Diane Sawyer - Appalachian Special

[Pam]

Medusa and Terry thank you for your stories. I hope they, and the documentary, have shed some light and I hope that those who are in positions to do something will act, and soon. I remember a few years ago going on vacation to the Skyline Drive in Virginia. We passed through West Virginia and saw much poverty along the way. You could actually see daylight through a few of the houses. We stopped at a Mc Donald's and a man sat there eating crackers that were given to him for free, along with little packets of ketchup that are given out with hamburgers that he carefully spread over the crackers. From his conversation with the workers you could tell that he was a "regular" and this was an example of how he was able to eat. I was fascinated with how people could exist with so little. A few years ago I also caught another documentary on life in Appalachia and it centered around one family. I believe it was on PBS although I could be wrong but it was excellent and I can still remember the family vividly in my mind. They were good people, just not able to rise above the circumstances of their birth.

I found a writer (Sharyn McCrumb) a few years ago who writes about life in Appalachia. She lives and writes in the Blue Ridge mountains less than 100 miles from where her family settled in 1790 in the Smoky Mountains. The first book I read by her was The Rosewood Casket and I think I have read all of her books by now. Her books, though fiction, will take you to a place that you have never gone and you will be hooked from the start (at least I was).

[Alysser]

I honestly had no idea people still lived like that, it's sickening, especially in "America". I watched and I was speechless, at the end when they said that boy gave up on college I was really sad, he was really trying to make a life for himself. I am glad though that the Girl named Angel got her GED and I'm glad these people are trying at least...

It makes me really want to help, I'm glad I'm young and I can possibly help some of these people in the future. I hope this documentary really raises awareness and more people try and help! My cousin goes there every summer for 2 weeks with a volunteer organization to help out down there, it's good they are getting more help The guy who made a mobile dentist made me happier. Incest, drugs, hunger, etc are really bad problems up there but I hope to god that they can solve it. I cannot believe people live in such poverty it makes me so sad. Maybe now they will start getting the help they needed.

The guy in the coal mines made me really sad to, he was only 19 years old!! They might make a "good" salary but they die very young I'm sure That show was pretty powerful, I'm sure it moved many people and I hope it is going to be the start of a change for Appalachia.

[Pam]

Diane Sawyer said today that tomorrow morning on GMA they will have an update on this show reflecting the outpouring of interest that everyone had after viewing. I hope I remember to watch. Better tie a string around my finger.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Thanks Pam!! I'll get a reminder post it on the tv now. There was a huge response to it and alot of the comments were directed at Diane herself. I know she was hurt by many of the remarks.

[Pam]

Well that was a short little update (but encouraging!). Terry I hope you saw it. Lots of people have responded as I knew they would. They are going to update further on 20/20 on Friday night.

[smokey the elder]

All these charities come on pitching to help kids overseas, but I never see a commercial for a charity helping American poor kids, whether they be inner city, Native Americans on the reservation or Appalachians. I think these people tend to fall through the cracks (out of sight, out of mind.) No person should have to mine for a living, IMO. It's very dangerous, and this is one place where I think it's better to use machinery, and train the people to operate the machines.

[Cataholic]

Thanks Pam!! I'll get a reminder post it on the tv now. There was a huge response to it and alot of the comments were directed at Diane herself. I know she was hurt by many of the remarks.

D&D, I didn't see the special, but, want to watch 20/20 this Friday night. Why were people directing the hurtful comments to Diane?

[Daisy and Delilah]

D&D, I didn't see the special, but, want to watch 20/20 this Friday night. Why were people directing the hurtful comments to Diane?

The comments are mostly from natives of the area that are angry about the way she dipicted them all as toothless, incestuous, good for nothing, drug addicts. The show covered the fact that not all people are like that but many of the people still feel like they're being made to look bad again. She is from Kentucky and she's apparently seen by some as uppity and unknowing about how things really go there.

There were also dozens of angry comments directed at her for not offering to put the young man through college that supposedly dropped out due to lack of funds. Not just directed at Diane but to ABC and others.

Of course, there were people complaining about poverty in all areas and why would Diane concentrate on this area only.

There are hundreds of comments on the ABC website and some of them are ugly.

Pam: I did see it this morning. I was also reading about the actual help that's been given.

[kokopup]

originally posted by Daisy and Delilah

The comments are mostly from natives of the area that are angry about the way she dipicted them all as toothless, incestuous, good for nothing, drug addicts. The show covered the fact that not all people are like that but many of the people still feel like they're being made to look bad again. She is from Kentucky and she's apparently seen by some as uppity and unknowing about how things really go there.

There were also dozens of angry comments directed at her for not offering to put the young man through college that supposedly dropped out due to lack of funds. Not just directed at Diane but to ABC and others.

Of course, there were people complaining about poverty in all areas and why would Diane concentrate on this area only.

There are hundreds of comments on the ABC website and some of them are ugly.

Pam: I did see it this morning. I was also reading about the actual help that's been given.
_____

I can see how the locals would be upset with how they are depicted.
I have seen media distortion for years, after all i was raised in Birmingham, Alabama. It is true that there are still pockets of poverty
in Appalachia. This is true for just about every region in the US. Look at our intercity. It is not fair to go out in the mountain and find a few families and make it a epidemic. Drug abuse is not unique to this or any region of our world. This is a problem that plagues all regions, And income groups. Incest is a another worldwide problem that they tried
to isolate to the Mountain people. We give it a name like child abuse or
some other name but it is still incest.The number one social problem in the Netherland is incest. This is a country with one of the highest standard of living in the world. There are religious groups that have incest as a part of there tenet's. This is not a unique problem to Appalachia

Changing social issues in is not easy from the outside. It must start from within. Martin Luther King would roll over in his grave if he could see how rampant black on black crime is. How do you stop this. It has
to be a change in the mindset of the people. This is true with Appalachia and the intercity of our larger cities. It is easy to have exposes' on the problems facing America and the world , that 20/20 is famous for, but harder to come up with solutions to these problems.