Donald Trump’s choice of JD Vance as his running mate has been a big hit — on the best-seller lists.
Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” surged to No. 1 on both the New York Times and Amazon lists, and sparked a new round of controversy over whether its portrayal of Appalachia rings true or false.
As part of our Cardinal Way project to promote civil discussion, we published commentaries on both sides of the question — “‘Hillbilly Elegy’ rings true” by John Massoud, “’Hillbilly Elegy’ rings false” by Mark Lynn Ferguson — and invited readers to respond.
Here’s what some of those readers had to say.
First of all, keep in mind that this was not a scientific survey, but for those curious, most of those responding said they had grown up in a part of the country considered Appalachia — and slightly more people said the book rang true to them than rang false.
Curiously, those who sided with “rings true” left fewer and shorter comments than those who felt the book “rings false.” Those who feel that way left long and often very passionate responses; clearly, the book struck a nerve with them.
We also had a few responses from people on both sides who said they hadn’t read the book but had opinions about it anyway. Read into that whatever you will. The responses that follow all came from people who said they had read the book — and who either grew up in Appalachia, or have family ties to the region.
What is Appalachia? Definitions vary.
Here are some typical ones on the “rings true” side:
“I was born poor in Banner, Virginia in Wise Country,” writes Faye Curren of Salem. “So real and I can certainly relate.”
“He is telling the truth about Appalachia,” writes Nora Smith of Salem. “People who have no first-hand knowledge don’t understand.”
“I was taken back at how similar to my experience was the book,” writes Barbara Duerk of Roanoke. “Do not add bad or good. This is simple reporting how it is. Or how it was. This area is looking to be transformed.”
Barry Kenny of Woodlawn in Carroll County had this observation: “Things been tougher in coal fields then rest of Appalachia. Much of LBJ war on poverty has ruined the character and work ethic of the area. Drugs made a fatal escape for many. When there are jobs and not a dependence on government human dignity is maintained.”
And then there was Lonnie Meade, also of Woodlawn: “Attempts to delegitimize/promote Vance as a viable political candidate with examinations of minutia such as what/where true Appalachia is, what are or are not authentic life experiences shared, or not, by Appalachians are purely political exercises. Many people raised in less than ideal circumstances can identify or at least empathize with such struggles, regardless of where/what Appalachia is, or what composes shared experiences. Vance’s story and his politics ultimately promote populism, the latest threat to the status quo and these articles serve to undermine populist movements in the usual divide and conquer fashion.”
The responses on the “rings false” side were much more fulsome and, at some point, repetitive.
Zane Scott of Gate City in Scott County writes: “My parents were from Wise and Smyth County who left in the 1950s to find jobs (as teachers). Although neither of my maternal or paternal families had money, my parents, three of my grandparents, and one of my great grandmothers were college graduates who worked in professional occupations. While my family isn’t representative of the entire Appalachian population, neither is the family Vance writes about. I am led to believe that living in Appalachia is not the explanation for Vance’s familial dysfunction any more than geography drove my family to education and careers. I think he confuses proximity with causation, reporting his own experience as the norm.”
Rebecca Counts Kahila of Salem says that Vance “left out all the good parts of being a Hillbilly.” She went on to say: “His stories of dysfunction and abuse are his stories. They are not the stories of all people from Appalachia. I found his book insulting to my family and to the neighbors and friends from my home. Yes, there is dysfunction in my family, in most families, but the strength of the Hillbilly culture, the kindness, resilience, perseverance, hope, love, pride, intelligence, creativity, and good nature of my people did not show up in his memoir. It is his story, but not the story of a proud, respectable people that I know as Hillbilly.”
Janet Jayne of Bristol writes: “When ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ came out in 2016, many of my friends and neighbors were appalled by the inaccurate (and unsubstantiated) generalizations, stereotyping, and misleading statements made about our region (which is quite vast, by the way) and its people, by the author JD Vance. I read the book to learn for myself why the book was so reviled among Appalachian people and acclaimed by people who never lived here. The beloved late Frank Kilgore said it perfectly. Kilgore wrote: ‘Despite a half-century of hard work reshaping our coalfields economy and breaking loose from very harmful stereotypes perpetuated by an elite media, JD took up the defamation flag and stuck it to us with gusto. This young, traumatized man kneecapped some very serious efforts at economic recovery in Appalachia by providing excuses to the far right not to waste money on such a hopeless place and gifting fodder to radicals on the far left by excusing and reinforcing their longtime sniggering stereotypes of us. Simply put, JD gave culture bigots a chance to crow.’”
Several readers cited Kilgore’s response: “JD Vance is a Fake Hillbilly,” which he wrote as a defense of Appalachia. Sadly, Kilgore, a St. Paul attorney, died recently — otherwise, he’d have probably been eager to go on network television to talk up Appalachia’s attributes.
While the “rings true” slightly outvoted the “rings false,” the “some of both” category tied “rings true.” Typical of those comments was this one from John Tull, who was elected to the town council in the Wise County town of Appalachia in 2012 and 2016: “People in this area are extremely close knit, and yet diverse at the same time. A ‘one size fits all’ can not be applied when trying to explain the people and culture of this area. Growing up in the small town called Appalachia Virginia, where I served on Town Council and was also the Mayor, I’m proud of the hardworking, honest, and resilient people who through the years have been taken advantage of by big economic entities. The greatest challenge that is facing them is an economic one of rebuilding an economic base from which to recover from the decline of the coal and railroad businesses.”
And then there were several people who responded that they had not read the book but had it on order to see what all the fuss is about. Among those was Kate Delano-Condax Decker, who now lives in New Jersey but who grew up in Tennessee: “I sat on the Grand Ole Opry stage while Lorettta Lynn performed (and loads of other musicians, some very famous, some not). Anyone wanting to see what ‘real’ people from this region are like should look up Loretta Lynn’s life — she was an extraordinary person, decent, kind, talented, generous, funny. And if she is to be believed, most of the people she grew up around with were too.”
We’ll be back soon with two more Cardinal Way essays for readers to comment on.