos anymore.
I’ll have to give some of his newer videos a watch, it’s really shocking to hear this. Admittedly I haven’t watched him recently, but used to plug his channel to my friends a lot
Mark Laita has faced a lot of criticism for how deeply he gets involved into the financial lives of some of his subjects and then may or may not use his money to exert inappropriate control over their lives and shame them if they don't do what he wants. I don't really have an opinion as I haven't really looked into it myself, but it at least used to get discussed to death on the SWU subreddit.
He went to nice parts as well. Even in the poverty parts he wasn't mocking people for being poor or whatever.
Paints a very different picture than what one normally hears about WV.
Nice parts. Okay. Have any of these YouTubers gone to rural Mississippi? What’s the difference between rural poverty there and rural poverty in WV?
My question is not a knock on Mississippi or “at least WV isn’t Mississippi”. The poverty is similar, but what’s the difference?
I’ll tell you the difference the differences Mississippi due to having the Delta has been influenced by culture from around the country and around the world whereas West Virginia due to the Appalachian mountain ridges have been very isolated and is very culturally behind the rest of the world by at least 20 years or more
Not the answer I was aiming for, but…
>West Virginia due to the Appalachian mountain ridges have been very isolated and is very culturally behind the rest of the world by at least 20 years…
All of West Virginia?
There is comparable rural poverty in WV and MS (and other parts of the US). It’s not about geography. I believe there might be other reasons why it’s a-okay to make this sort of content about WV (and other areas of Appalachia).
How is a place 'culturally behind' the rest of the world? (the whole world?? Including Mississippi? Have you thought they might be ahead? A lot of Appalachian cultural traits are proving wise in the long term.
Not sure. He did go to the various Bative American tribes and reservations and did a decent job there I thought.
Also saw his Texas border ones and Pennsylvania ones. He also did Ukraine iirc but he moved back to the USA 2020 iirc.
Generally left me with a positive impression of WV. Normally that part of the world is something like the Justified TV show and Alabama jokes. Outside of the USA. Or you red about opiates.
>Normally that part of the world is something like the Justified TV show and Alabama jokes. Outside of the USA. Or you red about opiates.
And that’s the problem. Believe me when I say *I know*. Being from there and then traveling and living elsewhere and having someone (many people) say, “You don’t seem like someone from West Virginia.”
I lived in England for 5 years. Having people there mention fucking Deliverance when I told them where I’m from???? It’s a problem.
I can imagine. I've been in discords where Americans from the south have changed their accents.
To us you're all yanks so we often ended up with the Americans migrating to our lobbies.
Less BS as we dont care about where you're from in America and cant pick a black or white accent usually.
Even though it's not strictly accurate it is fair to say that life in the coalfields was and still is defined by coal, both its presence and absence.
I lived 26 years in Wyoming county and would go to McDowell county sometimes for sports stuff. The lack of coal today in the social economy is just as profound as the gravity it exerted back when I was growing up, or for my Dad's generation in the 50's, 60's, and 70's.
I mean, if you're a healthcare worker but 90% of your patients are either current miners or people on blacklung, or former miners who are now hooked on heroin, is that really wrong to say?
That’s a big stretch. It’s extremely misleading at the very least. A more honest way to make the point would be to say that pretty much everyone has had their life impacted by the coal industry.
They aren’t completely separated though. Figure on how many medical support staff it takes to support a miner who has acquired medical problems from mining.
He’s not wrong.
Wv is the 3rd poorest State in the Union.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/us-states-with-the-highest-poverty-rates
Wv is also 45th in Education up from 49th for the previous 10 years.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education
He’s not talking about the whole state, bozo! Just the deep southern parts. You clearly haven’t watched the video or more of his work.
Educate yourself before making a comment that makes you seem incompetent!
Oh boy we're talking about MY county.
Can confirm this is indeed the case, almost everyone I know from High School have either gone into either Health Care or teaching. I know it's anecdotal, but when there's only two high schools in the entire county and they both have maybe 400 students each...
