yknow it would be really nice if everyone into like cryptic culture and ~cottagecore~ and all that actually like....gave a shit abt appalachia
like i people don't INTEND to commodify or sensationalize us, but every time i see people hyping up cryptids i always get the unpleasant reminder that people only care abt my state for ~mothman~ or to conveniently stereotype in debates abt gun control. please please if you have spent any time learning abt cryptids, also learn abt wv coal miners, who work a dying industry because it's the only job a cycle of Incredible poverty makes accessible to them, have had absolutely no protections against COVID enforced, despite not only working in incredibly cramped, dangerous positions, but Already being at high risk for respiratory diseases like black lung. learn abt the governor who was reelected in the midst of all the other major politics last year, the only millionaire in west virginia, who at one point owed 7 billion dollars in fines for mine safety violations that he still hasn't paid and whose family STILL owns most mines in the state.
that's just two things! in one state!!! the opioid epidemic and the steady defending of education and the absolutely abysmal conditions that people live in across appalachia are staggering in their weight. if you love cryptid culture i am begging you, please please love and care for and talk abt the people who created it and keep it going.
if you have ever bought merchandise abt how much u love the flatwoods monster or w/ever, please please also consider supporting one of these organizations (these are mostly wv-centered because it's where i live, i encourage ppl from other states to add links if they have them!):
- Holler Health Justice, a queer BIPOC-led nonprofit that provides access to abortion, free EC, and other mutual aid across Appalachia
- Appalachian Mountain Advocates, which works across Appalachia to shift towards clean energy and end fossil fuels and fracking
- Mountain Justice, which works in West Virginia to fight environmental damage, in particular mountain top removal
- WV Free, a group that advocates reproductive rights in west virginia
- Fairness WV, a group that advocates lgbt+ rights in west virginia
- WV Can't Wait, a political group that focuses on helping & promoting candidates across west virginia who want economic change
This is literally the only time on the internet I’ve seen anyone not blame poor people in rural areas for being poor? “They work in coal mines and they’re uneducated, ew” Do you understand how poverty works?? Do you?? Anwyay @pechebeche mad props for sticking up for Appalachia. I have been yelling about it for years but nobody on ANY side of the political balance beam wants to listen.
Ooh I forgot I had resources to share looool
- Foxfire - in 1966, a bunch of high school kids in Southern Appalachia (Georgia) created a magazine featuring interviews from their family and community members about Appalachian culture and history. Now, not only has the magazine creation been passed down from generation to generation of high school students, but there’s an entire center and foundation for Foxfire.
- What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia - don’t read Hillbilly Elegy; read this book instead. It genuinely changed my life and my understanding of this nation. This is a “why didn’t they teach us THIS in school” book filled with important knowledge, defense of minority groups in Appalachia, dispelling of myths... seriously it’s such a good book.
- How Half of America Lost Its F***ing Mind - this article is less Appalachia-centric, but it offers a pretty balanced look at why rural counties glowed red in 2016 and 2020 (note: this article was written back in early 2016, when liberals never fully believed Trump would get any votes, but the also liberal author of the article knew more than he thought he did). Again, one of the few articles on the Internet that doesn’t use “uneducated” as an insult.
- Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia - this book was filled with interviews from black Americans who grew up in Appalachian coal mining towns. Fair warning, the editing and formatting in this book is fully atrocious, but the information is still insanely valuable!
