The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

You really can't imagine anyone doing a much better job depicting this scourge on society. I've watched this three times and showed it to friends. No one seems to be able to turn away from the Whites.

Being born into that family is an incredible handicap. Life really isn't fair for some people from the git-go, especially those who are addicted to drugs in the womb.

Also, we all aren't created equal, because although crafty, the Whites are completely dim and dysfunctional in their outlook towards life. The sad thing is that there are many people like the Whites in America; leeches on the rest of us, sucking the lifeblood out of this country.

I first scanned by this movie while staying at a hotel. At first while channel flipping I thought it was a bad episode of cops. Only after further viewing did I realize it was much much worse.... and better.

Although the documentary format leaves something to be desired, the subjects fill the time with their crazy lifestyles. No real way to describe the documentary.

One strange phenomenon is that the young kids are much smarter than the adults. The adults have fried their brains on drugs for so many years that some of them can barely talk.

Check it out.

"They took her baby. Prolly cause they found drugs in it."

I work in a therapeutic residential environment. I specialise in taking care of children who come from families like this. Everyday is a battle to try and undo the behaviours that they learned from the people they grew up around.

Drugs and gang culture is the norm. They act impulsively as soon as there's a gut feeling. There is very little planning for the future if any at all ever. No consequence training. No boundary setting. The word "no" is a signal to begin arguing or to throw a tantrum. They tend to be self serving and inconsiderate. I deal with laziness, they're always expecting to be served by others. They put up a fuss when it's their turn to help out in even the smallest way. Also, families like this typically distrust professional institutions run by educated people.

They wonder why their lives are the way they are and they can't figure it out. "It must be the Devil in us" one of them says. Change can only happen when people are willing to look at their own selves critically. Life is all about the choices that we make.

These guys have a looooong way to go.

Some of these folks seem chill, some seem a little off, some I wouldn't let myself get caught alone with.

Basically, like any family, except they do illegal things and have mountain folk accents so its shocking I guess.

I won't make a case here for drug dealing, violent crimes against creepy uncles, or sex work, only because most here don't come here because they care about this but rather because they want to laugh.

Well from the technical standpoint, its OK. It gets the job done. We all know films like this are made for those sleazy types that like to watch poor people go through hell so they can hate them, so there isn't much more to say.

If you been through sh-t and like to see people who go through sh-t talk about their lives, this film is quite a ride.

If you have never had to do sketchy sh-t to survive because you had no other options, and are proud of it, don't bother, go watch catfish or something as reprehensible.

I waited a while before seeing this film because I thought it might be exactly what it was. A documentation of the sort of people I grew up around in central Missouri. While many people who have not grown up in such areas may believe that the Whites are not a significant part of the population, unfortunately many rural communities especially Southern rural areas of America produce tons of folks like the Whites.

Even those who break away from this sort of dysfunctional rural white trash lifestyle often merely become Bible thumping, intolerant leaders in the community who still do not know or understand history, art or the value of education.

It is the extremely poor schools, glorification of anti-intellectualism and Fundamentalist Christianity that produce these people generation after generation. It is these types of folks that build the base of small town American Republicans. It is not surprising that statements made by Michele Bachmann could easily sound like things said by any of the Whites. It is no accident that Hank Williams Jr said the ignorant stuff he did about playing golf with Obama and that his son is hanging out with the White family.

You can see similar homes of VERY similar people in central Missouri http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avq3-lBgyzs or my longer version at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTKWqKTGwTg

This is why I STRONGLY advocate a lot more funding of rural schools especially in the Midwest and the South. The increased funding should also include a great deal of Federal oversight of the schools and long term counseling to help the next few generations climb out of this ignorant and intolerant lifestyle of destruction.