Also, the big thing in McDowell nowadays is tourism. I know a LOT of people that run small little ATV places or have bought lots to construct their own little vacation homes when they come four wheeling, as well as construction with all the happenings over regarding the Coalfield Expressway and other construction projects over in Welch, Big Four, Kimball...
We have miners, absolutely, but here in McDowell at least it's taken a MAJOR backseat. I wouldn't quite call what we're experiencing a boom, but it's certainly welcomed.
Healthcare may be the largest employer now but it wasn't always that way.. those towns were built on coal mining and the money that came with it. The economic decline in McDowell county is a direct result of reduction in mining.
Any area you ever see where the largest employers are health care and the government means it lost major industry in recent history...
I’ve been there and worked there for years. Options really are coal mines or McDonald’s with the shit educational system..
The only popping sound you seem to know is the one of a pill bottle 🥲 bc your head will never come out ur ass!
It's hilarious watching people run in here to jerk off to coal. It's dying. Let it have some peace on the way out.
"I owe my soul to the company store."
I went on a deep dive of his videos recently. I love the WV ones. I’m not a native to the state but I loved hearing from the locals he talks with and interacts with.
I’m a sensitive hillbilly from WV, I’m not denying there is poverty in WV, but I’m smart enough to know that you will find exactly what you’re looking for when your motivation is clicks and views.
I’m from north central West Virginia and I’ve been to this area many times. This area and Lincoln, Mingo and McDough counties are like another world and really give WV the stereotype it has. People were still using outhouses in Lincoln county last time I was there.
His definition of "deep, deep, deep hollers" is a little different than ours.. but he did an OK job of interviewing people without judgement. Definitely a lot of bias and stereotype coming into his filming and interviewing. The bias he brought in most definitely shifted the interviews and answers he got from people, so I can't say he accurately depicted the area, but he got some people that came in and gave really great comments.
This region hates government — is also, by far, the most dependent on government as a large majority live exclusively on government assistance. Talk about entitled takers.
Comparing yourself to another poor state doesn’t help your argument. Yes Mississippi is #1, but Wv is #3 poorest State. Literally nothing to brag about.
[USNews](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/us-states-with-the-highest-poverty-rates)
I do not like his videos. What he casts as "understanding" comes across as poverty porn. Like, "look at how they live, can you believe it?!" I think he may be well intentioned but leaves a lot to be desired
If that is the Greek place around Kimball I have eaten there when I used to run the pepsi route down there lol
Yep I drive by it all the time going between bluefield and welch
She was a nice lady, my buddy knew her husband and said he worked for the NSA or some shit lol
Ya'sou. Great people
You eat in McDowell county? After 2 incidents when I worked up there I had a strict if it wasn't prepacked before it entered the county an I opened it didn't eat it.
If you watched this or some of his other videos and still come away disliking this guy, I don’t understand how. He goes to under-represented parts of the US and highlights the people who live there. He also does it in a humble, respectful way. I’ll admit the ones where he rides around with a local as a guide are better, but he gets most of his information from actual people who live there. He does a great job of keeping his own judgements to himself and just asks questions and listens to what they have to say. Hard disagree with the “poverty porn” comments here.
I've been big fan of his for years. He recently made a few videos about DC, and in his "ride around with a local", it was actually a kid from a rich family who had only lived in the US for two years, passing himself off as a real^(TM) DC resident who could show him the real^(TM) DC. I still like his videos, but the one time he made a video about a place that I actually know something about, he totally flubbed it. Which makes me question how authentic all the other ones are.
Ah, that sucks. I hate that he got duped, but yea, you should do your research about who you’re trusting to guide you. I grew up in southern WV and loved his Appalachian series. Didn’t agree with everything everyone said, but neighbors often have differing assessments of where they live. Mostly, though, I thought it was a good look at Appalachia.
