Please feel free to nuke all of us Southerners...Drop a bomb on us redneck ignart Sutherners.

[bamademo]

The rest of the US will be better off without seafood, high technology and people like Bill Clinton. After all we don't have universities like Vanderbilt, Emory, Duke or some of those other pesky institutes of higher learning. There is no Southern Poverty Law Center here.

Can we just leave the South bashing off? I will give you all our tornadoes. We are seriously fighting against poverty and ignorance and succeeding but we need help from out neighbors from the North. Not scorn and ridicule. Some parts are as bad as you think but the large majority isn't. But stereotyping us is as hypocritical as equating all Italians as Tony Soprano. You can come up with your own examples.

[AuntPatsy]

1. Well I guess that ensures the Bush family survives, they are not Southerners

[Fumesucker]

2. <snort>

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6940922

[bamademo]

3. But they live here now. Unfortunately.

[RKP5637]

4. Yep, IMO the south often gets a bad rap. There are many good people in the south. I've worked with

many and many are my friends. Other states/areas have their share of ignorance and all the rest too. There are beautiful areas and people in the south. Unfortunately, the noise makers get all the press and everyone gets lumped into the same bucket. I've lived in many states, some ultra liberal states, and there I ran into some really ignorant, stupid dumb F's.

[Archae]

5. I see this all the time in Scott Walker threads...

And threads involving Wisconsin's GOP, most recently with that stupid stunt the GOP tried making state government records secret.

"You elected and re-elected him three times..."

No.

I never voted for Walker, and I didn't elect him.

GOP-gerrymandered districts and Koch money elected him.

[TexasProgresive]

8. How did gerrymandered districts get Walker elected governor?

I'll grant you that Koch money had an effect, but unless Wisconsin has some sort of state wide electoral college districts don't much matter.

[Archae]

9. I'm not sure how it works...

But somehow this increases the amount of representation for republican voters and conservative pressure groups.

[jeff47]

14. In the legislature. It's still "one man one vote" for governor.

From far out-of-state, it looks like the big problem was poor Democratic candidates running against him, resulting in low turnout and Walker winning.

But someone in WI will probably know way more than I do.

[Ed Suspicious]

43. Very poor candidates picked by people who think the

Best way to beat a republican is to be as much like a republican as possible.

[RKP5637]

127. Yep, that, is the root cause of many problems. Democrats that think sliding rightward

is the way to win an election, lacking the guts to stand up to republicans.

[appalachiablue]

12. State, place & people shaming s*cks. There are good people in WI & other places, hate it when

they're blamed- 'why don't you stop your people from voting against their own best interest!'. It suggests the same thinking should be applied in many areas- hassle Catholic F & F about why they don't stop the church from covering up pedophiles, opposing birth control and gay marriage; hassle Californians about the high usage of imported foreign H1-B visa workers in the tech industry which displaces US workers; hassle New Yorkers about why they aren't blowing up Wall Street. Where does it go and end...?

[RKP5637]

23. This country should be totally up in arms about GOP-gerrymandered districts and Koch money, but

I think many people still don't get what's going on and instead they strike out against everyone.

[cwydro]

6. Hey, we gave this nation

Jimmy Carter too.

Never mind the south-bashing. Small minds with inferiority complexes.

It's always the same posters. Kinda sad.

[bvar22]

158. It IS always the same posters.

They NEED their distorted image of The South.
They are unable to let it go.
The South they want to see is still living in their heads Rent Free after 150 years.
It is kinda funny.

[tularetom]

7. I agree with you 99%

Unfortunately the nation would be better off without people like New York resident Bill Clinton.

[zappaman]

80. Why would the nation be better off without Bill Clinton?

[hifiguy]

81. NAFTA, banking "dereguation" and the Telecom Act for starters. nt

[zappaman]

83. Lol!

?1363026281

[Hoyt]

10. Even apartheid S Africa had some desirable qualities. I live in south, there's a lot to bash, sorry.

No one is bashing the entire south, or ignoring the good things about it.

The racism, ignorance, gun love, Christian hypocrisy, right wing control of legislatures, war mongering, etc., are bad. It exists elsewhere, but not to the extent in the south.

Thank god for those who aren't like that, hope more arrive or are born. But, it can be ugly here.

[Tipperary]

19. I live in the south and I do not see what you see.

I do feel bad for you that you do not like where you live. That is a horrible way to be...to live. How awful.

Perhaps you should move to New Jersey or some more enlightened area than the horrid south?

I think you are wrong that the "racism, ignorance, gun love, Christian hypocrisy, right wing control of legislatures, war mongering etc." is more prevalent in the south.

Just plain old wrong.

[Hoyt]

20. You are right, there is no abundance of racism here, red states gladly expanded Medicaid under ACA,

there are plenty of southern Democrats in Washington, southerners hate guns and have tough gun laws, Christians were leading the call for marriage equality, etc. Don't know where you've been, but you are wrong.

[Aerows]

29. If you can't love your neighbors

find some new ones.

[Tipperary]

68. I am in North Carolina.

I have lived here all my life, though I spent time in other states. I have seen racism everywhere. You must live in a pretty nasty place because I do not see racism on any regular basis here. The mayor of my town is black, the police chief is black. Most municipal employees are black. Do you live in some lily-white place or what? If so, I would bet it is up north.

I am fairly new on this board and I find it very sad that DU posters attack other DU posters solely on where they live. It is bigoted and it is wrong.

