West Virginia's Slogan "Wild and Wonderful West Virginia" is Far Off Base, Wild Yes, Wonderful No
My visit was scary. I began in the Charleston, the state capitol with a list of summer festivals. The city was as empty as a ghost town, at the State Capitol an arts festival had only fourteen or fifteen visitors. The handicraft was folksy-kiitsch. A River Festival blocked off a few city streets and was populated by mean, very mean, mountain people who reflect the culture and attitude of most of the residents of the area I encountered. At a sidewalk cafe on Capitol Street I was repeatedly asked what I was doing wandering around downtown. Apparently I was observed walking around the area, something most people in WVa do not approve of judging from their high score on obesity by demographics.
The Town Center Mall echoed the same ghost town quality I found elsewhere in the city. Saleswomen were snarly and seemed very jealous of my friends and me, we were polite and courteous, when we asked simple questions after making a purchase, "Excuse me where is the restroom?" Our inquiries were met by barely intelligible English, "What's wrong with you, why don't you know where the john is?" Of course, the average wage for a woman in WV is around $7.00 per hour. I learned that although the state is very Blue, coal company unions are the only advocates of living wages, most employers in the area are in service related businesses, and most of the service is terrible. I was followed out of the Mariott by a waitress who asked me, "You can afford more than 15% (on my tip) could you give me some more." This was the same woman who replied when I asked for a glass of water,"I'll wait till your done with that one."
The palpable resentment toward tourists with disposable income reflects the schism between the haves and have nots more than in any other place I have traveled. Just off the main streets of Charleston are scenes of the most decaying Rust Belt slums left standing. The air smells very toxic in the Southern Part of the City, the water in the Kanawha River seems unsafe to swim or boat in, although some people do.
The narrow vision and behavior of the mountain people I encountered across the state seemed to be that of a culture lost in time. Chauvinism was pervasive.
The lodgings and accomodations at the ski resorts were third rate during my winter visit. I went back to that state four times, wondering what it was which continued to draw me into it, was I seeking to reality check my initial impressions? Was I delusionally looking for a Magic Forest?
The darkness of poverty and poor education looms over the state. The tangled vines and thick forest areas are walls preventing escape, which is what most of the local people spoke of when they were engaging in conversation. "I'm trapped here," was the most common remark people made when asked about what it was like to live,"In such a nice place."
The State residents are inhospitable to visitors of a race other than brow ridge lined, freckle faced and fat. The Charleston Gazette Newspaper, on Tuesday, September 11 published an article describing one of the few reported racially motivated hate crimes. The city has hungry attorney's and one of our party almost felt set up by a lawyer for a law suit. Think Jessup, Georgia. There is line between curiousity about a stranger in town and stalking. Something of the experience reminded me of a movie about The Covington Woods. There is really little to fear from Bears in the Wilderness of the West Virginia Hills, the beast is in the hearts of the citizens. Most of the forested areas, perhaps when the mountains become as barren as Afganistan will the real West Virginia be discovered to be somewhat similar to that country. Equal opportunity doesn't seem to have caught own, fundamentalist sects proliferate. Avoid this destination.
Published by katan-ko
Only one thing I really can't stand is the State of West Virginia I am a crime victim here and became stranded. The politics are very corrupt I became stranded after doing a travel article, not before.... View profile
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34 Comments
Post a CommentNo I did not have an attitude of superiority, I had better clothes and they were merely bestial and jealous. I am really nice to people. Their is a sub culture of rural ghetto Women here are hateful to other women, their impoverished social skills are overwhelming If you came back to WV it is probably because you can't make it anyplace else. Independence isn't possible in this culture where multiple generations live in the same household depending financially on one another. Your statistics are all wrong, the state is losing population. It is very low in college degree per capita.
The articles defending WV sum it up, people here can't cope with any criticism, they are living in a miserable little bubble of isolation. The defensiveness of the population is pathetic, most places would have asked their Chamber of Commerce to apologize. Check out articles about CAMC a dangerous hospital about hospital crime. It is scary that one article describing a horrible experience is met with so much rage. WV is among the national leaders in illiteracy, poverty, unwed mothers, welfare recipients per capita, gangs are very prevalent in the Mountain State.