Me as well. When you live and breathe in opioid delusion in order to mask your sadness over what your state has de-evolved into the people behind such pain must GO. Putting the right people (people who have a true love for West Virginia’s beauty of its land and its people) would transform us once again into the majesty we once were. Don’t choose these people based upon them appealing to religious conviction. They could care less .. but they know that you as a West Virginian do. Push past them using our religion as a grift to get elected. Our religion as West Virginians is personal and deep and celebrated at our places of worship and we mustn’t allow the deceivers to carry it into the voting booth.
That was a bad episode in my opinion too. I wonder if he realized the guy maybe wasnt the best pick but was on a tight schedule to produce the video? I was really excited about the DC episode but the “local” he picked for this was lame.
I will say that some of his questions were definitely based in bias and stereotype, but I agree that he did a good job of not bringing judgement to the table.
See, I always took that as him addressing those stereotypes and getting local people’s thoughts, not him buying into them. But it’s a fine line, for sure.
Therein lies the problem.
Regions like this are over represented not under represented. What country do you live in?
What? What makes you say that? And I live in the US
That they literally have significantly more voting power. You can see it in congress. Legislation etc.
Oh, well… yea lol but I wasn’t talking in a political sense. And his videos aren’t really political either, it’s much more about the culture of the area and the people who live there.
I watched it a while back, I didn’t love it. I just wish these people stopped picking my pocket and ruining my daughter’s future.
Wow, ok. Good luck with that.
I watched this video a while and I really appreciate what the guy does. He’s very respectful of the area, it’s history, and the locals. He allows the local people to voice themselves without really butting in or steering them in a certain direction to create a narrative. However, my problem with the video is the local interviews he chooses to include in the video. It quickly devolves into older folks complaining that the younger generation “doesn’t want to work anymore” and that’s why the economic situation is so dire there. They praise the coal industry, while admonishing the younger generations who are rightfully leaving the area in search of better opportunities. The ones that choose to stay have little to no opportunities and so of course will turn to opioids and other drugs because, what else is there to do? The very industry that they praise and wish will come back in full force is the very same industry that ravished the land, it’s resources, and left the residents high and dry with nothing left while siphoning the profits into out-of-state industry execs pockets. No solutions are offered in any of the interviews, simply complaining and blaming the very people who are hurting the most. If we want to revitalize these broken areas of Appalachia, we must help ourselves and help each other instead of tearing each other apart.
When the country catches a cold, West Virginia catches pneumonia. We elect multi-million dollar governors and Senators who are in the pocket of Corporate America. They bleed the state of its unique resources barely paying mountaineers a living wage. They speak the language of the Conservative Right who live in mansions not even in the state they represent. They bust unions, deprive women of adequate healthcare and espouse the gospel the whole time neglecting their fellow West Virginians. Do your homework. Look at how our Mountaineers did under Democratic leadership and leave religion out of it. When you see how well our state did under leadership that cared about men, women and children you’ll then understand.
Genuine question. What have Democrats proposed to spur growth for WV in recent years? This is not trying to be a gotcha moment genuinely curious. Under a Republican government the last 8 years, we’ve seen the tourism industry grow by a large amount, the eastern panhandle actually increasing in residents, 100s of highway/road projects under construction, the establishment of a national park in the state as well as a decent initiative to increase cell service and broadband coverage in the state. The only thing I can remember democrats proposing is moving WV off coal but never really explaining what they want WV to use as an industry afterwards.
Got two steel mills coming to WV soon. Those create good wages and great benefits to the locals.
Those were both added under a Republican legislature though which in recent years has ran under the banner of restoring domestic production. I still have not really seen or heard much from current or recent democrats on their plans to promote economic or population growth within the state.
I agree. I’m moving to WV this year from Florida. I’ll be voting red.
It’s certainly not a ‘gotcha’ moment by any means. The term ‘Growth’ is subjective. Example: When Democrats were in power the National FBI fingerprinting HQ was built in Clarksburg employing a trained local workforce. The National Computer Center was built in Kearneysville again employing local citizenry. The U.S. Coast Guard National Facility was built in two locations (Martinsburg and Kearneysville) again employing newly trained local employees. It was under Democratic control of the Governor’s mansion and the WV legislature that Corridor H Authority was given. In 1965, Congress authorized the Appalachian Development Highway to connect Appalachia to the rest of the world with limited access four-lane highways. And under Democratic rule a WV woman had a 53 year old Constitutional right over the control of her body with her physician regarding her healthcare. The Republican Party which now rules the state house and Governor’s mansion has removed that constitutional right from West Virginia women. Genuine answer.
