HEART BEAT: However You Pronounce It

Felicia Mitchell

Okay, full disclosure here.  I’m from South Carolina.  People correct my grammar even when I’m not wrong.  Some people like to correct my pronunciation, too, either subtly or not so subtly.  However I pronounce the word, I know what basil is.  I even grow it.  Please.

I’ve lived in southern Appalachia for only 20 years, so don’t consider me any kind of expert on the type of prejudice people born here have to contend with beyond our borders or, at times, within.  Do rest assured, though, that I have abhorred prejudice since the day I was born.  I know when to lift my eyebrows and when to call in the heavy artillery, figuratively speaking.

By now, many people residing in our community have noticed Steve Tuttle’s essay in “Newsweek” called “The Voters of Appalachia.” If readers are too offended to get past the headline (which lists a few obnoxious stereotypes for shock appeal), they’ll miss his main point:  “If I could give advice to the candidates and their handlers, it would be this:  don’t pretend, don’t condescend.”

Even if you read past the headline, you may stop dead in your tracks when you see that Tuttle, a child of Appalachia, alleges that some of the stereotypes about Appalachia have a ring of truth.  As examples, he mentions poverty and notes that some of his relatives call the Civil War “the War of Northern Aggression.”

Have I mentioned I’m from South Carolina?  My eighth grade history teacher in Columbia, the state capitol, prohibited “Civil War.” A Rebel flag flies at the State House.  Evidence like this supports stereotypes, but that’s not the whole picture by far.

A glass is half full, or half empty.  Perspective counts for a lot.  My new home has an award-winning band called Rebel Regiment.  I have heard it play “Dixie.” Outsiders inclined to look for racism may be vindicated to hear “Dixie” or see the word “Rebel.” Startled, they could easily avoid discovering that people playing and listening to “Dixie” are not essentially racist.

All over, some people are prejudiced, and some people aren’t.  It’s not a perfect world.  All you have to do is read through the posts in the discussion board attached to the online version of Tuttle’s essay to learn that it isn’t.  Unfortunately, one reason that it isn’t is that too many people assume the worst about Appalachia, however you pronounce it. 

Tuttle’s references to stereotypes and to economic conditions have invited readers to vent and say all kinds of awful things about what is wrong with Appalachia and why.  While I’m hoping the open-minded posts will win momentum, close-minded zealots are having a field day.

Does that mean Tuttle should not have opened the barn door?  Well, I think his heart is in the right place. Plus he makes a good point about the election.  If Obama and McCain avoid pretending and condescending, Appalachian voters will be approached with respect.  If only the rest of the world could take a hint.