--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was not simply that the Appalachian…" description: "\"“It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural strangers ‘out of place’ in the city, were upsetting to Midwestern, urban whites. Rather, th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/j-d-vance-3503_white-people_it-was-not-simply-that-the-appalachian-m_3235995.jpg" --- # It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural… ![“It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural strangers ‘out of place’ in the city, were upsetting to Midwestern, urban whites. Rather, these migrants disrupted a broad set of assumptions held by northern whites about how white people appeared, spoke, and behaved . . . the disturbing…” quote by J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/j-d-vance-3503_white-people_it-was-not-simply-that-the-appalachian-m_3235995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/j-d-vance-3503_white-people_it-was-not-simply-that-the-appalachian-m_3235995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/j-d-vance-3503_white-people_it-was-not-simply-that-the-appalachian-m_3235995.jpg) > ““It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural strangers ‘out of place’ in the city, were upsetting to Midwestern, urban whites. Rather, these migrants disrupted a broad set of assumptions held by northern whites about how white people appeared, spoke, and behaved . . . the disturbing aspect of hillbillies was their racialness. Ostensibly, they were of the same racial order (whites) as those who dominated economic, political, and social power in local and national arenas.”” [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. White migrants challenge entrenched stereotypes about race, class, and behavior, exposing underlying racial anxieties. **In simple terms:** Migrants upset white expectations. Key Takeaway Examine and question racial assumptions. Themes race class stereotypes identity social change Mood reflective critical thought‑provoking Type sociopolitical cultural When to use this quote - politics - education - media - community dialogue Key Concepts social hierarchy racial anxiety cultural conflict Questions to Reflect On - What biases influence our view of “outsiders”? - How can societies foster inclusive narratives? A Different Perspective Assumptions about race can be deeply entrenched, making change slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appalachian Migrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appalachian-migrants-1197722/) [Aspect Hillbillies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspect-hillbillies-6140283/) [Hillbillies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hillbillies-318964/) [Hillbillies Racialness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hillbillies-racialness-1197721/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) [Whites Migrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whites-migrants-2582776/) ## Related quotes > [“It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural strangers ‘out of place’ in the city, were upsetting to Midwestern, urban whites. Rather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/it-was-not-simply-that-the-appalachian-migrants-as-rural-strangers/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As one book, Appalachian Odyssey, notes about the influx of hill people to Detroit: “It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-one-book-appalachian-odyssey-notes-about-the-influx-of-hill-people/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Within two generations, the transplanted hillbillies had largely caught up to the native population in terms of income and poverty level.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/within-two-generations-the-transplanted-hillbillies-had-largely/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Ostensibly, they were of the same racial order (whites) as those who dominated economic, political, and social power in local and national arenas. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/ostensibly-they-were-of-the-same-racial-order-whites-as-those-who/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“no single book, or expert, or field could fully explain the problems of hillbillies in modern America. Our elegy is a sociological one, yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/no-single-book-or-expert-or-field-could-fully-explain-the-problems-of/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“I believe we hillbillies are the toughest goddamned people on this earth. We take an electric saw to the hide of those who insult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/i-believe-we-hillbillies-are-the-toughest-goddamned-people-on-this/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“But hillbillies shared many regional characteristics with the southern blacks arriving in Detroit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/but-hillbillies-shared-many-regional-characteristics-with-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“hillbillies like me are more down about the future than many other groups—some of whom are clearly more destitute”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/hillbillies-like-me-are-more-down-about-the-future-than-many-other/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [Writers who aren't from rural states in the Midwest or the West often treat such people as if they were the Waltons or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-haruf/writers-who-aren-t-from-rural-states-in-the-midwest-or-the-west-often/) [Kent Haruf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-haruf/) > [Hillbillies learn from an early age to deal with uncomfortable truths by avoiding them or by pretending better truths exist. This tendency might make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance-2/hillbillies-learn-from-an-early-age-to-deal-with-uncomfortable-truths/) [J. D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance-2/) > [I still fit in with the hillbillies!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-wilson/i-still-fit-in-with-the-hillbillies/) [Gretchen Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-wilson/) > [My grandma would say if someone else calls you a hillbilly, you might need to punch them in the nose. But if we call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance-2/my-grandma-would-say-if-someone-else-calls-you-a-hillbilly-you-might/) [J. D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance-2/) > [Yeah, I'm the guy that doesn't come from much just a long line of moonshiners, hillbillies and indians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lee-riner/yeah-i-m-the-guy-that-doesn-t-come-from-much-just-a-long-line-of/) [Justin Lee Riner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lee-riner/) > [If you surveyed a hundred typical middle-aged Americans, I bet you'd find that only two of them could tell you their blood types, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-surveyed-a-hundred-typical-middle-aged-americans-i-bet-you-d/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Today is a big day in TV history. On this day forty-one years ago, the Beverly Hillbillies aired for the first time right here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/today-is-a-big-day-in-tv-history-on-this-day-forty-one-years-ago-the/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) ## More by J.D. Vance > [“Wed don't need to live like the elites of California, New York, or Washington, D.C. We don't need to work a hundred hours a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/wed-don-t-need-to-live-like-the-elites-of-california-new-york-or/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Within two generations, the transplanted hillbillies had largely caught up to the native population in terms of income and poverty level.