Southern Misconceptions Thread: Part 2

The last post was meant to quell a lot of the hatred toward Southerners, and it instead probably did the opposite. Since I can't (and won't) defend myself on 15 different fronts for things I am not responsible for, (I am 21 years old) I am starting over.

Since I'm wondering where these preconceived notions begin, simply answer the following question. When you think of a person from the South, who immediately comes to mind?

and also,

Where have you learned these ideas about the South? Television? Movies? Old History?

Hopefully these answers can help us get to the bottom of our preconceived notions, which may or may not be true. I have one more comment, however. I am Native American. I say this because I know that it will soften the blows that people might be preparing for me, but isn't that in itself a double standard? If I was the whitest Southerner on the earth, should that compel DUers to hate me? I personally think that left-wing hatred is no antidote for perceived right-wing hatred.

My "notions" about the south have come from living 10 years in this hellhole. (Florida)

I suppose there are plenty of good folks where I live. But I don't see all that many on the radio, in the news or on TV.


:shrug:

Jeb Bush is your governor. I know he's such a great one and all...

I didn't vote for him. :)

All those damn transplanted Yankees!

Bake

it depends on where in the state you are. There are some parts of Florida that are VERY southern

The are many parts of North Florida that are about as southern as you can get.

As a Native Californian I get very little positive insights into
Southern culture .

Positive influences for me come from Anne Rice the author
I swear I can smell the Magnolia trees from her description.

Mostly though all we learn about are the civil war and the civil
rights movement . That tends to focus on the negative .

Someday I hope to visit the south , I hear from people who've
been there that I wouldn't survive if I ever drove my car there .

if you're planning on visiting the South. It's beautiful, Centennial Park is there, the Atlanta Underground (with a lot of Black History Stuff) and of course, CNN headquarters! For Cajun culture, I'd recommend visiting Mobile or New Orleans.

it is very common for out of state motorists to be killed here.

I will try to stay in my state.

How about generalizations of Northeasterners or northern elitist for a change?

don't forget that DU's gonna shred the Chimpy Man.....



Ahem...Well now that I have that out of my system.

One of my three older brothers has moved around the country following his career. First in CA, then TX and now in Atlanta GA. Down there they refer to blacks as (I am told) N....., well you get the idea. He says that's it's just a word like any other word.

I agreed, and told him that he was a friggin moron-white-trash-bigot for even mentioning it and that his parents would be ashamed to hear him speak that way.

He was offended by what I had called him, and the only reply that I needed was "They are just words Bro"...


Now, some years ago, I am in a Chinese restaurant picking up an order for a coulple of college friends that are living in Dorchester (near-part of Southie-Boston). While I am waiting a dumb Southie Mic (Yes I'm Irish and I hate the term...but hey it's just a word) comes in to pick up his order, and while he is waiting has the audacity to make Chinese wise cracks and speakie in a fakie Channniez accent.

I wanted to hit him hard and leave him crying for momma, but the fact is sooner or later he would have taken it out on these poor Chinese guys that are just trying to make a living.

I hope that they spit in his food: dumb MoFo.


What I am trying to get at is that there is enough of this shit no matter where you go and no matter what the color of you skin is: stupidity exists pretty much everywhere...N-S-E-W.

single image of a Southerner. Southerners, like all other people, are a diverse group.

There is no point in perpetuating stereotypes, and albeit well-intentioned, this thread will do that. Life is not black and white. Dems should know that better than anyone.

The most common misconception about Texans are that they are outgoing and loud.

I found that Texans were actually kind of quiet, and not very opinionated at all. I rarely discussed politics or religion, etc. when I lived there. Certainly didn't like discussing anything controversial.

I guess that compared to where I live now, every place else is kinda quiet and sleepy anyway.

outnumber Liberal voters and so tell me that it't not true that the South is responsible for the Presidency and Congress (and now the Supreme Court) being controlled by Conservatives, who are out to screw the working class, minorities, women, gays, immigrants, the non-Christian, the non-English speaking, the handicapped, the unemployed, the uninsured, the environment, world peace, and (what did I leave out?)
How popular are http://www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/Liberals &
http://www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/Democrats in the South ?

electoral votes to elect the president. Remember when you point the finger at someone there are three pointing back at you.

Southern states routinely support Dem candidates. If you want to draw all your ideas of the voters in a region from one election you should apply the same broad brush to many Northeastern, Midwestern, and Western states.

