Why is South bashing acceptable?

Parent Cafe
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<p>This is what I just read on a thread about taking a train across the states -"I suggested that chatting with different people might be fun. He pointed out that the people getting on in little towns through South Carolina and Georgia were not the people he wanted to chat with. (Sorry to people from those states.) "</p>

<p>It is way too often that I read disparaging remarks on this forum about southern colleges and the south in general. If the same remarks were made about women or certain races, there would be an uproar. It seems that Southerners are fair game, though. There is much angst for students who might consider venturing out from the enlightened North to the ignorant South. Enough already, please!</p>

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<p>It happens with NJ also.</p>

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<p>It isn’t acceptable. Many high school students, from what they’ve heard, conclude that Southern universities are conservative and not “good enough”. To be fair, I will tell you that I have Emory, Duke, and Vanderbilt on my college list. I considered taking them off my list for the reasons I mentioned above. But I will look into the colleges before I come to a conclusion.</p>

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<p>Ignorant comments happen everywhere. Why does this bother you so?</p>

<p>[signed] Resident of the socalled “liberal Northeast responsible for everything bad that’s happened to this country over the past fifty years.”</p>

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<p>Yeah, feel free to bash us Northeasterners. We’re REALLY annoying company on trains.</p>

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<p>Preironic–</p>

<p>You are so right! It cracks me up, though, because you don’t see people moving to northern cities (our southern state has some of the fastest growing cities in America) or retiring to Massachusetts. Unfortunately, then too often when they get here, they try to change the very things that drew them here - the slower pace, the emphasis on manners, the family-friendly culture. Arrrggghhh.</p>

<p>It’s also amazing how many people on this site are incredibly judgemental and close-minded about people who are different than they are - for example, southern and conservative: “You must be stupid and ignorant and closeminded and judgemental because you are a southerner or a conservative.” <lol> And they don’t seem to see anything funny in that at all :-)</lol></p>

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<p>One thing the South, the Northeast, and the Midwest all have in common is that they love to mock and sneer at people from California, especially southern California. For every Gomer Pyle stereotype of the dumb southerner, or the racist Klansman, there are multiple stereoptypes of the dumb beach blonde, the freaky hippie, the self-aborbed Hollywood star wannbe, the Valley Girl, the car wash guy with a screenplay, the Fruits and Nuts… the list is endless</p>

<p>And my solution is to embrace these things. I happily collect anti-CA insults the way some people collect butterflies (“Ooh, here’s a good one…”)</p>

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<p>And if you think South-bashing is prevalent, what about Texas-bashing? I grew up on the east coast and lived in several east coast cities, and Houston is the most tolerant, open, multi-cultural city I have ever lived in. But to hear people dismiss even looking at Rice because it’s … in (horrors!) Texas … is ludicrous!</p>

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<p>My D applied to Duke (in part) BECAUSE it was in the south; there are definately things about the south that seem to offer a valuable experience different from life in California.</p>

<p>Still… we did not consider Texas. I would now, though.</p>

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<p>I live in Massachusetts; however virtually every blood relative I have lives in the Carolinas. I hear both sides of it. Southerners are considered slow, dumb, conservative, rednecks… Northerners are loud, arrogant, know-it-all, and insanely liberal. Neither is completely true, but neither is completely false either. (Examples: Jeff Foxworthy and Alan Dershowitz).</p>

<p>Stephen Colbert is from Charleston, SC, but he has no accent. He says he decided at a young age to get rid of it, as he figured out from TV that the quickest way to make a character appear dumb was to give them a Southern accent. That’s a sad but true commentary, but I’ve noticed the same thing regarding NYC accents - anyone with a Brooklyn accent on TV is usually dumb and aggressive. Just because someone speaks more slowly doesn’t mean they’re dumb, and people who speak fast aren’t necessarily aggressive and rude! In my case, whenever I hear a Southern accent my first instinct is to assume the person is nice and friendly - probably based on all my relatives having southern accents. </p>

<p>I do find Southerners in general to be more socially conservative. But ironically, here in the “godless liberal” northeast, my children are less likely to become pregnant as teenagers, more likely to graduate from high school, less likely to get divorced than kids being raised in the “Bible Belt” … on practically every measurable statistic, the kids who are supposedly being raised with no “family values” are more likely to grow up and have a stable, traditional life. </p>

<p>Does that mean Northerners are right in feeling/acting superior? No. I find a lot of value in Southern culture. I just wish Southerners in general would become a little more open-minded. I wish Northerners in general would slow down a little, appreciate each other a little more, and be more aware of the social graces that Southerners value, instead of the fast-paced me-first attitude that seems so prevalent in the urban north. </p>

<p>And Southerners, please stop referring to people in Massachusetts as Yankees. Most of us are Red Sox fans.</p>

