Tired of region-bashing

I bet half of you thought I was a Southerner when you read that. Well, I'm not, I am a New Englander now living in the UK.

And I am TIRED of the New England bashing that happens whenever anyone talks about Dean's or Kerry's prospects.

If people said HALF the horrible things about the Southern candidates (Clark and Edwards) that they say about the New England ones (such as "prep-school educated, elite, ultra-liberal"), they'd be screamed down by the Southern lobby.

Well, here's hoping that the New England haters get their come-uppance. Without New England, there'd be no United States.

New England is the source of much of the liberty in the USA -- from the first constitution guaranteeing equal rights (Massachusetts), to abolition of slavery, to women's suffrage (upstate NY, which is basically part of New England) to the abolition of "poll taxes" to the recent rulings and laws on gay equality.

New England has led the way in the creation of civil liberties and democratic institutions that make America great. Boston has the most university students per capita of any city in America.

New England has NEVER needed the federal government to invade or send troops to allow everyone to vote or attend university.

New England pioneered state non-discrimination laws.

New England is one of the few regions of the country where blacks, women and gays have more-or-less equal rights.

Southerners bristle with rage when people suggest that perhaps it was on the wrong side of history on a few issues like slavery, civil rights (where it continues to be at the back of the pack in this country), and education. Yet they and others have no problem tarring New England and New Englanders.

Dick Armey said that it would be easier for Democrats to have the convention in Boston than "say, in the USA." All of you who are bashing New England and the candidates who are from New England are doing a grave disservice to the region of the country who made much of what makes America possible. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Signed,

Yankee and Proud of It

too, just stunningly beautiful in the Fall.

:hi:

For three hundred years.

And it is the most beautiful part of America, bar none. An autumn drive through the Green Mountains is enough to make you cry, it's so beautiful.

And the states represent revolutionary ideas that are now core to the American experience.

New Hampshire, with its "live free or die" motto, standing for liberty.

Vermont and its tradition of democratic government of, by and for the people, from town hall to state capital.

Massachusetts, where the Boston Public Library of 1848 bears an engraving which was revolutionary for its time -- and denounced by many as "socialist" -- that the education of the people is one of the core purposes of the state.

Rhode Island, which served as a haven of religious and political freedoms in New England from earliest times.

Connecticut, the arsenal of Democracy during the Revolutionary war.

Maine, which pioneered "live and let live."

I think that the South seems to take most hits here, so they (rightfully) feel a little sensitive.

BTW-I am deep in the Deep South, and there are many liberal-minded people here.

I've often wanted to say it, but feared igniting a flame war! My hat's off to you for saying it, because it NEEDED to be said. :hi:

It's called the Flag of the United States of America!

it doesn't offend me so much as cast doubt on the writer's experiences. Perpetuating stereotypes is usually a sign of a lack of real understanding.

*smack Mouse7*

"Ouch!"

"Okay... I...

*whack*

"I'll stop!"

*kick*

"UNCLE!...."

Ever region has its share of dilliwhackers, nimrod wankers, clodhopper inbreds and plain ignorance.

I guess I missed the "Forget New England" thread.

It's usually #2 on the 'Things that are wrong with Howard Dean and John Kerry' hit parade--- 'New England liberals'. *sigh*

about that. I truly did miss it.

John F. Kennedy -- Greatest President of the 20th Century

Ben Franklin -- born and raised in Boston

Ethan Allen -- Founder of Vermont and champion of local government

John Adams, Samuel Adams and James Bowdoin -- drafters of the Massachusetts Constitution, the oldest written constitution in the world and the first one to guarantee that "All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness."

Frederick Douglass -- The most prominent black abolitionist in America

Phillis Wheatley -- From Boston, the first published African American author

Daniel Webster -- Senator and Congressman who introduced the first legislation to allow women to vote and to abolish slavery -- years before the civil war and over 50 years before women won the vote

Ted Kennedy -- The Democratic Party's conscience and strongest voice for decades in the Senate

Barney Frank -- One of the few House Democrats who dared to take on Dick Armey -- and won!

That's just a short list off the top of my head.