I agree with other posters who have pointed out that some just need to feel superior. Sadly, the south-haters here simply make themselves look ignorant and uninformed.

Again, I am truly taken aback by the hatred on the DU toward those who live in a certain region. I did not expect this here.

[Hoyt]

72. If the rest of the country were like thesouth, who would be Prez?

Have the wonderful Carolinas expanded Medicaid?

[CherokeeDem]

76. Thank you.....

I love your comments... especially this one...


I find it very sad that DU posters attack other DU posters solely on where they live. It is bigoted and it is wrong.

Unfortunately, it happens all the time... just because they hate the south....

I believe these people who do this do feel superior and it is shameful. I didn't expect this from Democrats either.

[freshwest]

121. I see it no different than Place of Origin prejudice. It's backwards. I also warn them that TX was

a progressive state during the era of Ann Richards and others.

TX was a well funded GOP social experiment that suceeded after media and other producers of public opinion were heavily infiltrated for over 30 years and this has gone national. What happened there can, and is, happening in every state of the Union.

No place is immune to to the level of propaganda that Texas is still flooded with from talk radio, television, churches and cultural conditioning. It's coming to a place near you, folks.

The formerly die hard blue states are turning purple and red ins some places. Using the same methods, brownshirting, bribes, nepotism and intimidation while slashing civic education and deforming the courts, selling off public and now even private property and ending regulation. This has been a long term plan.

The GOP and their allies have taken a soft sales approach in blue states until they are purple and the only reason the gloves are on is they don't have enough power to do all they want. Whey they do, the glove come off and they punch you.

But if one is very involved in state affairs one will find the same philosophy being used. And the same results. You may think you are smart, but they can work around you if you don't take over offices from dog catcher, school board, land use and zoning commissions, voting registratrs, legislatures and state houses. So take care of your own state and stop pointing the finger before it is too late for you.

[bvar22]

84. Hating on The South...

...is one of the only overt forms of bigotry still allowed on DU.

If you Hate the South.....then don't come here.
We won't miss you.

If you don't Hate the South,
you are invited over for fresh green beans & cornbread.

The South is beautiful, and belongs to all of us.
Hating the South is like Hating your own leg.


---bvar22 & Starkraven
living well on a small taxable income
and stuff we learned in the 60s.

[BrotherIvan]

119. If that is your porch, it looks so idyllic

Plus I have an obsession with pumpkins. Don't know why, I just love looking at them and eating them.

[bvar22]

145. Yes, that is our porch,

....and those are our pumpkins!
We love how fertile this place is...and the long growing seasons.
You should have seen the Watermelons!


On Edit: It is not so wonderful in late July - late August.
The best way to cope is to sit in front of the AC (we have window units),
and not go outside until about 6 PM.

[BrotherIvan]

162. You should share your pictures of your bounty with us city folk

So we can live vicariously through you. Beautiful.

[bvar22]

167. I used to post photos regularly on "old" DU a few years ago,

but felt so bad because I would then go read about DUers going hungry, homeless, and without Health Care,
so I stopped posting the photos.

We also used to have crowded Gardening and Rural/Farm Groups, but now there is nobody home there. Most of the people who are as committed as we are to living independently and reducing our Carbon Footprint left DU long ago.

If you're interested,
here are some of the links:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=246&topic_id=5729&mesg_id=5729

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x11812

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1182456

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1182412

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x4739

[BrotherIvan]

170. Those pictures are utterly INCREDIBLE

I am just blown away by how amazing it looks. I know it is hard work, but the rewards are worth it. The honey in the jars looked like nectar and the deer story blew my mind. I can't believe you can take your cats for a walk, I wish I could take mine. Man, the whole thing looks fantastic. Except for the tomato bug. That freaked me out!

Thank you for sharing. You are one of the richest men on earth!

[bvar22]

172. Thanks for the kind words, Brother .

They are appreciated.
My wife says I'm not being honest because I "only show the good stuff,"
There are downsides to living here. I just never photograph them.

Cheers,
Bob

[bvar22]

143. Gosh, Hoyt.....

It was ONLY the "Southern States" that turned down the Medicaid Expansion???????
I didn't realize it was so localized. Thanks for this information.

[Hoyt]

144. You gotta a list of southern states that expanded Medicaid vs those that did not?

[bvar22]

147. Why limit it to The South?

That really isn't a good way to get an honest statistical representation of the country.
You already KNOW that , and are using high school tactics.
Go ahead.
Try something different, and give us the REAL picture instead of your usual garbage.

[Hoyt]

149. Percentage of refusals is a LOT HIGHER here.

[Roy Rolling]

150. Yes I do

I would send it to you but my hands hurt from my knuckles dragging on the floor. No wait, that's my knees and legs---worn out from protesting for civil rights, protesting against the Vietnam War, protesting for social change and living "democratically" by example. Wow, all in "the south", too, as some disparagingly call it.

But I'm sure you can find a list of states that expanded ACA, who the idiot governors are and which ones are more enlightened. What does that have to do with me if I choose to live in "the south"?

And I'm sure some will say "get a thicker skin", and maybe they're right. But I'm not gonna and most humans won't do that, especially on DU---they pride themselves on being individuals and don't like blanket insults and pejorative terms. People just don't shake off insults.

Something Donald Trump is learning the hard way.

[Hoyt]

154. Why should you be insulted if you are not part of racism and ignorance in south?

I live here too, and I accept the insults because on average the south is more racist, backwards, ignorant, etc., than rest of country, with a few exceptions.

Do you take it personally when people criticize America for greed?

[Roy Rolling]

165. Point taken

I have a thick skin, but it is generally grating to hear southern prejudice as opposed to thoughtful criticism with sound reasoning. Others do not have a thick skin and it divides people more than it unites them. And I am biased toward the "unites" side.

As for when people criticize America for greed, it depends on who is doing the criticizing. Calling me greedy, simply because I live in the United States (to be technical, Latin American people bristle at people in the U.S. (only) being called "American&quot would insult me in the same way as calling me "southern" as a substitute for ignorant racist.

I find it better to avoid generalizations based on geography and deal with the specific behaviors and attitudes of people. Geographical and political boundaries define people less in 2015 than they did in 1915.

Which is to say, yeah, there sure are a lot of ignorant neighbors where I live. too. But limiting myself to only calling them assholes and neglecting the 100 million other assholes in the other 49 states and the world is shortsighted on my part.

[Hoyt]

166. I will be sure to mention you as an exception if I bash south again. :)

[Logical]

32. Nope! nt

[Horse with no Name]

21. I see it too

I live rural south and never in my life have I seen so much hatred for progressive issues.

[CatWoman]

44. here in Georgia the GOP went out of its way to restrict the expansion of Medicare

they even made it the law.

Not only can't this governor expand it, the law forbids ANY governor to do it.

And I agree as well.

[YOHABLO]

101. You may mean Medicaid?

[CatWoman]

138. yes

sorry and thanks for bringing to my attention.

[DirkGently]

46. Lot to bash everywhere, if that's what you're after.

Ask Wisconsin and Indiana how rightwing control of legislatures is working way up there. Militias are biggest in Michigan, Idaho, and California. The Mormons behind the biggest attacks on gay marriage are in Utah. The heart of the Catholic child abuse ring centered in places like NYC and Boston.

Wage inequality is worst in D.C., New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

The South brought us Carter, Clinton, Mark Twain, barbecue, and every identifiable form of American music.

If you don't see anything but ignorance, religious crazies, and guns in the South, you aren't looking very carefully.

[bvar22]

148. Thanks, Dirk.

That was well done.

If the close-minded are successful at dividing the country,
I'm staying with the piece that has New Orleans.

[Cali_Democrat]

50. Thank you for your perspective. nt

[Skittles]

118. we certainly agree there, Hoyt

yes indeed

[kcr]

146. Oops

Misread. Sorry.

[jeff47]

11. If you don't like it, fix your house.

People outside the South can't fix the South. If you don't like what your fellow Southerners are doing, you are going to have to change it.

I'm doing what I can in NC. But it's going to be a long, slow slog.

[ileus]

13. But we're morally superior that's why we're so tolerant of bashing the South here.

Their hate runs deep for fellow citizens here in the south, and it's always been tolerated because....well it's the south, our enemy. Kinda like Christians and Gun owners, folks from the South are associated with the GOP and thus deserve ridicule and scorn. It doesn't matter that there's millions of democrats here in the South, as well as millions of Christian democrats and gun owning democrats, but since it doesn't fit their ideals we must be fake Dems and should be swept under the same rug as everyone else dumb enough to live here.

Get used to it...a good South bashing thread shows up at least once a week.

[Hoyt]

22. Maybe that's the problem, even many Democrats are not far removed from old "Dixiecrats" in

some respects. Guns, confederate flags, and such, being examples.

[cwydro]

30. Are you speaking of dems on this board?

If so, you are way out of line.

[Hoyt]

36. I'm speaking about the south, where I live and conservatism is too abundant.

You refuse to see the truth.

[cwydro]

39. I live here too.

Must be difficult for you with this outlook you have.

I'm sorry. Perhaps you can relocate to a better area like New Jersey? I hear Idaho is nice too.

[Hoyt]

48. Actually, Idaho is quite right wing with lots of racists too.

[cwydro]

51. I know that lol.

Hence my comment.

The racists are everywhere.

[Hoyt]

63. Fact is, if rest of country were likethe south, McCain and Palin would be in office and

Rick Santorum, or worse, would be favorite in 2016.

[cwydro]

70. Wow, too funny!

You're an amusing one, you are.

[randr]

15. The bashing comes from the constant, most often crazy, protrayal of "southern mentality"

displayed daily by many public representatives from our southern states.
I have not anger nor animosity toward anyone who lives in the South or anywhere else for that matter.
I love my visits to Southern States and can not wait to enjoy more of the fine cuisine and friendship served up.
I also pay attention to the news and every friggin day another bat shit crazy "Dixie Flag" waving sad example of public officialdom fills the air waves with same nonsense, a brand new example of ill logic, or one more hate filled message for the rest of us Red, White, and Bluers. I know not everyone down south voted for these jerks and I feel sorry for those who did not; but y'all are givin yourselves a bad name by not denouncing them.
I am waiting for more conformation of sanity, such as delivered by Strom Thurmonds grandson recently, from those still loyal and true American's so that the rest of our nation can begin to understand and appreciate the true southern pride of which you speak.

[BrotherIvan]

16. Only if you give me some delicious Southern food, then we can talk

Worked in the last thread. I'm hungry now, so maybe it will work this time too.

