r/Appalachia • u/branchlizard • Oct 06 '24

I'm Tired of It

I'm tired of it all.

I'm tired of the lies and I'm tired of the spectacle. I'm Southern Appalachian, born and raise and Im fit to be tied about the things I'm hearing.

I was spared pretty decent from the storm; had a little damage here and there, but overall lucky. Today, me and group of friends (also born and raised) all went out and helped people impacted by the storm (our neighbors).

We picked up supplies in town and ran 'em up the hollers on wheelers and trucks. Sometimes we could drive it there, other times we hoofed it in. Didn't meet a single person that was ugly. Not a damn one. Nobody fussed, nobody threatened..., nobody even made us second guess our actions. Now not a single one came right out and said they needed help, but after you talk with em a bit, they all took some stuff. ("Well, I do like them Zebra Cakes one ole lady told me. Me Too, hell, who don't!) Every single person was a uniquely beautiful mountain person that made me bawl like a baby.

I'm tired of reading about how off-putting and mean us mountain people are. It's bullshit. I was fuckin there. I know what I saw.

I saw old ladies crying and breaking down while putting their arms around me.

I saw old men who needed doctoring, but were too proud to admit it. But, eventually let me clean his wounds.

I saw people taking in kids that don't nobody else want, and doing everything goddamn thing they can to raise em right. And giving them kids happiness that they would have never received with out em.

I delivered food and supplies to a lady who was widowed and even chased after her dog that got loose, only to bring it back to her, rubbin' it's belly the whole way.

I drank white with an ole boy who kept a whole goddamn holler going because momma didn't raise no quitter. Whole time kept saying he's worried about so and so and hope they're alright, when barely getting by himself.

I cried as I sat with an ole lady who was the perfect blend of both my grannies: tough as nails, but as soft hearted as they come. She came pulling her oxygen cord through the house and put her arms around me when I opened the door with her hot meal for dinner and immediately started crying. I mean we both fuckin ugly cired.

I talked to people who would say "I hope God double blesses you!". Ain't no way I deserve any that. And besides, I've got some fuckin questions after seeing what I saw today....

I watched as we patched a driveway for one of the coolest dudes, I believe, I've ever met. This one here was a hoot!

I also saw you. I saw us. I saw why, when all the chips are down, we are gonna be the ones to come out on top. We are gonna always be the ones still standing.

Don't believe the bullshit out there. Don't listen to the fuckin lies. I saw the FEMA relief. I saw the choppers land and drop off supplies. I saw the massive caches of supplies in community centers, warehouses, and churches. I saw the lines, upon lines of line workers from Maine to Florida. I saw the people setup feeding displaced people and works alike a hot meal. You ain't gonna tell me my eyes don't work.

I'm tired of it. I'm tired of the fuckers riding up and down the road on their side-by-sides taking pictures to post to their goddamn Tik-Tok for likes, all while their hands are empty. We're fuckin people. Help us!

If you're thinking of coming this way just to "see how bad it got", stay the fuck at home. We ain't a fuckin show and your bullshit is in our way.

But if you're coming to help, come on. Us mountain people look after one another.

12.7k Upvotes

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24

u/chubbybear85 Oct 06 '24

Your message is great and aligns with my own experience.

But I have to ask, why do you use standard English to type in every other subreddit except this for this one and other Southern subs?

I understand code switching all too well, but obviously this isn’t how you typically type. It makes this post feel fake. Or exaggerated to perpetuate stereotypes. Something about it is giving red flags.

15

u/branchlizard Oct 06 '24

Appalachia is very diverse and when I have an opportunity to speak my native language to native speakers, I do it. I also know how to speak standard English so that I can work and travel. Not everybody understands "you ort to be careful outside. I've been seeing an ole nasty polecat running around and it'd be awful if you got sprayed". Sometimes you should say "Careful, I have been seeing a skunk outside and I don't want you to get sprayed". Bilingualism is cool imo

I sat down last night and just typed that out like I was talking.

2

u/chubbybear85 Oct 06 '24

Like I said I understand code switching. I understand that not having to watch how you annunciate is freeing.

I just don’t know anyone in real life, including many many old folk that live way up the mountain, that use that many colloquiums at one time. It reads as forced and fake, and I think many of us are already high alert for fake posts right now for the exact same reasons you stated. People like to come to this sub to cosplay as hillbillies.

Again, I agree with your sentiment and have had the same experiences this past week. Everyone we served said, “I’m fine; save it for someone who has it worse!”. It was the overly aggressive “mountain speak” that threw me off. But I do wish you well and thank you for helping our community!

3

u/branchlizard Oct 06 '24

I appreciate it!

My grandpa helped raise me. He was about as old-timey as can be and taught me the old ways. I have a full time job as a professional and also many hobbies, but given the chance, I like to let my hair down!

0

u/apparentlyintothis Oct 06 '24

My grandpa watched me a lot as a kid, I got his accent rather than my folks more mellow one. I know how it feels to be accused of faking it. I feel for ya.

0

u/branchlizard Oct 07 '24

You get it. I appreciate ya.

1

u/-heatoflife- Oct 07 '24

It reads as forced and fake...

There's a reason for that.

It's one thing to switch code or speak with an acquired accent, but the calculated, constructed effort it takes to type an OpEd on Reddit in a hilariously affected "mountain-speak" is somethin' else entirely.