I say that as someone who grew up in Massachusetts. But it's also not the rosy a picture you paint. The problems that exist in the south exist in New England, it's just more subtle.

Do you think they exist to the same degree in Massachusetts as they do in Mississippi?

But to believe Mass is free of institutionalized racism or is a civil-rights panacea is silly. Mississippi has more diversity, poverty, and history to deal with than Massachusetts ever had. Let's face it New England in general is pretty undiverse and wealthy; diversity and poverty creates tension.

Let's face it: the South has more racism than other regions.



That is for the entire South. In the Deep South things are much worse. Only 31% of white Alabamans approve of interracial marriage. The Northeast is light years ahead on this issue.

It's the rest of the country and I bet the west coast scored lower overall. Although not as overt or probably as prevelent as in the south, institutionalized racism exists and is a problem even in the Northeast.

From Boston to Bed-Sty: http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/11.07/09-racism.html

But do you think the level of racism is similar throughout the nation? Do you think NJ is as racist as Alabama?

of the old Mason-Dixon line. My opinion was not that anyone one place is more or less racist, it's that racism does exist in a much more difficult form to remove.

But all regions have something to contribute, and New England has contributed more than her fair share to the creation of American democratic institutions. To attack her or her citizens over stupid stereotypes like "ultra liberal," "communist" or "radical," and refuse to fight for the values she helped pioneer just because Republicans like to bash the region is WRONG.

New England is the land of non-discrimination laws, equality under the law, unalienable human rights, helping those in need, living and letting live, and great American heroes ranging from Ethan Allen to Henry David Thoreau to John F. Kennedy, the greatest president of the 20th century.

Do not give us short shrift OR help the Republicans tar our great region just because it gets your candidate some points elsewhere. It's unfair to 14 million New Englanders and also diminishes the achievements that our region helped promote.

and the rest of New England is irrelevant;). Some of the great scholars, teachers, and leaders have come from the state of Massachusetts. New England, outside of Boston, is not very liberal, something most people don't understand. Religious zealotry was alive and well in Mass in the late 1600's (Salem, etc.). A lot of history bottled up in a little state.

But so are the other states in the union.

The "local control" issue Republicans are so passionate with began in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Rhode Island was the first state to offer religious freedom to all.

Vermont is the first state in the union where homosexuals and heterosexuals are absolutely equal under the law (that's a biggie for me).

There are many great statesmen, authors, artists, business leaders and others from New England who have left an indelible mark on American society.

The state and region have had lots of history, good and bad. The region has also been on the forefront of change as you have pointed out; and usually the first to learn from it's mistakes. To me, it's still home so I had to paint the other side of the picture;).

I too love New England, but I don't see that praising that region is any more valid than praising the south. Coming from a western state (Colorado) and currently living just outside DC (right on the border between North and South, as it were) I can tell you with authority that most of the country has moved beyond the Mason-Dixon line as the nation's foremost political divide. It's very entertaining for us to hear the future of our country framed in terms of Republican south versus Democratic north, while waiting for a candidate to appear who can appeal to voters who are pro-business but anti-corporate welfare, pro-environment and pro-gun at the same time, religious but generally pro-division of church and state. Not everyone thinks like you do, kiddies, and it's time for the two parties who claim to represent the whole country to start understanding that.

And if you've never seen anything more beautiful than the Green Mountains, you've never been to Colorado... or Alaska for that matter.

And the Green Countains are still prettier, IMO -- it's the foliage.

And I am not arguing for the Mason Dixon line (which doesn't touch New England anyway, but is way south) -- I am arguing against the attacks on my home region from all over the country (including the south and west coast).

I didn't mean for the Mason-Dixon line to be taken literally. Too many politicos define the two main political regions as the south and the northeast, with other states perhaps allied with one of the two sides, but viewed as secondary (with the possible exception of California, and that only focused in two cities). Your pride in your region, though admirable, propagates the same regional divide you decry when the southerners invoke it. The fact that so many "exceptions" to the "rules" of south and northeast stereotypes in this thread should be evidence that the divide is vastly oversimplified.

So wear your scars with pride. At least you aren't being ignored.