[historylovr]

56. I've got ham in the oven, BrotherIvan.

Will make mashed potatoes and red-eye gravy later, and biscuits. You're welcome any time!

[DashOneBravo]

62. Oh my, ma'am

That sounds mighty fine.

[historylovr]

89. Why, thank you!

You're welcome to stop by, too.

[DashOneBravo]

103. Thank you ma'am

For the offer. That's some of my favorites, especially biscuits. Just about any type of greens, milk gravy even cold, fried green tomatoes and fresh from the field silver queen corn on the cob.

The only thing I don't like is grits.

[historylovr]

108. You're quite welcome!

My sister makes a mean mess of collard greens. I do okay, but not as good as she does.

[BrotherIvan]

120. Can you share her recipe?

I LOVE greens. I could eat a big bowl of greens and nothing else. I have made them with ham hocks but I have not tried smoked turkey. I wish I made them every week so I could eat them with everything. I don't eat much starch, but meat with a side of greens is a great meal.

[historylovr]

133. Sending you a PM.

[DashOneBravo]

173. I'd just like to point out

That historylovr sent me her recipe for collard greens and I made them this weekend and they turned out great.

The only problem I had was when she said " add water but not too much" 😃

[DashOneBravo]

163. Uhmm

I'd be interested in your recipe also.

If you don't mind ma'am.

[BrotherIvan]

67. Ok, red eye gravy and biscuits have won me over

I have never had ham like I had in the South except for maybe Denmark. Southern food is truly some of the most delicious food I've ever eaten. You are very lucky for that. And I come from California where we have some damn fine food too, so that's saying a lot.

Now, we are friends!!

[historylovr]

91. Yay!

I don't get back home very often (I grew up in the Florida Panhandle.) so every now and then I like to cook something I grew up on.

[BrotherIvan]

93. I love Southern hospitality and the beautiful land

I have met many fine people on my visits to the South and did not face any racism, which surprised me, but then again I was in the cities for the most part. I wish the politics and religion would change, that is true. I wish people would realize that those things are hurting, not helping.

I am like Gandhi who said, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians."

Instead I would say, "I like the South. I do not like your Fundamentalists or your Republicans." But then again, I don't like Republicans or Fundamentalists anywhere, though I have only met a few.

If the soul and joy you put into your food and music could lead the way, a lot of things could change. But I would be as big as a house because I love to eat. I hope people start to see how good we things are getting for us on the blue coast and maybe jump on board. Liberal governance works.

[historylovr]

106. I agree wholeheartedly.

There is a lot good in the south. There is also a lot of bad, mainly I think because people cling to what's familiar, even if it's wrong, if that makes sense. And the politicians there play on that. Like you I hope to see people's minds broadened to see how good things can be. Maybe one day.

[840high]

111. Don't forget grits. I've gotten

to love grits.

[historylovr]

134. I love grits.

Especially with bacon or sausage and eggs.

[LWolf]

17. Well, you can keep

Bill Clinton. As for the rest, I'm not repudiating the South. People are people, good and bad, everywhere.

[misterhighwasted]

18. I lived most of my life in the north & now in Tx. White Supremacy, Bigots, KKKristians

..are everywhere. Its hardly just the south.
From Northern Ca, to Idaho, to N & S Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, and over to the Upstates, & the midwest, Ohio, Indiana & their neighbors, have a certain connection to the likes of RW Kkkristian Supremacy, and lets not forget that good ol boy, the not so southern Cliven Bundy.

Why the rise in Red States in the North is my question.
Its not a north/south thing, its RW hate, & someone with the money to buy political positions. such as the John Birchers supported by The Kochs.

[RKP5637]

24. It really is, exactly as you say. "It' s not a north/south thing, it's RW hate, & someone with the

money to buy political positions, such as the John Birchers supported by The Kochs." They're all over the place in the US and well connected by today's communications. And layered on that is Fox News, and all the hate websites, etc. It's incredible!

[haikugal]

160. Bingo!!

[sadoldgirl]

25. While I don't want to nuke anyone I think

that the problems are a little different than
geographical. There is a divide between the well off
and the less well off; there is also a divide between
rural and city populations.
I don't know whether the South has stayed more
rural, but I know that Kansas is. Hence its
legislature and governor are RW. A state like
Ohio is a mystery to me.

[Depaysement]

26. Regional disparagement exists in most countries

And it's stiLl just as foolish.

[abelenkpe]

27. Grew up in the south

and will never ever go back. It's painful getting it from both sides. Ridicule from those likeminded who live elsewhere and ridicule from those you share nothing in common with at home.

[Logical]

33. +1000 nt

[cwydro]

34. How very sad.

I'm glad you're back where you belong.

[democrank]

28. I could be in Canada in little over an hour

so that puts me in the North category. Howard Dean was quite insightful about this issue. People in the North have many of the same concerns that people in the South have. In general, on issues of social and economic justice, we`re probably more alike than different. We just have to find those common bonds and work together to help one another.

Some scoff at this Power to the People thing, but it`s really, really real.

[Logical]

31. LOL, whining about the DU. nt

[Polly Hennessey]

35. OK.

[DemocraticWing]

37. I think the South has some unique problems.

But that doesn't mean the whole region is without saving. There are good parts and bad parts of every area on Earth, and the South is no different. The racist history of the South is a unique hurdle to overcome, but the redneck, bible-thumping, gun-toters are just as prevalent in the Midwest. That's an issue of rural culture being diminished and perverted into something reactionary, which is sad considering there was once a long history of populist/progressive politics in rural areas.