It is an Appalachian horror story - generations of welfare people. I don't feel sorry for people here who are so poor their culture is ghetto. There is no accountability, poverty is the only credential in WV and people here are crude. Class hatred exists in WV, so many complaints to Civil Service where to this day interviewers ask if you are a member of their party. Sick. Sick people. Why not apologize? That would sh
I have to agree with the comment i read before mine. your blowing it way out of proportion. I left WV because I wanted to live in a big city, and regretted it as soon as I arrived there. I wanted to go back home. Where people were nice and cared about others. You might consider us rude and mean. We woulnd't have gone back 3 times if we don't like anything.
Sorry that you had a horrible experience here. However, you're embellishing, welllll a lot. West Virginia is not NYC, if you came here expecting that... well no wonder you were so blown away. I have a feeling you probably weren't as nice as you thought you were to the people you met. You probably approached them with an attitude of superiority simply because you were from somewhere else. I've experienced this many times. People think I'm poor and uneducated simply because I'm from West Virginia. For the record I'm an only child, not poor, and attending law school this fall. I feel like you may have a little problem with stereotyping. :/
I live in Charleston West Virginia and that story about the Marriott waitress makes me sad. She probably wanted more money to buy Lortabs when she got off work... I feel so sorry for people around here because it's like their parents never had a chance to teach their kids proper morals.
People are so ignorant here that even the college courses at Marshall University an hour away in Huntington have to be designed so everybody can pass them or the school would probably lose its accreditation. I dropped out (until I move) after 60 hours because I was afraid my degree would be worthless. No proctor is required for internet classes and they stand in the campus bookstore at the CASHIER bragging about how they "love takin' the internet courses cuz they can cheet!"
Hey, I'm from the DC area (Arlington really) and I visit WV all the time in the summer. Most people are very nice to me. Maybe you're just one of those snobby airheads that deserve such attitudes towards them??????
Sure sounds like it anyway.......
I was disgusted at the narrow-mindedness in your piece of work. Actually, I do not want to say it that way. I am sorry that you feel that you were not welcomed here, but maybe you should try putting yourself in the shoes of a West Virginia resident and enjoy yourself for five measly minutes of your obviously boring life. Have you ever gone hiking through Cranberry Glades, seen Black Water falls in all of its beauty, watched the sun set at Cooper's Rock, enjoyed a muder mystery dinner aboard a train rolling through the West Virginia mountains, kayaked down the Cheat River, watched a drive-in movie in the bed of a truck on a warm summer night, went fishing at Holly River and then jumped on a hay ride into the dark summer night? I believe that you truly missed the heart and spirit of our great state, and if you ever decide to return for a fifth visit (it's true that no one can stay away), maybe you should ask a a native where to visit. You may feel that we are uneducated, but wander up to
No details i doubt they were even there. No waitress in WV would ever ask for more tip money. It's all complete fabrication from hater's point of view!!! Who visits WV an goes to the biggest town there. Charleston was destroyed by the chemical companies long ago. They are just now digging out of the mess Dupont and the others left us with. God bless West by God Virginia!!!!
I was reading further down the comments and totally agree with one...living in the country and with this economic crisis going down, where is all the city people going to run to? THE COUNTRY! We know how to survive, we know how to live and depend on each other, we know how to fire a weapon. Think about that. City folk are all about themselves, they care for nothing or no one. I love this state, we may not be as populated as bigger cities or as "civilizied" as you say you are, but the fact of the matter is, when its all said and done...we will be the last one's standing and the one's that everyone else depends on. So rethink your attitude toward us and this state.
I've lived in WV all my life and I have been to other states. I will agree that WV is poor and it is. I will agree that our education system lacks, it does. Look around you however, the entire nation is in dismay. Look at the US as a whole and you will find that the entire US Education System lacks. The US is not doing very well as a whole, not like it did in the past.
I will also agree that West Virginian's lack in culture. They are bigoted, but to say that they are rude and mean? That is not typical of the people here. They are down-home country folk. The Andy Griffith and The small town everyone-knows-everyone type. Polite and set in their old ways. Rednecks are not "spooky" or "mean". They are "different". Not everyone is like a big city yokle. To me, people in bigger cities are rude. I've been to several.
It upsets me to read about someone saying such harsh and mean things about this state. This state could be so much more, but it had been run into the ground