Hillbilly from a hillbilly's perspective

Hillbilly.

One of those words that can be an insult, a term of endearment, an epithet, or a rallying cry. I have been called a 'hillbilly', and I've referred to myself as a 'hillbilly'. A quick google image search shows a plethora of terrible images, from toothless men in overalls to a strange picture that meshes Hillary and Bill Clinton's faces together (hill+billy = hillbilly... yeah, real witty...). But, few of these are positive, and most are downright negative and pretty offensive at that. Many times, people refer to a person as a hillbilly due to a lack of some kind of social refinement (i.e., something that doesn't adhere to expected urban/suburban norms). These are the sources of all the jokes and jests. Others use it as a term of endearment.

I am going to use the reaction about 'hillbilly' as a proxy for the Appalachian region as a whole. In my experience and research, people tend to have two reactions to Appalachia: a place that is home or a place that is somehow backward (or both, more on this shortly...). If you think about it, the term 'hillbilly' is very similar - a badge of honor or an insult. This, to my linguist and linguistic anthropologist friends, will be no surprise. Marginalized groups re-take the insults/epithets hurled at them and use them as a term of self-reference and pride/endearment, the academic term for this is 'reappropriation'. This is typically an attempt by a group without power to usurp those with power. By reappropriating the term, i.e., using it as a source of pride, the maligned group removes the ability of the word to belittle (at least in theory). But, as always there are many dynamics at play. Most of the time, you have to be a member of the group to use the term in its reappropriated way. If not, it can and will be interpreted as an insult, the previous meaning. Those who are not members of this group routinely misunderstand this as thinking it's okay to say the term (think the 'n-word' and African-Americans as another example) because members of the group use it with one another. This is, obviously, not the case.

Back to 'hillbilly'. Its roots are in Ulster (Northern Ireland) and Scotland. The majority of settlers into Appalachia were Ulster-Scots (also called Scotch-Irish). In lowland Scots, there were two terms, 'hill-folk' and 'billie'. The latter basically meant 'guy, dude, bloke'. So, melding these two terms you get 'hill-billie', meaning a person from the hills (Harkins 2003, Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon). The original meaning was something relatively innocuous, to reference where a person was from. So, why the change to a (possibly) pejorative?

I have made it clear in earlier posts how the shift can happen (check them below!), so I won't belabor the point here. To quickly rehash, the Appalachian region was considered the wild frontier, thus those from there were wild. Then, as other regions progressed technologically and economically, the region was seen as backward, and its inhabitants too.

This post came to mind for two reasons. One, this article by Annie Lowery in the NY Times about Eastern Kentucky. She looks at data about Eastern Kentucky. The data is very grim, and her solution is basically to leave. The most maddening part is where she calls Appalachia and the Deep South a 'smudge'. While no one can refute the data (facts are facts), she doesn't seem to even try to understand why someone would want to stay. The history, connection, or roots to a region apparently mean nothing, and leaving is the only option. The second reason this post came up was this brilliant response by Silas House. He responds to Lowery, and does it in a way that puts into words how so many feel. (Full disclosure: Silas House is one of my literary heroes. His novels are some of my absolute favorites, and I am an unabashed fan. This doesn't change the fact that his blog post expresses the complexity of how many feel about their home region.)

In the end, Lowery's article basically says that to live any kind of life, people in Eastern KY need to leave. House's response is essentially maybe there is more to it than what an outsider sees. It's the same with the term 'hillbilly', and the region as a whole. Outsiders see the backward nature, the poverty, the destruction -- and wonder how could anyone want to live there? Or even be associated with such a place? Insiders, and I am proud to call myself one, see something else. We see the negatives. The poverty, the environmental degradation, the exploitation by politicians and industry is readily seen. But, we also see something else. We see home, we see history, we see potential. I have said many times that as the land rises, so do my spirits. There is a special calling of home, especially when your home is so misunderstood. That is why I am a hillbilly, and may I forever be one.

'As the horizon shortens, and land falls back,
Majestic as they rise, these pillars this beauty,
My soul worships at the altar
of these Cathedrals of Earth'