Obama better get to WV again

[Edited title to not be disrespectful]

Why? Because it is about more than him winning the primary - that he has already done. It is about building and healing; it is about restoring trust in government. It is about putting into practice his belief there are no red states or blue states. It is about respecting all people in America - it is about Yes We Can.  If he writes off WV, it will be like No, You (dumb hillbillies)Can't. Again. Just like we've been told a thousand times before.

Why should Obama return? There is still a general election to come, for one thing. Every vote is a vote. Yeah, I know, WV probably will go for McCain in the long run, but should it just be left to go for McCain by 20 or more points?

Two, how are things going to get any better if no one reaches out? Here's why I say that:

I'm from WV and I know good and damn well the long history of people coming here from "outside" only when they want something from us, using us, and then otherwise treating us like we are no more than work animals or something.  It hurts me like a stab when I read posters writing stuff in the vein of Just let Obama run a couple of ads but otherwise not bother. The implication being that the dumb hillbillies are all racists to the last man, woman, and child, and will never vote for him anyway, so write them off. We hill people are only good for what you can get from us, and if you can't get anything from us, our stupid asses can just stay in the hills and rot.  It is enough to make me wonder why anybody from Appalachia bothers to fight for this country.  Yeah, I know a lot of people join up because the can't get a job or to get college money, but there is a real attitude of service as well.

It amazes me how people can say they support a candidate who is all about bringing  the country together and then act like people from a large region of this nation are not even Americans, or human beings for that matter.

Stuff you might know, if you "bothered to read stuff on the computer" as one of my superiors put it:

Crackers do write books and stuff:

http://www.wvwriters.org/

http://www.as.wvu.edu/...

We even had a writer/labor organizer, Denise Giardina, run for Governor:

http://www.wvwc.edu/...

Ms Giardina's books are awsome, IMO.

We make stuff, beautiful stuff:

http://www.tamarackwv.com/

Speaking of beautiful stuff, when Obama goes to the White House he will see Blenko Glass:  

casehttp://www.stainedglassjournal.com/blenko.html

World famous, good enough for the White House, Blenko Glass is only a few miles from my home.  

Here is a link to a good overview of Central Appalachia:

http://www.appalachiancommunityfund....

Certain points from the linked-to article that really stood out for me:

Central Appalachia is a place of great contradictions. The beauty of the oldest mountain range in North America with lush mountains, old growth forests, small towns and isolated mountain communities is juxtaposed with long-term poverty, out-migration, lack of health care, inadequate educational systems, and political corruption.

Emphasis mine.  I hope that an Obama AG would investigate the hell out of WV politicians, Dem or Repub, and thow plentiful asses in jail because they are part of what is hurting us. His reform efforts in the Senate so far are one of my main reasons for being an Obama supporter.

Companies have profited greatly from the natural resources at the expense of exploiting our people and destroying the environment leaving generations in decades-long, structural poverty.

Again, emphasis mine. I submit that many things mountain people are derided for are an outgrowth of this structural poverty, at least in part, and should be a jumping off point for understanding and working for change, not an excuse to ridicule.

Obama needs to come back to West Virginia (and the rest of Appalachia) and bring hope - more than hope, proof - that his administration will be dedicated to treating Appalachian people with respect and building a future that is not based on exploitation. He should not write us off like the larger culture does all too often.