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<p>Pizzagirl – I’ve seen your comments about the South on several occasions. I am a Southerner and a Christian (Baptist, no less) who is absolutely committed to the separation of church and state, and I know so many other religious people who share my opinions. It is frustrating to me to see people insult a region of the country that I love so much.</p>
<p>I can’t control every time someone in the South does something that I don’t approve of, any more than people in Kansas can control the actions and speech of Westboro “Church” or the people in Idaho can control the Aryan Nations, which has its headquarters there. Name your state or region of the country. I’m sure there’s someone somewhere making others in the state roll their eyes, shudder, or worse.</p>
<p>Let’s take New York. I have heard several very disturbing stories about children who were bullied unmercifully in their New York City schools for being gay. Then there was the anti-Muslim group that opposed the proposed interfaith, peace-seeking Islamic cultural center in New York. Why hasn’t the media pounded New York City (or, for that matter, the entire state, or maybe the entire Northeast region) for being a hotbed of anti-gay, anti-Muslim hysteria when they are perfectly willing to jump on the whole South any time someone somewhere prays in public at an official school event?</p>
<p>The media, alas, is looking to play into the stereotypes of the South, so they give publicity (often extensive publicity) to anything that happens in this part of the country that fits their stereotypes. Stories about how my children’s openly gay teachers bring their partners with them to events at our rural, very Southern public high school don’t sell papers. Neither do stories about how a family of hijab-wearing sisters at our school are well-liked by their classmates, have been elected as class officers, and have best friends who are Christians. Neither do stories about how interracial couples are common at our school and a number of students have parents of two different races. Nope, those situations just don’t fit the national news’ idea of what the rural South is like, so they don’t get press. Or maybe, just maybe, they are the “norm” now, so they are rather boring.</p>
<p>A number of local Christian (my church included), Jewish, and Muslim congregations did, one time, get a small blurb in a state-wide paper for our ongoing interfaith charity work, but given that that kind of thing didn’t involve conflict, it just wasn’t important enough in the eyes of the media. The church leaders have tried to work up a little press to counteract negative stereotypes, but the media hasn’t been that interested.</p>