The Appalachian South has never been supported.
Americans who call the Southeastern Appalachian region home are one of the most vulnerable groups in the nation, yet neither the Democratic nor Republican Party works on their behalf. They never have.
Instead, polarization between the two parties distorts disaster into a defensive posture — taking away from the issues, such as the current flooding across the Appalachian region.
It’s easy for Wake Forest students to be uninformed or apathetic about a series of floods hundreds of miles from Mother So Dear. I’ve fallen into this trap too, even though this issue is nearby in western North Carolina or close to my home in Kentucky.
Over the past few weeks, I knew a storm was expected to hit my home state, but I greatly underestimated the magnitude. Frantic, I called my mom last week to ask about my hometown and our family. While my mom reassured me our hometown was fine, we mourned for towns that did suffer damage, and for the fourteen families that have lost a loved one thus far.
In an effort to cheer myself up, I ended my night by scrolling through social media. I then landed on a New York Times post covering the recent flooding affecting eastern Kentucky. The ache in my chest returned as I sat in bed watching footage of mountain towns under murky water. I opened the comments, expecting others to feel the same empathy. Instead, I found these sentiments about Appalachia:
Using a crisis to project a political stance upon its victims is already shameful, but chalking a deadly catastrophe up to a triumph for the liberal agenda, a consequence of widespread conservatism, is a horrific narrative I hope to disprove.
There’s an elephant in the room, but not throughout all of Appalachia.
Many of the comments point out that President Trump won 64% of the popular vote across Kentucky, with the floods being a rightful consequence of the results. In West Virginia, a state also impacted by the floods, the story remains the same: Trump pulled off victory with 70% of the popular vote. There is no denying that Trump faced little opposition in securing the popular vote in these two Appalachian states, but these statistics don’t tell the whole story.
North Carolina, affected by greater flooding from Hurricane Helene, still favored President Trump, but the margins of victory were slimmer: just over a 3% difference separated Trump and Harris. Buncombe County, with Asheville as its county seat, has consistently favored Democratic Presidential candidates since the 2008 General Election.
Is Asheville an exception to the rule, or proof that stereotypes about voting trends in Appalachia are misguided? Comments casting the entire Appalachian region as a highly conservative, uneducated and impoverished group of people form a reductionist narrative that oversimplifies the realities of a diverse region spanning thirteen states and ignores its emerging Democratic leaders.
Two seemingly irreconcilable forces in American politics seem to agree on one thing – Appalachians are a dispensable demographic.
Climate disasters across Kentucky, West Virginia and North Carolina do not stand alone, but they do stand unresolved. Hurricane Helene destroyed much of Western North Carolina last September, but many communities still are struggling to rebuild their beloved homes. In Barnardsville, N.C., for instance, many are still without homes and material possessions. As the months pass by from the initial incident, some North Carolinians have lost trust in the government’s ability to respond to major crises.
Although Trump criticized the Biden Administration in his campaign for their response to Hurricane Helene, the Trump Administration has done little to address current flooding nationwide and ongoing relief efforts in North Carolina. While Trump authorized FEMA to implement disaster relief in Kentucky, some Kentucky politicians question the government’s ability under the current administration to effectively distribute the necessary funds. Given the Trump Administration’s plan to eliminate 84% of an office within the Department of Housing and Urban Development that spearheads disaster relief efforts, it is unclear how the Trump Administration will address disaster relief in the future.
The difference in President Trump’s response to Hurricane Helene and to this storm reveals a possibility that Trump only stands with Appalachia when looking to demonize the Democratic Party. Seemingly, empathy only pertains to elections.
But it’s not like the left has done any better.
As seen in the Instagram comments, some leftists are quick to rebuke Appalachian people for voting for Trump, scolding them for their apathetic, unintelligent choice. In this act of infantilization, the Democratic Party poses as the savior for Appalachia and all other vulnerable populations– yet they blatantly ignore the working class struggles that led to the current day political situation. Without giving thought to the history of workers’ strikes, labor movements or corporate exploitation in the region, Democrats lose the ability to view Appalachian folks as partners. In the process, they lose sight of Appalachia altogether.
What we need most right now is everything that Appalachian communities “lack.”
While the immediate focus must be on replenishing impacted towns, these floods should inspire both parties to strengthen their dedication to the Appalachian region. To find an example, both Republicans and Democrats have to look no further than to Andy Beshear, Kentucky’s Democratic governor who leads a primarily Republican polity through flooding relief efforts with clarity, compassion and thoroughness.
This is not the first time Appalachian people have faced devastating flooding: another storm system ravaged the Kentucky and West Virginia area in 2022. It is the exact sentiments that many on social media have abandoned — sentiments of resilience, solidarity and compassion — that continue to define the Appalachian region and its people during hardships, past and present.
Country artist Tyler Childers speaks to his hometown Virgie’s resilience and solidarity. As Virgie faces the worst of the current Kentucky flood, the lyrics of “Follow You to Virgie” speak volumes:
“And I will follow you to Virgie
‘Cause that’s what us boys are for
To help you out when you get weary”
Are we willing to follow, or are we stuck pointing fingers?
If you would like to take the next step, you can take action by donating to any of the following links below that benefit flood victims:
