Can I Please Speak For Alabama For a Quick Second?

[BamaLefty]

Look, let's get good damn 'n used to it. Many Alabamians are racists, homophobes, and worship the almighty demagogue known as Mr. George W. Bush. Anything that seems intolerant or hateful, be it voting to keep racist language prevalent in Alabama law or banning books with homosexual themes or written by homosexual authors, they will wholeheartedly support. They don't like them "nasty faggots and dirty liberals." They never have, and sadly, never will.

But, there are also those who are open-minded, intelligent people within the borders of this state. I for one am saddened at the path that we (Alabama) takes in fear of change. Remember, it was in my state that children were killed in church bombings, tortured with powerful waterhoses and vicious dogs, and forced to the back of the bus. My point in all of this is that it HAS to get better. Granted, we have come a long way in civil rights. This is probably just due to not wanting to be left behind the rest of the nation. And like I have already stated, many Alabamians still hold very strong beliefs in white supremacy. Maybe it's just that people don't speak out to blacks to their faces or something... I know that this isn't a terribly coherent writing, but I felt that it was necessary to remind DU of who you guys are dealing with. This is Alabama, the Heart of Dixie. AL does not accept change well, and Gerald Allen is simply using the gay issue as a political football.

In essence, remember that not all of Alabama is a bad place. We are actually a beautiful state with a lot of promise, we just have big hangups in seizing our potential. We are so used to being 48th in the nation in every category that it's accepted. But tonight I write to DU as a saddened 17 y/o who is worried about his country and about the crisis that we are facing with the approval of second class citizenship based on a person's sexual orientation.

I dunno, I want Alabama to move forward. And someday I would like to be the one that leads us down that new path. But the only problem is, noone would want to go with me. Here it is 2005... will it really ever change? I guess it's up to me right?

[unsavedtrash]

1. it is up to us. You are not alone, it just seems that way sometimes

Roll Tide!

[stuckinlucky]

27. You Misspelled

WAR EAGLE.

But, for the betterment of humanity, I guess, we can put the rivalry aside. Except during football season. :)

[autorank]

2. Judge the person, not the locale. Engage people, not geography.

Nobody should be judged by their address, city, state or zip code; particularly their state. These judgments are of the same logical structure as the racism that the ersatz judges deplore. I've met a number of people from Alabama while there or on this forum and I've liked every one of them. If I started from the bigoted assumption, that you can judge individuals based on the collective expression of their state, the relationships would have gone no-where.

Neither you nor anyone from Alabama (or any other red or formerly Red state, i.e., California), has a single thing to apologize for. In fact, I take it as a sign of character that people in a sea of Red buck the tide and speak the truth, in public no less.

Good for you. You and the other Red state Democrats :yourock:

[BamaLefty]

3. Well I Appreciate It...

We have a long roe to hoe in my state, but I am ready for the long haul.

[autorank]

5. Right, and the entire country has a long road.

Think about it, Alabama didn't invade Iraq, nor does it use 23% of the worlds fossil fuels. The whole country just said 'yup', lets get 'em, the whole country. It is tough living anywhere when you feel estranged due to beliefs that you hold dear. Why does the South produce such great fiction? It's not CSA fiction, or racist fiction...it's wonderful prose that elevates us all. There is something about the region and also about being an artist living, perhaps as an estranged person to a degree, in that region.

When you hoe that road, don't forget to get my favorite DUer, southlandshari, to give you a hand.


N.B. Almost forgot. I taught a seminar at UAB a couple of years ago on a very progressive topic and activity. The people in the class were highly motivated and ready to roll. They were no different from any "Yankee" group I've worked with on the same subject, and just as funny (maybe funnier)

[southlandshari]

8. Now, now, autorank --

Flattery will get you everywhere with me, you sneaky man!

:hi:

Thanks for your posts to this thread and so many others with similar focus during the past several months. You kept a lot of Southern DUers on board here with your calm wisdom during the difficult election aftermath and red state/blue state nastiness. You and others like you are a huge asset to our party and its future!

[autorank]

12. Thanks!!!!!!!!!! Made my day. That's why you're my favorite!

:hi:

[jayfish]

4. I Was Just There For Biz...

in March and I have to say it seemed like one of the most integrated places I have been to. Granted this was just a surface glance of the place, but I was surprised.

Jay

[juajen]

6. You are not alone, honest

I no longer live in the beautiful state of Alabama, but I know there are some wonderful people who live in the state of my birth, and I still have relatives who live there. Progress is being made. The last time I returned to visit, I couldn't believe the progressive changes. WOW, it was really gorgeous.