Some of the issue with bashing is that it just makes the problem worse. Reasonable people in the South think that the North hates them and wants every part of the South to change. Sometimes it seems they're not wrong, and that's a shame.

[Bluenorthwest]

38. The high drama from Southerners about any form of criticism or joshing is incomprehensible to me

First off, people from the South created and employ a special 'nickname' for non Southerners, 'Yankees' while there is no such term used in reverse. We say 'people from the South' or even 'Alabamans' or 'Floridians' but there is no cutesy term meaning 'resident of a place not the North' as you folks have with that 'Yankee' word.
Second, people from the South will themselves take part in the American tradition of ribbing other States and regions. My Southern cousins used to love to tell me that CA was 'like a bowl of granola, full of fruits flakes and nuts'. Cute, huh? Then they'd go on about Governor Moonbeam and such. Fruits and nuts.
So all States and regions engage in criticism and joking about the others. The South does it perhaps more than other regions, not less. Other places are far more often the targets, New Jersey gets endless mockery. Do you see New Jersey weeping into their grits about it?

Do you see the South and all who live there as above all criticism, for all time, while they are free to call me a Yankee fruit living in a granola bowl State? Is that the deal as you see it?

[DirkGently]

49. Hypocritical bullshit. Where're the North bashing threads?

"Yankee" dates back to colonial times, so trying to sell that as a slur is ludicrous. The Brits call us all Yanks and always have. It's a descriptor, not an insult. "Dumb redneck," on the other hand, is a genuine geographical slur that's still acceptable among a lot of people.

And no one's pushing back against good-natured "joking." There are no, "We'd be a better country without the North" threads. Come back with your straw men and false equivalency arguments when that happens.

The problem is with judgmental morons stroking their geography based sense of social and intellectual superiority because their parents happened to have them at whatever latitude they were in at the time. It's no better than homophobia or religious bigotry, and comes from the same small-minded, insecure need to look down on others that drives the rest.

[cwydro]

58. Yes!

You said it perfectly. Thank you.

[Person 2713]

90. What would you say about post # 88 on this thread

And even your own comment above about what or where the'problem is' ?

[Mariana]

95. There's plenty of hostility toward northerners.

On another thread a poster compared northerners who live the south to an invasion and occupation. And that hate is for northerners who like the south so much they want to stay there!

[Fumesucker]

97. Give a lot of Northern transplants five years in the South and they sound/act just like the locals

The Southern accent and attitude is almost as infectious as Strine.

[Mariana]

98. And a lot of Southerners will still hate them anyway

no matter how much they assimilate, because they were born north of a stupid line on a map.

[Fumesucker]

105. I wouldn't know, I married a New Yorker from Queens

[RiffRandell]

114. No fucking way.

I'm a former New Englander, never picked up the accent, had 2 kids down here and they speak like my husband and I, and he's originally from Maine!

I vowed we would keep our roots.

No offense to Southern accents; hell I've been mocked for my "accent" when I don't think I even have one.

[Cali_Democrat]

55. Well said. nt

[cwydro]

57. Lmao.

That "fruits and nuts" thing came from "all in the Family".

[cwydro]

60. Can you please link to where

anyone on DU called anyone else a "Yankee fruit living in a granola bowl state"?

Omg this is hilarious!

[Bluenorthwest]

73. I've had two different DUers tell me that Oregon is 'not really America' and that the South is

in fact America. One of them put it like this 'you are not surrounded by regular Americans there'. So yeah, it has been said. But it's not supposed to matter if insults are hurled at others. I get that. That's my point.

[cwydro]

78. Lmao.

No. Just no.

[Texasgal]

92. prove it.

give us a link.

[Lars39]

125. Hillbilly has finally almost gone away.

Redneck seems to have replaced it.

[LanternWaste]

135. I believe 'Yankee' is a term coined by British Gen. James Wolfe.

I believe 'Yankee' is a term coined by British Gen. James Wolfe. However, I certainly can empathize with the petulant need to point fingers predicated on an incorrect premise.

[Ligyron]

40. I'm from way south

South Florida that is - and there's not that many non-progressives in my town.

Now, over on the Island we have a good number of GOP, true. Rush and sometimes resident Trump come to mind, but even there in Palm Beach are many wealthy liberal Dems who support the cause generously w $$.

Go inland and you will still find plenty of brainwashed poor folk voting against their interests (cept Orlando and Tampa area plus Gainesville) and Ocala is a magnet for well-off northerners who have moved there from all over. The nearby Villages is a hotbed of Tea Party types (remember Romney and the national anthem?).

But overall the state went for Obama and once again, if not for gerrymandering, we'd have a lot more Dems in the state legislature and in Congress. I really, really have my concerns over the election of Scott and while I'm not into CT's, something funny about that whole stinking election.

[RKP5637]

126. Well said! n/t

[SoapBox]

41. The Southern Poverty Law Center is not in the South?

I thought they were in Alabama...with offices all through the South.

Or did I screw up the sarcasm factor?!

[lunasun]

74. Yes sarcasm - It started in Montgomery Al during the push for equality and there was a wee

bit of resistance there at the time . Some lawyers wanted to help the vulnerable too poor to fight for rights
History of Protecting Society’s Most Vulnerable http://www.splcenter.org/
The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded to ensure that the promises of the civil rights movement became a reality for all.