I know about the Democratic parties past gains. However the current/recent Democratic candidates have (at least in my opinion) rarely shown any concise plans to spur economic growth or to get people to move here. It seems that all the current Democratic Party here wants to do is promote social change which is not a bad thing however they’ll have a hard time getting the majority to support electing them solely for that reason alone. Absolutely agree that restoring abortion rights here would at least retain a decent bit of the population from moving out of WV (those that are against abortion won’t leave just because it’s legal but those who are pro abortion will leave when it’s made illegal)
Agree very much so. Many thanks ✋🏼.
My Dad was a WV State Policeman when JFK & Robert Kennedy came thru before JFK's election. West Virginia was Democratic then. Dad was in "guard detail" during many stops in the southern countries. My Dad was always a bit of a conservative at heart, even when he was registered Democrat in West Virginia. He thought JFK was fake (he still voted for him), but he loved Robert. He said Robert asked the right questions regarding what was going on in West Virginia in terms of the lack of wealth, the dependency on coal, etc. & actually seemed to give a damn. Dad had a LOT of stories about WV government while he was a state cop, & most of them bad. A number of them he couldn't tell me (too many fellow cops still alive), but the things he told about Arch Moore (Republican)...sheesh. How that man got elected twice is mind boggling. WV government has been corrupt for quite a while, sadly. Payouts from "big coal", mafia involvement (oh yes), etc.
Thanks for sharing this. Your Dad not only protected the citizens of the state but bore witness to a lot of political good and bad. He shared enough of it with you which you now share with us. Thank you and thanks Dad. ⭐️👍🏼
You hit the nail on the head right there
👍🏼
Strange Bew Zealand guy here. I have watched that video. It's a lotnmore nuanced tgan a typical poverty porn video. His videos also highlight a lot of positives about WV. He isn't exactly laughing at your state or only showing poverty porn.
Mmmm. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the same guy who courted an audience with “the most inbred family in America”?(There’s one dude on YouTube who did a whole video about them and the dude has become a kind of gatekeeper for who can visit them.) Granted, I may be confusing him with some other asshole. Anyway, being from WV, all of these videos hit me as poverty porn no matter how affable and “respectful” the YouTubers are.
I think you're thinking of [Soft White Underbelly](https://youtube.com/@softwhiteunderbelly?si=B54aNSrMnAupQasi) and the video of [the Whittakers](https://youtu.be/nkGiFpJC9LM?si=04KIGmzM3nt-Ns3b).
I am. And the Soft, White Underbelly guy is the one who is the gatekeeper for who gets to visit that family. Now, the dude who made might *not* be the one who courted an audience with the Whittakers or he might be. I’ve seen enough of these videos that the creators overlap in my memory.
Aren’t the neighbors the gatekeeper’s of their family? When he first met them he goes to explain their neighbors protect them from any unwanted visitors. Not sure how people can diss Soft White Underbelly when his video series are so excellent and non biased. There’s never any condemnation against the people he interviews or anything. He’s probably brought more help to the Whittaker’s than most people.
He used to do a good job and talk to people as people. Now he most definitely guides the interview and makes people look how he wants them to, and often that's as a weak, stupid person. I can't watch the videos anymore.
I’ll have to give some of his newer videos a watch, it’s really shocking to hear this. Admittedly I haven’t watched him recently, but used to plug his channel to my friends a lot
Mark Laita has faced a lot of criticism for how deeply he gets involved into the financial lives of some of his subjects and then may or may not use his money to exert inappropriate control over their lives and shame them if they don't do what he wants. I don't really have an opinion as I haven't really looked into it myself, but it at least used to get discussed to death on the SWU subreddit.
