Somewhere in the Smoky Mountain Range

A wildfire is raging across the Appalachian area in Tennessee, leaving a trail of devastation of nature, homes and lives in its wake.  Jason Howard speaks to the lack of media coverage of this devastation of the Smoky Mountains near Gatlinburg to this uniquely beautiful part of the country in his article “Appalachia Burning.”  Tennessee is a state known for country music.  Country music artists have dedicated many a song to the Smoky Mountain Range and the country settings of Tennessee.  The first time I ever heard of the Smoky Mountains or Gatlinburg was through country songs.  The songs that come from this area of the country are full of love for family, nature, and the simple ways of life.  Howard tells us how he feels about the people in the Appalachian mountains and the great blaze that is tearing this region apart. 

Howards begins his descriptions of the Appalachia people with his own parents’ modest wedding.  Howard tells us that his parent were not wealthy when they married.  From his mother’s “borrowed . . . wedding dress” to the inexpensive “cake-and-punch reception,” Howard tells us that although his parents were poor, they loved each other, family and traditions.  His story of his parents’ honeymoon in Gatlinburg tells the story of many of the people of Appalachia.  Howard tells us that Gatlinburg was the closest, most affordable place for the people that lived nearby to go for some simple fun and vacations or even just to treat themselves to a meal at the Howard Johnson hotel.  Howard’s assessment that the Appalachian people are often represented as “poor, ignorant hillbillies” is a stark contrast with how he clearly feels.  Howard continues that people turn a blind eye to the people of Appalachia, who are often represented as “hillbillies” who must have accidentally set the fire from their “moonshine stills.”  He portrays his parents as well as extended family as very loving, goal oriented and successful.  When he talks about sitting at a restaurant in Gatlinburg with his husband and extended family, he demonstrates how progressive and loving the people are who live in and love the area.  A “backwater hillbilly” would perhaps not be thought by popular opinion to be quite so progressive as to accept an openly gay man, who married to another man.  Howard tells us that people who love the Smoky Mountain area of the Appalachians usually have generational emotional ties of many memories of the beauty and rich cultural activities found in and around Gatlinburg.  Family fueds such as the ones between the Hatfields and McCoys are the stereotypes Howard tells us dominate the conversation about Appalachian families – when in actuality, close family bonds, faith, and fun are valued so deeply by generations of families.

Howard evokes many emotional responses from his readers.  There is great sadness at the loss of life, sentimental memories, and beautiful landscapes.  Fear over the missing people “including children” looms in Howard’s article.  Howard wants us to feel a sense of love for the people that live in the Appalachian Mountains, to get a sense of their “cultural riches” and close connection with family.  He speaks fondly of his parents and other family that live and visit the area.  The strongest emotion Howard shows us is that of anger over the fact that such a large scale disaster hasn’t received an appropriate amount of coverage in national mainstream media, nor has it received so much as a statement from the president or the president elect.  Howard feels that this is due to the bias towards the poor people of the Appalachia and the stereotypes that people have of them.  Howard’s assessment that major news media’s lack of coverage is evident when compared to local news coverage and social media responses.  He notes that only two major news organizations, CNN and ABC’s “Good Morning America” had only given “a few combined minutes of anemic coverage” of the epic blaze.  When compared to Howard’s analysis of local media’s coverage of thousands of evacuated citizens, Red Cross intervention, temporary shelters, missing and severely burned people and loss of life and property, it is evident that the national news media entities had plenty to talk about concerning this horrible fire that had been burning for two days at the time of Howard’s article.  With the multitude of major news corporations in this nation, this truly proves Howard’s assertion that the media is negatively biased towards this area of the country.  Social media on the other hand, seemed to Howard to be a fast moving, real time documentary of the effects of the fire on the local population, showing fires burning down places of worship, coming dangerously close to people and highways, and smoke hanging over the sky like a bad omen.  Howard notes that unfortunately, people on social media are restating and reinforcing negative stereotypes of the Appalachian people.  Howard appears to be astounded as to the lack of response from Obama or Trump about this disaster that has devastated so many people’s lives as well as a true natural gem.  Obama has commented on less and Trump tweets about all kinds of silly things at all times of the day and night.  I understand Howard’s frustrations with these two politicians.
Like the many country music artists and fans from this area in Tennessee, Howard is deeply saddened by the apparent triply bad luck of the Appalachia people.  First, the people of this area in Tennessee are generally poor already.  Second, their losses of life, health, livelihood, property, and memories are great due to this wildfire. And third, pathetic neglect of politicians and national news media to show the true devastations that is occurring near Gatlinburg.  Surely, the rich culture of the Appalachia people will carry on in the Smoky Mountain Range.