Yes, I would put the blame on Gore (of Tennessee) for conservatives controlling the white house, since he ran a rather sucky campaign. So in that regard you are correct.

I'm not claiming that they are NO Liberals in the South. I'm saying that they are OUTNUMBERED by Conservative Republicans. And I blame them rather than Al Gore for his defeat throughout the Southern states. If Gore was responsible for his defeat in the South, then why did he win the election overwhelmingly in the rest of the country (outside of the deep South)?

You are basing your opinion on one election, but if you look at the Southern electorate for more than one election the fallacy of your statement is readily apparent.

LA reelected Mary Landrieu in 2002. Arkansas ousted a Republican incumbent in favor of Dem Mark Pryor the same year. I'm still not convinced that Georgia wasn't stolen from the Dems in 2002. Gore won a squeeker in FL in 2000. Clinton carried many southern states in 1992 and 1996. GA has its first Repug governor in 130 years. LA has only had two Repug governors in its history. LA has two Dem senators, regardless of how you feel about Breaux he caucases with the Dems. Bowles put on a strong fight against Liddy Dole in NC in 2002.

If you are going to make these assumptions about the South from one election, I guess that means NH, MN and MD are big Repuke states since they voted that way in 2002.

Your assumptions bascially write-off the South when history shows that the South will vote Dem. In reality there are many more Dems in the South than Repugs. A large proportion of them just happen to be African American. Get that group of voters to the polls and the Dems can sweep the South. If the party would stop giving lip service to African American issues and truly stand up for this constituency, I guaranty electoral votes from the South.

<ON EDIT> Also, Gore lost plenty of Northeastern, Midwestern, and Western Staes too. You can't pin the loss on the South. If Gore had carried NH he wins.

is the most heavily democratic in the US.

Politically, Arkansas is one of the better southern states. However, I do think that Massachussetts and Rhode Island are better in state government. But, state government doesn't really matter as much because if you look at New Jersey you would see that 2 years ago our entire state government was controlled by republicans but the republicans are very liberal and hardly any worse than the democrats. So, I don't know how moderate Arkansas's government might be. I know that both of its senators are moderate Democrats and the state did go to Bush along with the entire south.

I like your website. We had a discussion about this before, on evangelicals. But I don't think you can judge an entire region, much of which does not yet possess the Internet, on whether they like your website.

If they had voted for Gore, Florida would not have mattered.

Don't blame the South for all our nations problems because every state has it's own portion of right wing whackos.

Let's not make this a regional thing. We are all in this together, so let's work together.

And I'm from Richmond, the capital of the confederacy. I was born of the common folk, not a slave-trading line, but I married into one. My fiancee's engagement diamond was probably (we don't know for sure) originally bought with money from a slave plantation.

Point being, if people have any hatred to direct toward white southerners they are welcome to direct it toward me. I can take it. I was even a vague confederate sympathizer once.

jb

IT SUCKS ON TOAST!! This is the home of Bill Frist, Steve Gill, the headquarters of corporate christianity in America, etc.

There are some really cool people here (Steve Earle, fer inst.)and it's not a complete landfill (yet), but I can honestly say, and this is no exaggeration: everyday some asshole tries to convert me to Christianity. EVERYDAY!!! You can't escape these nitwits! If yer in a postition to come into contact with the public in Nashville, you'll get accosted at least once a day by some fucker asking you what church you go to (as if EVERYBODY goes to church). Needless to say, they're all a bunch of hypocrites too; the ones who are most holy on Sunday morning are the same ones you see clogging the parking lots of strip bars and porn shops on Saturday night.

People talk openely about the "evil" Clintons and Gores every chance they get. Loudly. In public. As if to goad you into responding.

However, this is a college town, and there are a lot of hip people with open minds here, too. But coming from New Haven, CT, where I grew up and where conservatives and evangelicals were in the minority, I gotta say living in Nashville can be pretty depressing. Plus there's nothing to do here after 10:00 PM.

but Corporate Christianity (tm) sucks! However, since you live there, I will no longer wish for Nashville to sink into the ocean.

I had heard "the Good news!" I admire your restraint.


I'm sure non-evangelical christians live in the south. I just haven't met any in the flesh.

and had the same thing happen to me. I think Tennessee must be youth-group mecca, where they then show off how much they know about their own religion.

They definitely take an aggressive attitude to recruiting, these evangelical youth group jesus-fish-sportin'"holy hayleys."* I guess they took notice of the success the Jehovah's Witnesses had in this area and reacted accordingly.