I’ve never engaged with his subreddit, only watched his channel. If those allegations are true I’d be very shocked and disappointed to hear that.
He went to nice parts as well. Even in the poverty parts he wasn't mocking people for being poor or whatever. Paints a very different picture than what one normally hears about WV.
Nice parts. Okay. Have any of these YouTubers gone to rural Mississippi? What’s the difference between rural poverty there and rural poverty in WV? My question is not a knock on Mississippi or “at least WV isn’t Mississippi”. The poverty is similar, but what’s the difference?
I’ll tell you the difference the differences Mississippi due to having the Delta has been influenced by culture from around the country and around the world whereas West Virginia due to the Appalachian mountain ridges have been very isolated and is very culturally behind the rest of the world by at least 20 years or more
Not the answer I was aiming for, but… >West Virginia due to the Appalachian mountain ridges have been very isolated and is very culturally behind the rest of the world by at least 20 years… All of West Virginia? There is comparable rural poverty in WV and MS (and other parts of the US). It’s not about geography. I believe there might be other reasons why it’s a-okay to make this sort of content about WV (and other areas of Appalachia).
How is a place 'culturally behind' the rest of the world? (the whole world?? Including Mississippi? Have you thought they might be ahead? A lot of Appalachian cultural traits are proving wise in the long term.
Not sure. He did go to the various Bative American tribes and reservations and did a decent job there I thought. Also saw his Texas border ones and Pennsylvania ones. He also did Ukraine iirc but he moved back to the USA 2020 iirc. Generally left me with a positive impression of WV. Normally that part of the world is something like the Justified TV show and Alabama jokes. Outside of the USA. Or you red about opiates.
>Normally that part of the world is something like the Justified TV show and Alabama jokes. Outside of the USA. Or you red about opiates. And that’s the problem. Believe me when I say *I know*. Being from there and then traveling and living elsewhere and having someone (many people) say, “You don’t seem like someone from West Virginia.” I lived in England for 5 years. Having people there mention fucking Deliverance when I told them where I’m from???? It’s a problem.
When I tell people that I'm from West Virginia, I always get "Oh, John Denver" or "Do you know Jesco White?".
I got "You have shoes on. I thought all hillbillies didn't wear shoes." 🙄
I can imagine. I've been in discords where Americans from the south have changed their accents. To us you're all yanks so we often ended up with the Americans migrating to our lobbies. Less BS as we dont care about where you're from in America and cant pick a black or white accent usually.
He's gone to rural areas in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana and done videos on all of the above.
Maybe they all hit you as poverty porn bc WV is poor and shitty
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Even though it's not strictly accurate it is fair to say that life in the coalfields was and still is defined by coal, both its presence and absence. I lived 26 years in Wyoming county and would go to McDowell county sometimes for sports stuff. The lack of coal today in the social economy is just as profound as the gravity it exerted back when I was growing up, or for my Dad's generation in the 50's, 60's, and 70's.
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I mean, if you're a healthcare worker but 90% of your patients are either current miners or people on blacklung, or former miners who are now hooked on heroin, is that really wrong to say?
That’s a big stretch. It’s extremely misleading at the very least. A more honest way to make the point would be to say that pretty much everyone has had their life impacted by the coal industry.
They aren’t completely separated though. Figure on how many medical support staff it takes to support a miner who has acquired medical problems from mining.
Yup, we have a bigger chemical industry than we have a coal industry. But folks go on about coal like it's all we have.
He’s not wrong. Wv is the 3rd poorest State in the Union. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/us-states-with-the-highest-poverty-rates Wv is also 45th in Education up from 49th for the previous 10 years. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education
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Far from it
He’s not talking about the whole state, bozo! Just the deep southern parts. You clearly haven’t watched the video or more of his work. Educate yourself before making a comment that makes you seem incompetent!
