[mallory4]

Filling bottles with Kool-Aid and Mt. Dew *is* a cultural phenomena, whether or not it is a reflection of poverty. Since the families I worked with had access not only to WIC and food stamps but free food from the agency employing me, the cost of milk or formula was not the issue--as often stated to me by moms when we discussed nutrition, etc., with them, they gave it to the kids because the kids liked it and would beg for it and pester if they didn't get it. We can phrase that positively by saying the moms place a high value on their child's happiness, but only if we are willing to overlook the disastrous results for their teeth, and in many cases, diabetes, obesity, and caffeine-induced hyperactivity.

I certainly don't think the TV show "the Waltons" represents the prevailing culture in Appalachia--that was my point. I was offering up the Waltons as a fake version of culture, just as I cringe when I read posts or hear IRL from folks who think they have the edge on representing Black culture to their AA kids because they have always liked Black entertainers/jazz music/basketball (!). Media representations are not cultural reality.

If CC parents of CC adopted kids were supposed to immerse their children in their "birth culture" the way that we (adopters of AA kids) are, how the heck WOULD they do it?

It seems most do it by pretending the child comes from the same culture they do, even when they know enough facts about the child's birthfamily to know it isn't true. To me, that is evidence of willfull avoidance of a real issue--race does not equal culture, so by adopting a CC child, you aren't necessarily raising a child who shares your cultural background--you are raising a child who you can PRETEND shares it.

I like bluegrass music and don't consider my life to be sanitized--I was using the music and food examples because they represent some of the few parts of that particular culture that are considered palatable or worthy of being recognized by folks who are patrons of the culture rather than members of it.

Everywhere you go in that state, you will see those items and a few others trotted out as representative of the traditional culture, but living in community with the actual cultural group being portrayed, you won't encounter much bluegrass music (mostly middle and upper middle-class college kids who play it), or burgoo. Chess pie, once in a while if there is a granny around to make it. These things are symbolic, rather than daily-lived, representations of the culture--kind of like Kwaanzaa, which probably gets more attention from CC parents who adopt AA kids than from 99% of actual black folks.

My point wasn't to point out "flaws" in the culture of poor white people, but flaws in the rationale of people who say they are chosing to adopt CC American babies and kids because they want to make sure they can impart the child's birth culture appropriately and they don't think they could do that with Asian, AA or other kids. I don't think those folks have any intention of imparting the child's "birth culture" to them--they just want white babies.