Rebekah Epling,
Ripley, WV.

Appalachian people are treated in this country as second-class citizens. It is perfectly acceptable for mainstream media to characterize Appalachian people in ways that would incite outrage and not be published were it about another minority group. Just because the majority of Appalachian people are white, does not mean it is ok to belittle them or mock their culture and experience by employing gross generalizations.