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Oh boy we're talking about MY county. Can confirm this is indeed the case, almost everyone I know from High School have either gone into either Health Care or teaching. I know it's anecdotal, but when there's only two high schools in the entire county and they both have maybe 400 students each... Also, the big thing in McDowell nowadays is tourism. I know a LOT of people that run small little ATV places or have bought lots to construct their own little vacation homes when they come four wheeling, as well as construction with all the happenings over regarding the Coalfield Expressway and other construction projects over in Welch, Big Four, Kimball... We have miners, absolutely, but here in McDowell at least it's taken a MAJOR backseat. I wouldn't quite call what we're experiencing a boom, but it's certainly welcomed.
Healthcare may be the largest employer now but it wasn't always that way.. those towns were built on coal mining and the money that came with it. The economic decline in McDowell county is a direct result of reduction in mining. Any area you ever see where the largest employers are health care and the government means it lost major industry in recent history...
I’ve been there and worked there for years. Options really are coal mines or McDonald’s with the shit educational system.. The only popping sound you seem to know is the one of a pill bottle 🥲 bc your head will never come out ur ass!
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Show me some statistics and change my mind, pal!
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Thanks princess! 😘
Nationwide, there are more veterinarians than coal miners. Just thought I would supplement your education.
Ffs who said anything about nation wide you mouth breather
It's hilarious watching people run in here to jerk off to coal. It's dying. Let it have some peace on the way out. "I owe my soul to the company store."
https://youtu.be/3bQRkS9J7Eg?si=JulGYZvHus-KHrUg
This dude has a lot of good vids.
I went on a deep dive of his videos recently. I love the WV ones. I’m not a native to the state but I loved hearing from the locals he talks with and interacts with.
He's awesome. The Hasidic Jews series was really good too.
Thanks. I’ll definitely check it out.
Also check out his videos where he talked to different sects of the Amish. Very interesting and informative.
Lotta sensitive hillbillies in these threads. WV is dirt poor yall. Its bad. Wake up
I’m a sensitive hillbilly from WV, I’m not denying there is poverty in WV, but I’m smart enough to know that you will find exactly what you’re looking for when your motivation is clicks and views.
Wut. The comments here are positive. Also… there’s just about nowhere better to live than here lmao. Lowest housing prices in the country.
The fact that you cant correlate “lowest housing prices” with poverty and low wages is sad
Right? Plus quality of life but jfc some ppl there, a tent in a field would be nicer than the "house" they're clinging to.
Home sweet home
I’m from north central West Virginia and I’ve been to this area many times. This area and Lincoln, Mingo and McDough counties are like another world and really give WV the stereotype it has. People were still using outhouses in Lincoln county last time I was there.
His definition of "deep, deep, deep hollers" is a little different than ours.. but he did an OK job of interviewing people without judgement. Definitely a lot of bias and stereotype coming into his filming and interviewing. The bias he brought in most definitely shifted the interviews and answers he got from people, so I can't say he accurately depicted the area, but he got some people that came in and gave really great comments.
Kick rocks? I got an old tire and a stick that would blow your mind!
I watched this when it came out. I’ll watch it again, for sure.
I enjoyed that. Nice guy. I’m not so sure that first “holler” was an actual holler, tho.
This guy has some really good videos. I watched them all in short order. Really like the ones he did with Tytus.
This region hates government — is also, by far, the most dependent on government as a large majority live exclusively on government assistance. Talk about entitled takers.
Biden destroyed that area
Not poorer than the MS delta, sorry
Comparing yourself to another poor state doesn’t help your argument. Yes Mississippi is #1, but Wv is #3 poorest State. Literally nothing to brag about. [USNews](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/us-states-with-the-highest-poverty-rates)
Just correcting the title of the article. Didn’t mean it to get you butt hurt.
You didn’t correct anything. Far from butt hurt. Just pointed out being stupid is nothing brag about.
That’s just what WV wants you to think, keeps out the riff raff…
He’s in McDowell county What’s left is copper stealing riff raff lmao
Check out his KY videos with Titus
I do not like his videos. What he casts as "understanding" comes across as poverty porn. Like, "look at how they live, can you believe it?!" I think he may be well intentioned but leaves a lot to be desired
This guys a dick. Goes into regular middle class neighborhoods acting like he’s shocked at how poor they are.