I'm actually related to Hatfield's, and this is how I see it...

I'm from Southern West Virginia, and most people in that area are usually related to Hatfield's in some way or another because there are so many of them. I am actually related to them both by blood and by marriage and I actually had never even heard of the feud until I was in 5th grade and watched a low-budget movie about it (I'm 24 now). Without knowing much even after watching the movie (because so much of the fighting was cut out), I sided with the Hatfield's because they were my ancestor's. But after doing more researching in books and documentaries then finally seeing this movie on TV, I'm now sided with the McCoy's. Not saying that anything that one did to the other was right, but after going over everything you can see that the Hatfield's kept causing more problems on and off throughout the feud. My final opinion however is that there were no winners in this fight. I understand that each side did what they did because back then if you wasn't %100 on board with your family then you were disowned, but the only thing this senseless fighting did was cost the lives of innocent people for no reason. Each side was taking the law into their own hands when they shouldn't have and today the only thing either families are known for is violence and self made war against each other.