What good is a mountain just to have a mountain?

Importance: Catte quotes these words, which were spoken by Jason Bostic, the vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, at the "second" Battle of Blair Mountain. It quite succinctly encapsulates the worst excesses of the capitalist mindset: he seems to suggest that everything on earth is for the taking, regardless of the consequences to the environment, or to other people.

For many Americans, the election simply cast "the Appalachian" in a role he appeared born to play: the harried and forgotten white everyman, using the only agency left in his bones to bring ruin on his countrymen and selfishly move our nation backward, not forward.

Importance: Here, Catte explains why Appalachians rose to the attention of the nation during the 2016 election season: they were "blamed" for Trump's win because many people understood them in this stereotypically singular fashion perpetuated by books...