Appalachian Stereotypes Essay -- Appalachia

"Excuse me miss, but you have the cutest little accent," the pizza delivery guy said. "Well, thank you," I replied. "If you don't mind me asking, where are you from? I know that you aren't from around this area with an accent like that." "I am from a little town called Hazard," I replied reluctantly, realizing exactly where this conversation was headed. "Oh, is that where the Dukes of Hazzard are from?" he asks chuckling. "No, that place is Hazzard, Georgia. I live in a little town in southeastern Kentucky." "I bet you all have a lot of barefoot, pregnant people there don't you?" he asks with a discriminating smile. "Well actually we don...." "Huh, I bet you all don't even have paved roads or indoor plumbing," he persisted. "You know what? I don't feel very hungry anymore. Why don't you take that pizza back?" I asked. "Oh, miss, I was just joking with you." This conversation actually took place during my first semester of college. However, being quite accustomed to the questions that I am frequently asked about the place I call home, this conversation somehow made me more upset than usual. This conversation made me realize just how blind society can be towards other groups in society. Different stereotypes are placed on groups for various reasons-race, sex, occupations, and geographical locations-just to name a few. The last of these four different classifications is the one that distinguishes me from most of society. Growing up in Appalachia has made me a minority (different from the rest of society), and also plagued me with many stereotypes. Everyone in society has heard the stereotypes. However, I would like to focus on the how's and why's of them. How they came to be. Why society does perceive... ...ut trying to find your place within society as a minority is even harder. When you go for a job interview and see the person you are being interviewed by shake their head when they hear your accent, you know that you are in trouble. It's the education that is lacking in America. We are known to be this great melting pot. But it isn't until the stereotypes that plague so many Americans come to an end, that we will truly be united as one. Works Cited Asfahani, Magdoline. "Time to Look and Listen." Newsweek Dec. 1996: 18. Billings, Dwight B. "The Road to Poverty: The Making of Wealth and Hardship in Appalachia." Booklist 36 (1999): 38. Norman, Gurney. Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories. Frankfort: Gnomom Press, 1977. Waller, Altina. "Two Words in the Tennessee Mountains: Exploring the Origins of Appalachian Stereotypes." Journal of Social History 32 (1999): 963.