“A stereotype is a generalized statement or belief applied to everyone in a group, as though the entire group is the same.
Martin
Any belief or characteristic, applied to an entire group, immediately makes it invalid because no characteristics are held by everyone in the group…Stereotypical beliefs sometimes come from some degree of truth, however. There is probably someone in the group who fits the stereotype” says Lenora Billings-Harris.
I agree.
In his younger years, my maternal grandfather boiled moonshine in a still hidden in the deep woods, but not every grandpa in rural Appalachia brewed alcohol.
The expression “pillbillies” is being used by some media sites to describe the opioid crisis in Appalachia. It’s a combination of hillbilly and pill. Type the word “pillbillies” on the Internet and myriad articles ensue.
Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia residents are targeted as “pillbillies” because of the statistics on prescription drug addiction in rural Appalachian areas. People in non-Appalachian regions with drug addiction are not called “pillbillies.”
Pillbillies is also the title of a 2014 self-published fiction novel by K.L. Randis and she followed it up with continuation of the story in a series. The main character is a drug addicted pill-pusher from the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and another character that is out to get him to avenge his sister’s death. Do her novels help or harm Appalachian stereotypes?
The phrase “pill mills” was used to describe the doctor’s offices that prescribed massive quantities of opiate pain pills with the main prescription drug being OxyContin. And OxyContin was called “hillbilly heroin.”
Some news headlines imply that the widespread drug abuse and addiction of Appalachians is because of their own doing, but, what about the doctors who wrote mega-prescriptions and the pharmacists who filled mega prescriptions? And what about the pill pipeline from Florida called “The OxyContin Express”—mega doses of opiates from the sunshine state, courtesy of Floridian physicians.
What about the drug companies?
In 2007, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty in federal court in Virginia to misleading doctors and patients by making false claims about Oxycontin’s safety and paid $600 million in fines. In May of 2017, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced that the State is suing five pharmaceutical companies for the same offense.
However, Oxycontin is not the only opioid narcotic being abused.
What about Vicodin, Lortabs, Percocet, Dilaudid, Opana, fentanyl, morphine and codeine? According to WebMD “Opioids are available in pills, liquids, or suckers to take by mouth, and in shot, skin patch, and suppository form.”
When Pill Mills Closed
Over the past decade law enforcement began cracking down on clinics. When the pill mills dried up, those addicted to prescription painkillers turned to heroin as a last resort. Patients became involved with dealers, needles, and the illegal purchasing of opium.
There are legitimate conditions where pain pills are necessary. What about our wounded veterans of war? What about workers who are seriously injured on the job? What about individuals with permanent chronic pain like the West Virginia coal-miners? What about cancer patients?
And, yes, there is a group of individuals without physical pain conditions that abused opiates before turning to heroin. There is also a group of younger adults that experimented with heroin first and got hooked, but, this is not confined only to Appalachia.
Prescription Opioid Abuse Outside of Appalachia
A 2016 article by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent stated, “Today’s typical heroin addict starts using at 23, is more likely to live in the affluent suburbs and was likely unwittingly led to heroin through painkillers prescribed by his or her doctor.”
A report in 2011 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found increases in the number of people seeking heroin treatment in 30 of the 39 states studied. The Appalachian Region only includes portions of 13 states.
Appalachian Stereotyping
“Appalachia is becoming modernized as the earth turns, like other USA regions. We are not stuck in a hopeless and helpless time warp as the media portrays, but positive Appalachian stories do not garner currency from commercials.”
Appalachian people, both rural and urban, have experienced stereotyping of their culture and region in news media and art depictions for generations.
The dramatized reality television shows, such as “Call of the Wildman,” “Moonshiners,” “Buckwild,” and “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” exaggerate rural living. TV producers search for examples of stereotypes to hype and exploit for ratings.
Appalachia is becoming modernized as the earth turns, like other USA regions. We are not stuck in a hopeless and helpless time warp as the media portrays, but positive Appalachian stories do not garner currency from commercials.
Appalachian neighbor and non-Appalachian neighbor, you get to decide for yourself to use, or not to use, words such as “pillbillies” and “hillbillies.”
Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is a child therapist, behavioral health consultant, educator, children’s book author, and a self-syndicated newspaper columnist who resides in southern Ohio Appalachia View Martin’s website at www.melissamartinchildrensauthor.com.
