Appalachia Documentary

[Ben]

I watched this the other week, was on 20/20. It is on the long side, but VERY much worth it. Is about the problems facing people who live in the hills of central appalachia, its UNBELIEVABLE. I'm still disturbed by it. When you see the shit these people live in, and what those poor kids are put through, i want to go down there with a stack of 2X4s and bust them across these parents faces, it is enraging. And the stories are just crushing. Especially for anyone who has been to Hatfield McCoy, those are the people this is about. Makes you realize how good of cities Mann and Gilbert are, they are WAY better then this, but they are all in the same area.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=6865077&page=1

scroll down to where it says "related", and click on watch full show. Its worth watching

[DannyBoy]

The football player sure did get knocked down fast.  Not only did his brother have sex with their half-sister before he left for college but he had to drop out after 8 weeks because he couldn't pay for college (didn't he have a scholarship? probably other things he couldn't pay for) and had to go back home.  Talk about a shitty ending for him, especially the stealing the coal off the highway.

I wonder how close some of those places are to Gilbert and Mann.  I wonder if Randy watched the special!

[ELake]

I saw houses like that when I went to AR...crazy that people are content living like that.. Then again, they have been doing it for generations and its all they know

[Ben]

Danny, he did have a scholarship, but i think he had no money for extra stuff like food and other necessities. And what the fuck kind of mentor did he have when he was in high school? He had to have known the kid was sleeping in his truck. And then once he stops playing stupid high school football he just forgets about him? I bet that fuck was just trying to ride the kids coat tails hoping he would become a star. The end of his story was just CRUSHING.
That was filmed in Kentucky, i believe fairly close to the Buffalo Mtn HM trail system.

I think in the past those people just kept doing what they were doing since thats all they knew, but those people in the video werent cut off by any means, you could see they had cell phones and other modern shit, they have to know how shitty their lives are. The kids definitely seem aware of it, they seem to have a better grip on reality then the filth parents do. The football player, he was living in his truck down in a suburb out of the hills, so he saw all around him constantly how crappy his home life was.

Then the Mtn Dew epidemic down there, what the hell is with that? and giving the little kids pop in their sippy cups, that deserves a 2x4 smashing across your chin right there. Thats fine that all those adults CHOOSE to live like that, but they are forcing their kids to do the same. Any parent who gave two shits would want better for their kids

I ALMOST sympathized with the people there, until the interview with the mine owner. When he said currently he had 100 positions open, and could not fill them since either the people either did not want to get off welfare, or couldnt pass the drug test, i lost it. That says it all right there. Did you hear what the starting pay is? $60K!! You could live like a king down there on that! that blows away what i make! I understand that a coal mine isnt the best place to work in, but there are tons of jobs like that. I work for an Asbestos Abatement and Demolition company, its just as risky. Our workers dont make that money. And the alternative of living in a sewer of a house on welfare, its not exactly a healthy lifestyle. You'll either OD or get sick and cant afford treatment. At least working at the mine you could provide for your family, have a nice house, have healthcare, food, and afford to get your kids in college or whatever. Thats an easy decision if for some reason you have to stay in that area