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West Virginia Ranks 51st in College Education Rates. Wait, 51st!?!

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West Virginia Ranks 51st in College Education Rates. Wait, 51st!?!
Just to squash any of the importance you may have thought there was to Hillary's victory in WV. Wow, we are dealing with some ignorant folks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia
benjaminV

3 responses // West Virginia Ranks 51st in College Education Rates. Wait, 51st!?!

  • Well here is what you don't understand... first off yes West Virginia is 51st in college rates. As a college grad from WV and now lives back in the Mountain State, people like yourself need to quit making accusations and come to the Mountain State and see for yourself about these great people.

    For generations now, the coal mines and the owners have abused the people here, created environments that are conducive to the youth of this great state for learning. We currently live near the poorest county in WV and depending on who you talk to, the 5th poorest county in the US. Many of our neighbors do not have running water or proper sanitation. And on top of that... 85% of the actual property in McDowell County is till owned by the coal mines, even if they own their house.

    All that to say... regardless of their education level... these people are American citizens... they have the right to vote just like you do. The ignorance is actually on your part since you do not understand that Barack only spend one day campaigning in WV. Where Hiliary and Bill spent DAYS... and several locations a day here.

    Do not discount the people here... until you are ready to come and walk a mile... or be in the hills and hollers with these great people. These are the same people that the American government has forgotten about.
    mobilemalcolm
  • Well sure, I'll admit that was a huge, blatant generalization. I apologize for seeming insensitive. I definitely feel for those who have been disenfranchised so much by the destructive coal mines, etc. My frustrations lie in the fact that pundits talk so much about the blue collar vote, and how Obama can't win their support. My question to you is: Don't these 'under-educated' voters ever think to themselves "Hey, a lot of the well-educated people in this country seem to like Mr. Obama. Maybe there's a reason for that!" It mystifies me that a voting bloc characterized by their lack of knowledge on a range of issues has so much clout in an election season. I am someone who values education very highly, and while it's unfortunate that not everyone has access to good schooling, I'm not going to make concessions for those that frankly, often don't know what they're talking about!

    So, I'll try to be a little more culturally sensitive. I know full-well that there are a great deal of smart people like you in states like WV. But I think it's really lame that people like Hillary Clinton, a fiercely intelligent woman, will adopt a more 'rural' tone, and talk about her days shooting a gun when she visits states like West Virginia.
    benjaminV
  • Thanks for responding back...

    I agree with you about Hillary... and her rural tone. I am tired of seeing her in steel towns and other rural towns acting like she is one of their buddies.

    The media and many others think that there are typically only one set of issues. I agree there are some key issues... but many of the issues are context dependent. For instance, the issues that families that have an average salary of $16,000/ yr. are much more different than those that are more educated.

    One of things that I forgot about before moving back to WV is the fact that education within families have not had a high value placed on them. Most of these families cannot see past the holler, the hill, the ridge that they live on now.

    These families cannot even afford to have adequate housing, adequate work, adequate health care... so how are they going to afford college. The people here are very practical people... it is hard for them to emphasize education to their families when the most of them are more worried about trying to provide for their families on day by day basis.

    For instance, if they are making minimum wage [if they are lucky]... and they drive to 15 miles to work in Walmart [seriously] with gas this weekend at $4.00 per gallon... how else are they going to be concerned with much more than survival of their families.

    Check this out... http://current.com/items/88845945_poverty_in_america
    mobilemalcolm

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