Ep. 8 - Work, Class, Money: A Response to "Hillbilly Elegy"

Hey y'all!

 

My mama wasn't on drugs.
My daddy never left.
My parents are still married.
I don't know anyone on meth.

 

Have you ever been stereotyped? Have you ever been on the receiving end of people believing a single story about you (or defining you by a single thing)?

Back in 2021, I wrote a post on Instagram as a response to the movie and book, "Hillbilly Elegy" by J.D Vance. Although this is NOT a political podcast, post, or episode, I thought it was timely, with Vance recently accepting the republican nomination for VP, to continue the conversation.

Today's episode is not a critique of the book or film as I try to not be critical of another person's life or story. It's just another life and another story worth sharing and hearing - a story from another "educated hillbilly" - a story that is mine. This story just happens to also be a bit of a counter-narrative to the one currently popularized.

 

A few of the topics covered in this episode are as follows:

 

1.) There is a danger in a single story. (Watch the TEDTalk, y'all.)
2.) Selling the myth: "It's their own fault that they are poor."
3.) Selling the myth: "Military, Education, and/or Marriage"
4.) "Poor" does not equal dumb, drug-addicted, or dysfunctional.
5.) Higher education is not always a "ticket out of poverty."
6.) There is nothing wrong with being a hillbilly.
7.) "Success" looks different to different people.
8.) However, money also matters and should be used for good.
9.) Strategies for avoiding the single story and making the world a better place.
10.) How this all connects to money, work, and class. 
11.) Love (and a Song Dedication)

 

Stick around to the end on this one, y'all. You might just ugly cry...in a good way.

 

Song references:
Time of Day - Turnpike Troubadours
Follow You to Virgie - Tyler Childers

 

I can't wait to hear your thoughts! Comment or DM me on IG (@hannahbphd) to share!

Opportunities to connect are coming soon!

 

Until then, feed the good in yourself and others by leaning in, learning, and never accepting a single story of a person or place.

 

Happy Trails. A country mile in my hillbilly shoes.

 

Yakoke (Thanks)!

 

Hannah B., PhD