I know I'm from a dumb ass state

and I'm really not that offended by Rep. Rangel's remarks. http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/10/rangel.mississippi.ap/index.html

He said, "Who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?"

I sometimes ask myself that same question. Who the hell really wants to stay in a state that ranks high on almost every bad thing there is and low on almost every good thing there is. You see Bu$h/Voldemort stickers almost every single day. The majority of people from here have absolutely no shame for supporting the Bush crime family. The majority of the people have cloaked their once prominent racism (that's what got you into high Mississippi 1950s-1960s society-being a White Citizens Council member) into more subtle ways to express their true feelings (the white-flight to the suburbs that surround Jackson). So many of our state representatives and senators have NO SHAME posing in photos with members of the Council of Conservative Citizens (our governor, Trent Lott, among others) http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?pid=622

Possible reasons for staying here in Mississippi, aka, to me hell on earth could range from, as my mom told me over coffee at 8 am Monday morning, going to college here (she says that if you go to college in Mississippi, you're pretty much stuck) to just wanting to be around your fellow little Freeper friends. Of course, I don't want to experience neither of these scenarios. I should thank the lord everyday for allowing my mom to send me to a good school that provides me the good education to escape from here, and possibly, never to return.

But my good school is also my little bubble. My little liberal bubble in all of bright, red, good ole Mississippi. And I'm shocked when I get out of it and start to experience the real Mississippi. My aunt constantly tells me not to talk politics with her friends on the very-red Gulf Coast and even driving through the eastern part of the state on my way to places like Birmingham or Atlanta, I experience something new, but old. And scary.

I watch the films and see the pictures of the "old" Mississippi. And I do admit, we have progressed some. But we are still the same in some places. For instance, the school system is still practically segregated. Minorities at public school, whites at private school (my school is an exception-we're just a big bundle of multicultural fun! Seriously...) and whatnot. And even at the public schools, the "good" public schools are the ones with the most white kids and the "bad" public schools are the ones with the most minorities. We need a major overhaul of the public school system here. Did I mention Mississippi ranks 49th in the country on education?

Chip Pickering and many like him say we, the people of the "great" state of Mississippi deserve an apology for Rep. Rangel's remarks. But I don't think that we do. He was simply telling the truth in a very blunt way. And I applaud him for that.

OK. I'm just teasing. :)

there is still Klan activity: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp?S=MS&m=4

Scary isn't it? Though in the 1950s-1960s the Klan was for the lower-class racists, while the White Citizens Council was for the more...er..."high society" racists.

Maybe you are part of the solution.

It's all I can do. I'm still in school and don't have unlimited money to donate. Plus my mom likes to donate more to relgious/charity causes than to political ones.

I'll try and get my voice heard. Maybe I shoud modify this (i.e. delete the curse words) and send it as a LTTE....

I remember watching a Richard Pryor concert when he was talking about the people in Mississippi being so prejudiced that some of their white people were kept locked in basements in chains. It was quite funny but he was only joking.

And people got offended with the truth. Like with most things. People here get offended when you say that Bu$h lied....:eyes:

I married a Millsaps gal who migrated long ago. She still is amazed at having found ANY liberal "bubble" in MS after growing up in the Delta.

Have I outed you, location wise?

hopefully, the folks at FreakRepublic are too caught up in this new scandal to start new "lets stalk some DUers" threads. Plus, if anyone from there tries to stalk me, etc, I can get the cops onto their ass :)

In reality, how much difference is there between Mississippi and any other state? Racism can be found in any state in the union, in several different forms. The public schools are having problems nearly everywhere and they can't figure out how to fix them. You can spend the exact same amount per pupil in two different schools and get two different results and the only apparent operation is the parental support, homelife, and culture which either does or doesn't support the student.

Mississippi will undergo drastic changes in the next two decades, after Alabama is suburbanized. The relatively mild climate, recreational potential, and relatively cheap land means that they will become the next destination for those trying to escape other places.

Though I don't know who would like to escape to the Freephole of the USA....

Though I don't know who would like to escape to the Freephole of the USA....

They are building monster houses and condos in the swamps all along the eastern seaboard. I see advertisements for vacation homes in Arkansas. Arkansas!

to Tunica to gamble. I've been to Gulfport & Biloxi many times and didn't find many knuckledraggers there so don't despair...there are plenty of sane folks down there like there are here, we just have to search them out and fight like hell. :D

Maybe my aunt was being overdramatic like she always is when she tells me she's ABSOLUTELY surrounded by rethugs. Though some of the stuff she tells me is really funny, like this one lady tried to complement her by telling my aunt she reminded her of Pickles...:rofl:

but once you get further south or further north to the suburbs, it starts to get less and less progressive.... :(

it's a pretty liberal part of Jackson. PM me if you want details or restaurants (for all of it's faults, Mississippi has some damn good places to eat!) or whateverrrrr

my sister lived in Hattiesburg for a couple of years (husband's job) and I visited her a couple of times. While I was horrified and depressed by the clear signs of racism -- the all white "Christian" schools, the deep poverty I saw blacks living in -- I could also see that it is in many ways a beautiful state. As is true of most, probably all, of our states. They had then, and I hope still do have, a system of Water Parks that made for great recreation.

As for schools, I believe that rather than comply with Brown v the Board of Education, Mississippi had chosen to eliminate any requirement for mandatory schooling. Around 1983 (the time of my first visit there) they finally re-instated mandatory schooling requirements. That's a very important reason why the public school system there is so terrible. Such a shame, because bad schools hurt everyone.

I'm a Georgian, relocated due to employment to Mississippi in 1998 and been here ever since. Much of the bad stuff about the state is true, but there are many good things, too. I hope Mississippi has a bright, hopeful, and progressive future, for the sake of the many genuinely wonderful folks, black and white, that I've met since I've been living here. As for Georgia, I used to be so PROUD to be from the most progressive southern state. Not anymore. I hardly ever mention the fact that I'm from the state that produced Zell Miller and Saxby Chambliss, and re-elected that pathetic cartoon character as governor.

Which, imho, is a VERY good thing...hehe. i love them.

I guess you're right. We progressive Mississippians gotta stick together and change things...:woohoo:

If I didn't love Georgia so much, my heart wouldn't be so broken. I love Mississippi, too, and have seen the BEST come out in almost everyone in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I have a feeling we're going to be just fine, and surprise everyone!

and I can remember my grandfather saying "Thank god for Mississippi. Without it TN would be at the bottom for everything."