<p>While I object to South bashing in general (and any regional bashing), what really bothers me is how acceptable it is on this forum. We should set a better example for the students who might be reading our comments. It seems that when people make an outrageous statement about the South, no one comments on the inappropriateness. There are students who refuse to look at Southern schools or are even afraid. They didn’t learn those attitudes from personal experience. Parents don’t need to force the issue, but they should be questioning those views instead of so overtly agreeing with them.</p>
<p>Well, Coureur someone HAS to make fun of the dumb beach blonde, the freaky hippie, the self-absorbed Hollywood star wannabe, the Valley Girl, the car wash guy with a screenplay, the Fruits and Nuts… who were responsible for La Rue Road in Davis and the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. </p>
<p>Fwiw, the continuing adventures of an uprooted Texas in California never fail to bring interesting twists. I’m sure that many parents of my friends in California are still in shock to hear how widespread the use of Ya’ll has become in our small circle. As our good old friend TheDad used to say, Californians think there is more culture in a jar of Yoplait than in all of Texas. What goes around comes around! And to stick to the dairy theme, how about a local story we like to tell in our neck of the woods:</p>
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<p>Despite deriving its name from a Mexican general, Mexia is pronounced “muh-HAY-a” in the land where “fixin’ to” is one word! </p>
<p>We should cherish all our differences and realize that the day they’ll be ironed out in the name of PC, we’ll live in a rather boring place.</p>
<p>Historically, the south does not have a very good reputation…</p>
<p>Part of this is likely due to the fact that they lost the civil war (history written by the victors) and the fact that all of the industrial centers, wealth, universities and cultural progressivism has occurred in the north. </p>
<p>The has also been the more racist part of the country, so in order to avoid tarnishing the American reputation abroad, the north treats the south like the shameful sibling that we don’t talk about.</p>
<p>But they are some of the nicest people I have ever met, when they aren’t angry about things!</p>
<p>That confederate flag thing is still REALLY hard for me (African American, born and raised in NYC, but fathers family from AL). I remember the first time I thought of it as ANYTHING other than what I might have considered a hate crime was during a culture awareness seminar in the Air Force.</p>
<p>“… what really bothers me is how acceptable (South basing) is on this forum.” </p>
<p>Now whoa there pretty lady. I don’t think any of the posters have suggested that South bashing is prevalent on this board (i.e., the Parents Forum). Schools like Duke and Emory and Hendrix and Rhodes and Rice and Vanderbilt are regularly touted as excellent places to spend four years. And if there’s a more revered contributer on this board than Curmudgeon then I’d sure like to know who that is.</p>
<p>I was in Va. over 4th of July and on a trip to the cemetery we noticed with astonishment way more Confederate flags on graves than U.S. ones. Probably 4 to 1 ratio.</p>
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<p>Did she let them feed her?</p>
<p>Every region of the country is stereotyped by every other region.</p>
<p>As an Englishman who has lived in the south for >20 years. I was shocked at how the rest of the country looked down on the southerners. After a few years I became even more surprised to discover that the south loves being considered stupid. Their favorite performers (Foxworthy, Larry the cable guy etc) all perpetuate the dumb southern stereotype and are much admired for it.</p>
<p>You’ve all got to read “Born Fighting” if you haven’t already. Speaks eloquently on this topic.</p>
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<p>Well, our favorite performer from Crawford, Texas has tried to perpetuate the dumb southern stereotype, but has failed to gain much admiration for it.</p>
<p>Case in point - nobody has a comment about post #23.</p>
<p>And NewHope33, I am suggesting it happens on all of the forums of this site. I am amazed everytime it happens that it just slides on by. Nobody is personally attacked, surely, but the South is many times portrayed as ignorant and racist. I’m surprised Northern students aren’t advised to get cholera shots before going there.</p>
<p>I have come across crass people and wonderful people from every region. The problem is that Northerners would not take offense at the same comments and would just chalk them up to ignorance on the part of the Southerner who just hasn’t accepted his place outside of the educated enlightened zone.</p>
<p>Re: post 31: Oh, but he also gets to be labeled as an elitist Northeasterner! Two fer one, what a bargain.</p>
<p>I’m fascinated with the South from a linguistic perspective. The South keeps many linguistic features that both London English and General American have since lost. Historically, a large source of many linguistic distinctions in the South came from Scottish English (or even Scots itself, which broke off from Middle English) as well as Irish English. And the many portions of the South still keep many historic minimal pairs distinct.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, when I read post #23 my first thought was “what book has he been reading?”. I have lived in quite a few states and racism existed, to some degree, in all of them. And, all of them had dumb people who didn’t have a clue. As we all know, prejudice and sterotyping are derived from ignorance. Btw, no specific region of the country has a monopoly on ignorance either.</p>
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<p>Nope, we just feel sorry for them;) JUST KIDDING, REALLY!!!</p>
<p>Well said MamaDiva. We are all pretty much the same at the core and many of our differences are positive things that keep the world interesting. I like it that I can choose to live north, south, east, or west and know that there is a place for me everywhere if I keep an open mind.</p>
<p>Now I have a REAL problem with TEXAS bashing!</p>
<p>preironic, I find there are differences between the parents and other forums here; I think here, posters are more likely to ignore and move on from post’s that they don’t resonate with, or that seem uncessesarily provocative ( not saying this is the case in #23), rather than drawing a lot of attention to them.</p>
<p>My boss has this annoying habit of referring to me as her “little Southern Belle” because my parents are from SC. She does it in this AWFUL fake southern accent. I HATE WHEN PEOPLE TRY TO ‘DO’ A SOUTHERN ACCENT. Just stop already. Please. You just make yourself look like an idiot and demean anyone who has ever lived in the South. </p>
<p>Of course, my boss is from RI and has a RI accent you could cut with a knife. (If you’re curious, a RI accent is a mix of Boston and NY). But heaven forbid I imitate it or make fun of it, she’d be horribly offended. </p>
<p>Fake Boston accents are almost as bad as fake Southern accents. Please, actors in movies, get it RIGHT or don’t bother. If you’re not Meryl Streep, give up on an accent that you haven’t lived among for at least 3 years!</p>
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<p>AMEN, and for the most part, I have found, people all over the country are pretty cool and open to my Texanness.</p>
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<p>haha, me too! I don’t really have too much of an accent (although after two chardoneys it tends to get a bit of a drawl), but I’ll lay it on thick to get under the skin of people who obviously are being uppity about their northerness;).</p>