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/within-two-generations-the-transplanted-hillbillies-had-largely/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Powerful people sometimes do things to help people like me without really understanding people like me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/powerful-people-sometimes-do-things-to-help-people-like-me-without/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Research does reveal a genetic disposition to substance abuse, but those who believe their addiction is a disease show less of an inclination to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/research-does-reveal-a-genetic-disposition-to-substance-abuse-but/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“But I often wonder: Where would I be without them? I think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/but-i-often-wonder-where-would-i-be-without-them-i-think/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“the first impulse is escape, but people who lurch toward the exit rarely choose the right door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/the-first-impulse-is-escape-but-people-who-lurch-toward-the-exit/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“A young man was sitting at home when a terrible rainstorm began. Within hours, the man’s house began to flood, and someone came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/a-young-man-was-sitting-at-home-when-a-terrible-rainstorm-began/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As a culture, we had no heroes. Certainly not any politician--Barack Obama was then the most admired man in America (and likely still is),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-culture-we-had-no-heroes-certainly-not-any-politician-barack/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“To this day, being able to “take advantage” of someone is the measure in my mind of having a parent. For me and Lindsay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/to-this-day-being-able-to-take-advantage-of-someone-is-the-measure-in/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As one book, Appalachian Odyssey, notes about the influx of hill people to Detroit: “It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-one-book-appalachian-odyssey-notes-about-the-influx-of-hill-people/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As a 2011 Brookings Institution study found, “compared to 2000, residents of extreme-poverty neighborhoods in 2005–09 were more likely to be white, native-born, high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-2011-brookings-institution-study-found-compared-to-2000/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“There was, and still is, a sense that those who make it are of two varieties. The first are lucky: They come from wealthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/there-was-and-still-is-a-sense-that-those-who-make-it-are-of-two/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“We spend to pretend that we’re upper-class. And when the dust clears—when bankruptcy hits or a family member bails us out of our stupidity—there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/we-spend-to-pretend-that-we-re-upper-class-and-when-the-dust-clears/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Chaos begets chaos. Instability begets instability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/out-of-the-frying-pan-and-into-the-fire-chaos-begets-chaos/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) [Explore all 127 J.D. Vance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) ## More White people quotes > [“That one over this is the one for the use of the white people,” Judge Amistead Jones said. “Not that I am a stickler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/that-one-over-this-is-the-one-for-the-use-of-the-white-people-judge/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [If you do a black character or a female character or an Asian character, then they aren't just that character. They represent that race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-mcduffie/if-you-do-a-black-character-or-a-female-character-or-an-asian/) [Dwayne McDuffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-mcduffie/) > [“Just before we entered the gorge, we pulled into an eddy to fix an oarlock and I asked Dave Heckman, our leader, what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-johnston/just-before-we-entered-the-gorge-we-pulled-into-an-eddy-to-fix-an/) [Tracy Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-johnston/) > [“Even at the tender age of twelve, when I knelt in front of the bishop for my confirmation, I had the sneaking suspicion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-edwards/even-at-the-tender-age-of-twelve-when-i-knelt-in-front-of-the-bishop/) [Megan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-edwards/) > [I know I'm more forgiving than most African Americans when it comes to second chances for White people who not only commit a racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/i-know-i-m-more-forgiving-than-most-african-americans-when-it-comes/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [I'm not at all against white people adopting black children, because we're all human beings who need to give love and be nurtured in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-m-not-at-all-against-white-people-adopting-black-children-because/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [Scientology is not a White religion. It is not just for White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-e-fresh/scientology-is-not-a-white-religion-it-is-not-just-for-white-people/) [Doug E. Fresh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-e-fresh/) > [Some Republicans are good, and some Republicans are bad. Some Democrats are good, and some Democrats are bad. There are good police, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/some-republicans-are-good-and-some-republicans-are-bad-some-democrats/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I think 'Dear White People,' the show, is a tremendous artistic achievement. It's always hinting that there is something beyond the pleading and wokeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-think-dear-white-people-the-show-is-a-tremendous-artistic/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Brothers and sisters, white people will come in to chastise us. But since we are no longer forsaken, and are the people of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/brothers-and-sisters-white-people-will-come-in-to-chastise-us-but/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [More than half of all the hip hop record sales are white people, and I think that might be a result of my record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanilla-ice/more-than-half-of-all-the-hip-hop-record-sales-are-white-people-and-i/) [Vanilla Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanilla-ice/) > [“Unless institutional power reinforces the hurt and prejudice suffered by a group, it is not oppression. By definition, a person of color cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-stout/unless-institutional-power-reinforces-the-hurt-and-prejudice-suffered/) [Linda Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-stout/) > [“In the beginning—and neither can this be overstated—a Negro just cannot believe that white people are treating him as they do; he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-the-beginning-and-neither-can-this-be-overstated-a-negro-just/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [People are going to always have their opinions whether you date a black man or not. I've had girlfriends, family members comment on black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanaa-lathan/people-are-going-to-always-have-their-opinions-whether-you-date-a/) [Sanaa Lathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanaa-lathan/) [Browse all 1,118 White people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural strangers ‘out of place’ in the city, were upsetting to Midwestern, urban whites. Rather, these migrants disrupted a broad set of assumptions held by northern whites about how white people appeared, spoke, and behaved . . . the disturbing aspect of hillbillies was their racialness. Ostensibly, they were of the same racial order (whites) as those who dominated economic, political, and social power in local and national arenas.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.D. 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