By the late 1960s, the civil rights movement had ushered in the promise of racial equality as new laws ended legal apartheid in the United States. But the new laws had not yet brought the fundamental changes needed in the South.

Black people were still excluded from good jobs, decent housing, elective office, a quality education and a range of other opportunities. There were few places for the disenfranchised and the poor to turn for justice. Enthusiasm for the civil rights movement had waned and few lawyers in the South were willing to take controversial cases to test new civil rights laws.

Alabama lawyer and businessman Morris Dees sympathized with the plight of the poor and the powerless. The son of an Alabama farmer, he had witnessed firsthand the painful consequences of prejudice and racial injustice.

The lawyers formally incorporated the Southern Poverty Law Center in 1971, and civil rights activist Julian Bond was named the first president.

In the decades since its founding, the SPLC has shut down some of the nation’s most dangerous hate groups by winning crushing, multimillion-dollar jury verdicts on behalf of their victims. It has dismantled institutional racism in the South, reformed juvenile justice practices, shattered barriers to equality for women, children and the disabled, and protected low-wage immigrant workers from abuse

[KT2000]

42. what we have to deal with

head-on is the Southern Strategy. Everyone has tip-toed around this successful paradigm with disastrous results for this country. Of course not everyone who lives in the South subscribes to the stereotypes but the SS has won with those very stereotypes.

I would hope that rather than feeling offended, the good people of the South take this opportunity to marginalize those who do respond to the stereotype and redefine the South. The broad brush that you are offended by has been promoted by politicians who win elections. Stand against that in large numbers.

[Demit]

45. Oh noes wherever will we get our seafood & high technology.

We's gonna hafta look to other states in the union, see if mebbe theys got some.

[craigmatic]

47. Not to mention the fact that you'd be killing most of the black people in the US in the process.

[Cali_Democrat]

52. Seafood? LOL. nt

[Mariana]

66. Yes, there is no seafood in, say, New England.

All that lobster and clam chowder and stuff that people eat there doesn't really exist.

[underpants]

53. F^<k Duke

Sorry just had to get that in

[MFrohike]

75. Haha

Yeah, I don't think I'd cite the University of New Jersey at Durham as a southern institute of higher learning.

[underpants]

79. EXACTLY

[wryter2000]

54. This northerner supports you

People who live in places like I do (Oakland, CA) don't have the uphill battle people in other parts of the country do. (And there's plenty of ignorance outside the south. California gave the country Ronald Reagan.) The last thing good people need is to come here and have to put up with nastiness from their supposed allies.

[CTyankee]

59. As a happily transplanted Texan to New England, I will say the South has come a long

way over the years. I hated the segregation I lived with when I was there and got a lot of criticism for leaving but it was best.

I won't bash any part of the country. Idiots live everywhere.

But I will say that one of the greatest thing about living near the eastern coast is getting some excellent fresh fish and I would miss it terribly if I lived anywhere else.

In the summer, I visit Martha's Vineyard with family and we feast on clams, oysters and lobstah and particularly love Chappaquiddick Island for its isolated beauty and beloved little ferry to and from Edgartown. I treasure every minute of it...

[Warren Stupidity]

61. There is, perhaps, an unbridgeable cultural

divide in this country, a divide between what I'll call "jesusland" and the rest of us. Geographically it contains most of the old confederacy, but it is not identical to that fracturing.

I don't think there is a peaceful resolution to the culture war that divides us. So given a choice between a second civil war and a non-violent partition I choose the latter.

[Mariana]

64. Why would you need help from your neighbors from the North

if, as you say, "Some parts are as bad as you think but the large majority isn't." If that's true, why isn't the "large majority" outvoting the "some parts"?

[stranger81]

65. Sorry, but high tech and seafood are not

exclusively, or even predominantly, southern products. I say this sitting in Silicon Valley while enjoying a sandwich made with fresh West Coast crab meat.

If this country was stuck only with technology developed south of the Mason-Dixon, we would not have progressed beyond the electronic calculator.

[Maedhros]

69. "The South," in the context of the south-bashing threads,

can be read as "Southern White Christian Conservatives." We should all remember that there are a huge number of just regular old "Southerners" who are as diverse as the rest of the country.

[hifiguy]

82. I agree.

The Stupid Belt/jesusland exists in every state, though it may be closer to statewide majorities in the southern states. Go 30-40 miles out of where the extremely progressive cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul meet up and you are in Bachmann-land.

[lunasun]

71. No call for annihilation of the southern states seen here* did i miss something?

What does a post like this promote against the arch type already in place?

Then it gets defensive too so reminds me of the war on Christians slant

So that is my own example

[Iggo]

77. Aw.

[nilesobek]

86. Don't worry dude.

The South is part of the East. The next civil war will be between the West and East. We will smoke dope whenever we want and the East hates it. They are angry like Trump that we don't respect them. The Northeast would need the South in such a struggle. Don't worry.

[rufus dog]

87. No Nukes Dude

We are Liberals, plus we want the land!

[cherokeeprogressive]

88. I'd take the South over the North any day of the fucking week. The North's an overpopulated shithole

filled with rat-infested, filthy metropolises. In those filthy cities you'll find elite-minded assholes who wrongly think themselves to be so enlightened as to be living free of racism and bigotry. While I find a higher percentage of bigots and racists in the South, I find larger numbers of the same in the North due to the larger population. It also seems to me that people from the North are more intensely solid in their bigotry and racism.

