Are Appalachians unable to farm? To move to places with farms? Fish? Harvest lumber? Harvest rocks? We live in such an industrialized society that even just gathering clay and soil has need and profit. You're telling me these people don't even have dirt beneath their feet they can sell? Or the ability to move to a place where there IS dirt beneath their feet?
At some point, it's a question of motivation and effort. I know a guy who walked, hitchhiking on occasion, to get to the coastline, and sought work with every boat that landed at the ports, willing to do literally anything: Fish, clean fish, mop decks, whatever. He now works, and lives, on a cruise boat. Good gaming buddy, when his internet connection allows for it, has great stories too.
He chose to do this because he didn't want to become a beggar or a thief. Basic baseline morality drove him to walk/hitchhike hundreds of miles. Now, his effort was exemplary, not many would travel that far on foot, nor work on contacting so many people knowing that it's a <1% chance of it working, but hundreds of boats pass that dock. But work exists with the smallest amounts of seed money. I know another guy who bought a plain white T-shirt, wrote on it with black marker "I'll take your selfies, $5", and hangs around a tourist spot. He doesn't make great money, but he makes enough to survive, eking out a niche (and got a properly printed T-shirt eventually, even!).
Are Appalachians unable to farm? To move to places with farms? Fish? Harvest lumber? Harvest rocks? We live in such an industrialized society that even just gathering clay and soil has need and profit. You're telling me these people don't even have dirt beneath their feet they can sell? Or the ability to move to a place where there IS dirt beneath their feet?
At some point, it's a question of motivation and effort. I know a guy who walked, hitchhiking on occasion, to get to the coastline, and sought work with every boat that landed at the ports, willing to do literally anything: Fish, clean fish, mop decks, whatever. He now works, and lives, on a cruise boat. Good gaming buddy, when his internet connection allows for it, has great stories too.
He chose to do this because he didn't want to become a beggar or a thief. Basic baseline morality drove him to walk/hitchhike hundreds of miles. Now, his effort was exemplary, not many would travel that far on foot, nor work on contacting so many people knowing that it's a <1% chance of it working, but hundreds of boats pass that dock. But work exists with the smallest amounts of seed money. I know another guy who bought a plain white T-shirt, wrote on it with black marker "I'll take your selfies, $5", and hangs around a tourist spot. He doesn't make great money, but he makes enough to survive, eking out a niche (and got a properly printed T-shirt eventually, even!).