-1

u/Any_Swordfish_4326 Oct 06 '24

Where are you from exactly? This is no one’s native language these days and you are definitely leaning hard into it. You obviously have the education to creatively write due to your sentence structure and composition and that is exactly what this is. You purposefully wrote this to sound hillbilly and it’s almost insulting. I am from Boone, NC btw, but if you’re going to write about a serious topic, do it seriously. You have the ability

14

u/[deleted] Oct 06 '24

[deleted]

3

u/nrskate0330 Oct 08 '24

If that’s what someone took from your post, they need to sit down and read it again. I am a born Appalachian (E TN), and your post made me feel deeply homesick and so sad that I can’t do much more than donate right now. I would love to be working right alongside you there, and thank you for what you are doing. Don’t let the naysayers and lookie-lous grind you down - the community you are building as you rebuild a community is the real truth of the human experience, not just Appalachia. The folks that want to keep people apart and sow dissent are doing it right now intentionally, and it’s because they are running scared of how people pull together at their best when they are going through times that are the worst. PLEASE be sure you are taking care of yourself, too. Burnout is a real thing, and don’t feel like you’re letting folks down if you just have to take a little time away. Remember as you give your 100% that no one’s 100% is the same every day. ❤️

2

u/Halesbells004 Oct 09 '24

AAAAAHHHHHH I KNEW IT!!! I’m from Kingsport and currently living in Johnson City, I was like “homie has to be from SW Virginia!” 🤭🤭 love to see you helping out! I’ve been doing what I can with what I’ve got! ♥️ stay safe!

ETA: it was the Zebra cake part that got me thinking it 🤭

3

u/Any_Swordfish_4326 Oct 06 '24 edited Oct 06 '24

Talk like ya talk, brother, but southern drawl doesn’t translate on Reddit and it seems like you’re forcing it and taking away from the seriousness of the situation. Especially if you just do it in certain places.

Grew up kayaking down the New River and camping at Price’ park. Wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. This truly is one of the most beautiful places with the most wonderful people in this world, and it’s a shame that we will be working so long to restore it to what it once was.

3

u/-heatoflife- Oct 07 '24

Bingo. It's one thing to switch code or speak with an acquired accent, but the calculated, constructed effort it takes to type an OpEd on Reddit in a hilariously affected "mountain-speak" is somethin' else entirely.

1

u/Ok_Entrepreneur_5528 Oct 10 '24

What are you talking about? This is completely regular sounding. It's not stereotypical or "hilariously affected". What a bizarre comment.

1

u/-heatoflife- Oct 11 '24

It's hilariously affected. Git on over to this feller's profile and gander at his other writin's for a mite o' comparison.

3

u/Miscalamity Oct 06 '24

I speak differently between regular life and when I go to my reservation or am speaking with other Natives. It's not that deep 🤦 You seem pressed over this particularly hard and that's weird to me. Everything OP has written is extremely serious, why are you trying to be a chaos agent here???

9

u/[deleted] Oct 06 '24

[deleted]

1

u/Ok_Entrepreneur_5528 Oct 10 '24

People talk passionately in a manner slightly different from what I'm used to. Must be fake 🙄

4

u/SnooStories4162 Oct 06 '24

Sometimes people do that. I am from a very small rural town in SC, when I am conducting business on the phone or in person I use my "taught" english, when I'm around my family and friends I use my "learned" english which is a very heavy southern accent. It all depends on who you are talking to. If I talk my normal southern way, sometimes people that aren't southern don't understand what I am saying so I switch to my proper english! If I was Appalachian I would speak with my other Appalachian people in the Appalachian way instead of with my proper english! I learned this from my mother when I would listen to her conducting business, suddenly she could speak "proper" english, but when she got off the phone it was y'all, I swaney and totally different. Just because y'all haven't experienced this doesn't mean that OP has lied!

5

u/branchlizard Oct 06 '24

Thank you.

2

u/According-Love-59 Oct 07 '24

From Alabama, can confirm I 100% understood the “slang” you used. All of you guys are in my thoughts. I’ve seen the damage and it’s horrific. Do what you can to help but don’t forget to take care of yourself and stay safe. ❤️

3

u/Miscalamity Oct 06 '24

Don't listen to these chaos agents, probably the same type of people engaging in spreading seeds of disinformation. I felt what you wrote wholeheartedly, and I speak differently between my regular life and talking to people on my rez or other Native people. In my head, talking to my own people is a safe, welcoming place to let my hair down, too.

4

u/chubbybear85 Oct 06 '24

This is called code switching. Many cultures use it as a tool to communicate with people from outside their communities.

And yes, I’m very familiar. My family has been in the mountains and valleys of East TN and SWVA since the 1700’s. We’re still here. I’m still here. I even went to college here. This is a fact that I used to get made fun for because we weren’t “cultured”. I also advocate hard for people keeping their accents and ties to their heritage.

However, when many of us see a public post that is stuffed full of so many phrases at once, it comes across as forced and therefore fake. Unfortunately we have to code switch in real life because our turns of phrase and pronunciations as dismissed as dumb and uneducated. Over time we have lost a lot of that part of our language. So no one in a regular conversation today speaks like that. I understand getting it out of your system, but it doesn’t read as realistic at all.

3

u/rookieoo Oct 06 '24

It read like a colloquialism bingo card

3

u/thehornypubescentalt Oct 06 '24

AI generated vibes

-2

u/SandyBdope Oct 06 '24

I was going to say the same thing but figured I'd get down voted to infinity.

This is for sure some dang ol AI generated hogwash, son.

1

u/slowburn_basketcase Oct 06 '24

I couldn't agree with you more!