I also find the North's big stinking polluted cities to be more severely segregated than those in the South. I found Chicago to be second only to the North's jewel; NYC, in personal rudeness and aggressive driving. Driving a tractor-trailer in both places was a nightmare and all it took was to hold someone driving a car up for a minute or less and they turned into slobbering, swearing idiots. No fucking thanks... you Northerners can keep that kind of shit. Not to mention that while walking the streets of NYC, each time I walked past a subway entrance I was greeted by a warm breeze that smelled distinctly of piss and there was not a single crack in the sidewalk that didn't have a cigarette butt in it.

You can keep the North (and when I say North I'm speaking mainly of the area from the Atlantic coast to the west side of the Great Lakes). It's a polluted shithole whose elitists are the main cause of the World's problems to this day.

You can keep the North. It's contributed very little musically to any kind of culture (yeah there's rap and you can keep that too), it's cuisine is imported (I can't think of anything I'd consider uniquely northeastern in a food context), it's polluted, and it's overcrowded. South-bashers; put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Ick.

[Texasgal]

94. WORD!

I happen to live in a beautiful area. My back yard backs up to a green belt. I am less than an hour away from lakes and beautiful nature. I love being here. Yes our politics suck ass but I am not so sure I could live in a metropolis. I need my fresh air and wide open spaces.

Ineteresting, Texas has become the fastest growing state in the country! Thousands of people are moving here every day. If it's so horrible why is everyone moving here?

[nadinbrzezinski]

99. Just a note my friend

aggressive driving is actually inversely proportional to how dense is the population.

As to the rest, you can find bad apples everywhere... but... structural racism exists EVERYWHERE in the country.

[Logical]

107. That explains a lot of your posts! Nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

110. Meh. I was trying to write something as stupid as the stereotyping I see here re The South.

I had company so was a little distracted and didn't put as much heart into it as I might have otherwise.

[840high]

112. Amen. I moved South from up North. I'm staying.

[bvar22]

159. We moved from Big Blue Minneapolis...

...to a very rural area of Arkansas surrounded by National Parks.
We love it here.
We won't be coming back.


After the 2008 election, I checked the ballot totals posted at our polling station.
I expected to see only two votes for Obama, me and my wife.
I was very surprised to discover that 1 out of 3 people living up in these mountains voted for the Black Guy.

We started looking for these people,
and guess what?
We found some hard core Democrats.
Not so lonely anymore.

[Drahthaardogs]

96. Thanks for stating that all italian-americans are not like a fictional tv character....

As an italian-american, I remember that the largest mass lynching in America was done by southerners and their victims were italian immigrants. But it is really great of you to remind us that ALL of US are not like made for tv characters. Could you have at least picked a real life member of la cosa nostra to give your um, eh, compliment?

[bvar22]

157. You are mistaken.

New York City holds the American record for the most black men lynched (hung from poles) in a single day.

SEE: Draft Riots, 1863

[Drahthaardogs]

161. No I am not

The largest mass lynching in American history was in New Orleans and it was Sicilians who were lynched
Teddy Roosevelt thought it a good thing

[davidpdx]

100. I think most of us realize it is a small number of people who hold on to the

bigoted attitudes and backwards ways of what the South used to be.

I know two people from the South, both good people. In fact one of them is a professor who specializes in studying hate groups (he was my professor as an undergraduate). I've never asked him why he chose to study that, but I can guess that has something to do with where he grew up. So you could say something very positive came out of his experience and he works with law enforcement from time to time as well.

[get the red out]

102. We all have a problem

It is the 1% and their media puppets. They dig into the darker parts of people's minds, expand those, and make the listener believe their poor thinking is justified. We were sitting ducks a bit more in the south because of poverty, and the racist shit so many of us heard out of Grandpa. JMO. But at least the city I live isn't totally fear-based. In our last Mayoral race here in Lexington, KY we had a choice of two candidates I really liked. The openly gay incumbent and the African American former Chief of Police. Most of us were just pissed about the gaping hole in the middle of downtown left by a "rich guys gone bust" construction project" The incumbent, Mayor Gray, won. He's a good guy, sooner or later he will get someone to build something on the hole.

[YOHABLO]

104. That's such a silly thing to say. No one is threatening Alabama or any other Southern State.

It will take some time and education, but this conservative base, that is in the majority in many southern states, won't last.
There are racist, prejudiced people all over the U.S. by the way.

[Mariana]

124. Sounds like a persecution complex.

Of course no one here has recommended exterminating the entire population of the south, and it's extremely offensive for the OP to imply that any such thing has been suggested.

[B Calm]

141. Bingo! You see what I see with the OP!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

109. I have lived in Texas my entire life.

And I am not going anywhere. I am surrounded by ignorance and racism. Most people outside of the cities like Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio are pretty conservative, Christian and racist. If I assume the white people I meet are conservative (read Tea Party Obama haters) and Christian (probably Baptist or worse) and racist, my assumptions are reinforced over 99 percent of the time.

That is a stereotype, but over 99 percent of the time, in my experience, it's true. I can't talk about anything I am interested in with these people. And "redneck" is not PC. I guess I will have to say "ignorant high school drop out uneducated white folks who often live in trailers and have criminal records".