<p>(Hawkphoenix, I think you’ll find that colleges with national reputations like the ones you listed draw their student body from the entire country, so you’re as likely to meet a California hippie or a New England liberal as you are to meet a Southern Belle.)</p>

<p>edit: Tom1944, I used to live in NJ and you are right about it getting bashed. Even today, when we travel, I’m glad we have a MA license plate instead of NJ, because of all the negative NJ stereotypes.</p>

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<p>I agree that regional disparagement seems to be the last safe ground for people to assume that somehow it is not politically incorrect to consider themselves somehow superior. But it’s not just in regard to the South–it happens everywhere people don’t have experience living in other regions or types of environment (e.g., rural vs. urban.) It wasn’t uncommon in the rapidly growing Sunbelt city that was formerly our home to hear natives deride northerners’ pushy ways, for example. </p>

<p>We moved to a Plains state from the South 12 years ago, and I still can’t believe some of the comments I hear about the South from people in this college town who consider themselves open-minded liberals. But go elsewhere and there are plenty of rural hick stereotypes and disparaging remarks about the state where we now live. Both kids did summer programs during HS that drew nationally in which they were the only ones from our geographic region. D has said more than once, “It feels like I am always defending either [our current state] or the South!”</p>

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<p>Apologies in advance, but this thread reminded me of one of my favorite jokes:</p>

<p>Two ladies were sitting next to each other on a plane. One was a Yankee and the other, a Southern gal. The Southern gal turned to the Yankee and asked, “So where y’all from?”</p>

<p>The Yankee turned her steely gaze to the Southern Belle and replied, “I am from a place where we do NOT end our sentences with a preposition.”</p>

<p>Without missing a beat, the Southern gal responded, “So, where are y’all from, WITCH?”</p>

<p>(ok the original had a “b” in the punchline, but CC won’t allow that… :-)</p>

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<p>I just chalked it up to immaturity, not regional bias.</p>

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<p>Lafalum: In contrast to Stephen Colbert, I know some sharp southerners in law and business who emphasize their southern drawls when dealing with people from the Northeast because they firmly believe that they are underestimated in competitive situations because of the assumption that they are somehow seen as less intelligent than they are due to the accent. And on a positive note, I have a cousin who swears that New Yorkers are the friendliest people in the world if you approach them acting confused while using a thick Southern accent.</p>

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<p>Well mystery2me, my female southern relatives have resorted to the “Southern Belle” act in the north a few times and it has indeed worked like a charm! A Texas friend pretended she had no idea how to get a lobster out of its shell, so the restaurant did it for her. And my cousins got free drinks in a NY nightclub by batting their eyelashes and saying, “Y’all” every other word. </p>

<p>On the other hand, my dad was working in NJ for a few years and was confused by a black co-worker’s cold attitude toward him. He was finally enlightened in a management seminar, when the co-worker admitted he assumed my dad was racist because of his southern accent.</p>

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<p>I’ve noticed that when President Bush wants to get buddy-buddy with the American people, the Texas drawl comes out big-time.</p>

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<p>I grew up in NC but have lived in the midwest for over 25 years. I have retained much of my Southern accent - because it’s part of who I am, but also because it’s an effective weapon of disarmament. Since many people seem to equate “Southerner” with “idiot” (or “redneck”, etc.), it’s fun to play with their minds when the intellect contradicts the accent.</p>

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<p>

yep!</p>

<p>when I lived in NH we made fun of people from Taxachusettes - um I mean Massachusettes. We here in PA always make fun of NJ.
Don’t Texans make fun of everyone?</p>

<p>I never really had been “south” until one of my kids went to school in NC - I love the south and southerners.
My other daughter just spent a year in Alabama. She was very nervous and admittedly quite snobby about it. She ended up loving Alabama and the people. She lived in a very poor (yes, dirt poor) area and she was so surprised that the people were so friendly.
She went to a Baptist church the Sunday before MLK day in Selma AL. What an experience being the only blue eyed blond. After the service she said all the black ladies came up to her and welcomed her and said they hoped she would come back. She melted. Having grown up in the cynical Northeast this was a new experience and a wonderful experience.</p>

<p>Personally, I think I would love to take a train just so I can talk to people from different parts of the country. It is fascinating to see how the other half lives.</p>

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<p>I think the late Sen. Sam Ervin (of Watergate hearings fame) was a master at this. He tried hard to come across as a good ol’ boy - just simple country lawyer from the South. Yeah, a simple country lawyer who just happened to have graduated at the head of his class at Harvard Law School.</p>

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<p>Q: Why does New Jersey put “The Garden State” on its license plates?</p>

<p>A: Because “Land of swamps, refineries, and piles of refuse from New York City” won’t fit.</p>

<p>PS, Thirty years ago the answer included ‘Stinky Hog Farms’ but those have since moved to less sophisticated states.</p>

<p>(There, did I get everybody?)</p>