*A "Holy Hayley" is a perky young white southern girl who wants you to "Fellowship" with her and is just really reaLLY HAPPY ABOUT jesus's love. "Hayley" is a very popular name for teenage girls around here.

If Michael W. Smith outsells the White Stripes, then maybe Nashville DOES need to go. Hmm...

as another native american southerner I can't believe all the southern bashing that goes on during some of these threads. Seems like we're all ignorant, racist, rednecks who have caused the calamity of ultra rightwing christendom all by our lonesomes....
I'm prepared for the bashing to come because I am the WORST kind, your NIGHTMARE of NIGHTMARES a --wait for it -- COUNTRY SOUTHERNER. Yep, raised on a farm and worked like a dog. Taught to respect and appreciate nature and our wonderful wildlife, to make biscuits and bread from scratch and the best fried chicken you ever tasted. Taught to milk cows, pitch hay and play tackle football with the boys....catching fireflies and fishing in the "crick"....The people I know are wonderful warm loving and loyal and they'd give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. They are the ones who show up with food and medicine when someone in the family is sick; who will watch your place for you when you are away and with whom you can share many long cool summer evenings sipping ice tea on the porch and wondering how we got to be so villified by the rest of "ya'll" :-)
As I've said before, the south-eastern US HARDLY has a corner on the market for ignorance, racism or bigotry. I guess it COULD be too many people watching old "Dukes of Hazzard" reruns but who knows. AS for the religious hogwash that gets carried out in the "Bible belt" -- well there are misinformed, loudmouthed ignoranuses everywhere.....I guess ours just get more press.

That's what I have been trying to say, in not so many words. It just seems that country people get painted with a pretty broad brush on DU sometimes. I might start "Fried Food Awareness Week" or something.

I think that are just more religious lunatics in the south. Sure, they are everywhere, but I think the south has more than their fair share.

Wellllll.......

It IS rather exciting sometimes being a Jew here. They try to make you their own personal mission. But there are GREAT Christian people here too - like my neighbors who are very involved in the local Christian music scene and have HUGE Bible readings at their house, etc. and have never ONCE said anything to us abut the Joys of Jesus or burning in hell or anything.

If you stay around the Village you get a weird mix of college liberal/Belmont University Christians. Once you get into Williamson County, where I am, it's just a LOT of die hard Republicans.

I've actually been hearing some "Bush IS an idiot!" comments lately.

grew up here and live here now.

I can honestly say I can go days, weeks, months, without discussing religion outside my own congregation. I occasionally find someone who like me enjoys discussing theological matters as an interesting intellectual exercise, but that's about it.

I don't proseletize. In fact, one of my bedrock beliefs is that all religions are equal. I respect everyone's beliefs.

And what do you mean by "southerner" anyway? The Cajuns? Native Americans? Did you know that NC has the largest Native American population outside of Oklahoma? African-Americans? Koreans? Vietnamese? Our new latin neighbors?

There is no "typical" southerner anymore than there's a typical yankee, or westerner, or californian.

suffered with the Jim Crow laws down south every time we went down
there to visit relatives. It was lots of fun, peeing by the side
of the road because you weren't allowed to use the restrooms and
sleeping in the car because there was no "colored hotel" nearby. . .
One really vivid memory was the time that we were asked to leave
a Stuckey's because they didn't serve our kind.

For years, I couldn't stand the south or anything southern. When
I was a teenager I thought it was a hell of a place--couldn't understand at all why any minority person would want to live in
places like Alabama or Mississippi.

But over the years, those feelings have died. I think that the
vast improvement in Southern attitudes has done much to change my
mind about the South. I still wouldn't want to live there, but
its okay I guess.

Notice, however, that I said there was "vast improvement>" Everytime I see idiots like Jeb Bush and the likes of the race baiters that
continue to rear their ugly heads down there, my feeling that
even more change is needed springs to the fore.

I've spent a lot of time at a Civil Rights place nearby. Like I said, I'm 21 and never experienced anything like this, and I think that's why attitudes are changing. Still, though, not everybody's 21. A black lady that fishes near my house that was born in 1888. Yes, I said 1888! She is 116 years old and has a great-great-great grandchild, and might possibly be one of the oldest living persons. I can't imagine what her life has been like. Older black folks seem to me to be some of the wisest people around, because of having been through so much.