Examining Flaws in J.D. Vance’s Portrayal of Appalachian Culture

However, having grown up in Butler County, Ohio, and then moved to Washington County, Ohio, on the West Virginia border, I realize that Ohio has several dozen Appalachian counties. Butler County ain’t one of them. I do not understand how Hillbilly Elegy purports to describe an “Appalachian experience” that did not occur in Appalachia.

New York, N.Y. I was born just 14 miles from where J.D. Vance was born, in Hamilton, Ohio. Both Hamilton and Middletown are located in Butler County and are considered part of the Midwestern Rust Belt.

Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir by J.D. Vance that explores his upbringing in a working-class family in Middletown, Ohio, and the broader issues facing America’s white working class. Vance details the struggles of his family and community, including poverty, addiction, and a sense of hopelessness.

The book also aims to highlight the cultural and social challenges of Appalachia, offering a personal perspective on the economic and social decline in the Rust Belt and the difficulties of upward mobility. However, having grown up in Butler County, Ohio, and then moved to Washington County, Ohio, on the West Virginia border, I realize that Ohio has several dozen Appalachian counties. Butler County ain’t one of them. I do not understand how Hillbilly Elegy purports to describe an “Appalachian experience” that did not occur in Appalachia.

Adding insult to injury with his so-called Appalachian narrative, Vance went on to study at Yale. My father studied at Yale, and I studied in Tokyo; there’s nothing wrong with that. However, we don’t tout our family as lower middle-class.

From his book, it is clear that Vance believes in limiting human rights in America, not expanding them. The only right he defends is the right to own a gun. He does not believe in the right to healthcare or marriage. Free speech only includes speech he agrees with. He believes ‘sexualized’ speech, including pornography, should be illegal. He suggests that a woman should not be able to leave a violent relationship as she is needed to stay home and take care of the children.

He opposes Ukraine defending itself against Russia’s brutal aggression. The people of Appalachia believe in fighting for one’s own home and family and would support their neighbor in doing the same.

Vance follows Mencius Moldbug on social media, an anti-democratic American blogger who is leading the anti-egalitarian philosophical movement known as Dark Enlightenment.

Finally, Vance is a convert to Catholicism. Roman Catholics make up less than 10% of Appalachia compared to almost a quarter of the population outside the region.

J.D. Vance in his book Hillbilly Elegy may describe his own Hand Maiden’s values, but not Appalachian values. Don’t insult Appalachia.

Examining Flaws in J.D. Vance’s Portrayal of Appalachian Culture (July 18, 2024)

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