I grew up in the city and the difference in the outlook of people in the country is depressing. This is depressingly predictable when I meet new people in rural areas. I live in a rural area. East Texas has more black people than the rest of the state and it is also where the worst racism is. My county seat was recently named the poorest city in Texas. There are no jobs and lots of con artists and crime.


If they don't sell it at Wallyworld, I have to go to Houston or Dallas to buy it. Or use the internet.


There are absolutely NO white Democrats around here. The Democratic party has given up and does not have county Democratic organizations. Think Louie Gohmert and Joe Barton. There is nobody in state government that represents my values. Nobody. I vote straight Democratic. Often there is no Democratic candidate to vote for in a particular office.




I don't have a lot of friends when the only non-controversial topics are gardening and the weather. Since my religious views and my politics are not those of all the other white folks around here, I have to find friends on the internet. And even then I have to drive a couple of hours to small cities to meet them and have a social life.

[Vinca]

122. After reading your post, I have to ask - why do you want to stay there?

If I lived in the place you described my bags would be packed and I'd be gone.

[Fumesucker]

128. Cost of living, it's definitely lower outside of the cities

Sometimes it's much lower since alternative living arrangements are easier where things aren't so crowded and regulated.

One of the reasons it's going to be difficult to move towards a more liberal society in America, liberalism is expensive and plenty of people can't afford the high regulation part of liberalism before the generous subsidy part of liberalism cuts in.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

139. I inherited the family home here.

I don't know anyone in any other states.

[Vinca]

142. There are lots of nice people in the blue states.

The OP said he has to find his friends on the Internet and I think that's very sad.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

164. There are nice people in the red states.

But they are harder to find in rural areas. Houston and the rural areas are totally different.

[Bettie]

113. Give it a few weeks

it's almost time for the "Iowa sucks, why do we care how they vote" threads with regard to the caucuses.

Every state/region gets it eventually. So, you can just wait until time to bash the state/region you dislike.

[Warpy]

115. I'd rather just have a mass head-from-ass extraction

done on all the people down there who are voting against their own interests just to piss off the rest of the country. While spite allowed them to survive the horrible years after they lost the Civil War, it has ill served them since then.

Then again, that's not restricted to the south. The Moron Corridor needs it desperately, too.

I agree that the cities down south have made incredible progress. Outside the cities, it's still largely 1920, at least it was the last time I drove through, 2003.

[Katashi_itto]

117. +1000

[Mira]

116. Yes.

I'm here, too. In the South, and on this board.
My state, NC, was blue once. For a minute. We are seriously victimized by gerrrymandering, and got ourselves a truly bad governor, bolstered by an evil moneyed supporter.

[RandiFan1290]

123. This thread

[ileus]

129. A DU final solution to the South...

Many here wouldn't find a problem with that plan....their hate runs deep.

[LAGC]

168. We already gave the South its final solution.

It's just that some folks in the South haven't gotten word yet.

[Herman4747]

130. Nuking the South would cause serious environmental problems...

there's got to be a better way.

[LanternWaste]

132. Why invest anything at all into the empty rhetoric of the regional bigot?

Why invest anything at all into the empty rhetoric of the regional bigot?

Best move is to pat them on their little heads and say, "Bless your little hearts.. you're pretty damn clever to be a half-wit."

Anything else is simply validating their inaccurate belief that imaginary lines wholly dictate a person's worth. I personally find it rather bemusing to observe them wallowing in a vulgarity perceived as wit.

[csziggy]

136. Thank you - great suggestion!

But I've never been enough of a Southern lady to keep my anger from insults under control.

Here on DU I take full advantage of the 'Ignore' feature to avoid the anti-South prejudiced people here.

[Matrosov]

137. The world revolves around the South

I live in the Deep South. It's amazing how people here can make everything about them. It's not surprising then that some of the southern members on DU think any sort of criticism of the South is also aimed at them.

Of course the South deserves criticism, far more than the North. Which part of the country was it that wanted to break away in 1861 so they could keep their slaves? Which part of the country opposed integration in the 1960s so much that one governor even stood in the door of the University of Alabama to keep two African American students out? Which part of the country routinely dismisses the rest of the states as socialist while collecting more federal aid money than anyone else? Which part of the country features the Bible Belt, full of hateful people that think 1860 was a nicer time?

That doesn't apply to every single Southerner, including those on DU. Let it go already.

[KamaAina]

140. And think what life will be like once we're free of New Orleans!

[randys1]

152. No kidding.. so stupid to focus on geography when some of the most racist assholes to

ever live are in California.

[KamaAina]

153. Yes, but most of them are in southern California.

[randys1]

155. Well, south east actually, so i guess we have to nuke that place too

[HFRN]

151. what cured me of southern stereotypes

was spending time in the south on business, and finding it to be a great place, with a lot of really cool people

ironic how the perception of bigotry in others, is sometimes actually bigotry in oneseself

[tymorial]

156. Here Here

[DFW]

169. Ah is a iggorant Texan, so donno nuthin too!

Yessiree Bob, them northerners is always right when they crap on us southerners, cuz we cain't speak proper, always leave our wimminfolk barefoot and pregnint, and are always rip-roaring drunk all the time.

Downright useless, we is. Ah swear, I dunno why they even let us post on his here highfalutin intellecshewel board. Dumb old cracker like, me, ah kin barely keep up with y'all!

[realFedUp]

171. Hehehe

Irony right