WAR EAGLE

[WilliamPitt]

7. "I guess it's up to me right?"

www.aladems.org

Tell my dad I said hi. :)

I had an interesting Alabama experience a few years ago. My dad's side of the family is from there, and after my parents split, he went back there. I spent huge swaths of every summer between Decatur, Birmingham and Montgomery with him. His mom, a schoolteacher, taught me to read and write. His dad, a doctor, taught me how to ride horses and not be afraid of dobermans.

I was a page in the Alabama senate for a couple of years - met the current jerky 'Bama GOP Senators while they were still in short pants, politically speaking - and spent a lot of time roaming the halls of the old capitol building while my dad worked (either in the AGs office or the SecState's office).

A lot of times I would cross the street to the Alabama History Museum. When I was a kid, the place was filled to bursting with lionized Confederate memorabilia, old battle flags riddled with bullet holes, old muskets and a lot of south-shall-rise-again brouhaha.

As I got older and more aware of things, yeah, I noticed the heavy-handed racism. But I can also remember when the tide started to really turn. Governor Guy Hunt flew the Confederate battle flag above the American flag on the Capitol Dome, safe in the belief that the folks would approve. They didn't, he was forced to take it down, and not long after he was run out of town on a rail for using public planes and cars to travel to his evangelical tent-revivals, where he made fistfuls of cash for speaking engagements.

Besides, coming from Boston, I was in no position to be smug. Northerners talk a good game about the racist South, but boy, there are few places as racist and racially segregated in all of America as Boston. To a good degree, it's still very much that way. Glass houses and all that.

Anyway, I brought a girlfriend down there a few years ago. She was from upstate New York, had never been to the South, and acted as though she was descending into some hyperviolent jungle. Needless to say, she was pleasantly shocked. "There are so many black people!" she exclaimed at one point; thus, you have Northern ignorance of the South on display.

She wanted to see some of that badass Old South stuf, so I decided to take her to the Bama History Museum I spent so much time in as a kid. On the way, we passed the Southern Poverty Law Center with its magnificent facade. This is it, if you haven't seen it:



It was designed by the same woman who made the Vietnam Memorial in DC. If you can't read the text, it says "Until Justice Rolls Like Water and Righteousness Like a Mighty Stream. - MLK Jr." It has water flowing down the face, and before it is a sundial marking the date of every murder done during the struggle. It is an incredible place.

We passed Martin Luther King Jr.'s first church, and finally arrived at the museum. OK, I thought, *now* she'll see that badass stuff.

Everything in the museum, however, was now dedicated to the civil rights struggle. None of the Confederate memorabilia was on display, save a few spoons.

So, yeah, we can pee on the South and be all supercilious. But this is Boston:



The next picture shows the black man being stabbed in the gut with the American flag. The picture after that shows him thrown to the ground.

That's Boston. That's the North. As far as racial stuff goes, we're in no position to judge.

And the South is not what it used to be. It's bad - no doubt the base of operations for the religious right - but it isn't what it used to be.

[southlandshari]

13. Bama Lefty is already way ahead of the game

See his sig line!

He's been linked to www.aladems.org since he joined - in fact, I think it was this 17-year-old kid who is wise beyond his years who gave me the link!

:thumbsup:

Great post, WillPitt. Thanks for joining in on this one.

[Syrinx]

20. Nice post. Something about Guy Hunt.

Recently there was a movement among some state legistlators to put him back on state salary. As I recall there was even support among some of the black representatives to do this. In principle, I have nothing against helping out an old man who has fallen on hard times. But he was convicted of stealing, what was it, about a quarter-million dollars? And when he was in office, he didn't seem to care a whole lot about helping the downtrodden.

EDIT: Meant to include a link to a short article about this.

http://www.whnt19.com/Global/story.asp?S=3151566

[quaoar]

32. I once dated a girl

who was from pennsylvania and came down South for the first time after she graduated from college to work at a hospital. She told me that she fully expected that when she got off the bus there would be dirt roads and chickens running loose in the street.

[southlandshari]

9. That's my boy!!

I'm so proud of you, son.

:loveya:

[KBlagburn]

10. Another Bama here

Well said. I couldnt agree more. Trust me, there are alot more liberals in this state than you think. I am right beside you all the way.
And you are right, there is alot in this state to be proud of. I have never been ashamed of Alabama, just some of the people in it.
Alabama is the beautiful, from her white sandy beaches in the south to her green valleys and tall rockets to the north. Yes we can be proud of Alabama and keep fighting the good fight, keep the faith.

[VelmaD]

11. Find yourself some other local liberals...

have a DU meetup. Go down to your local party headquarters and volunteer. Do something to meet other Southern liberals. They are out there. (DU even has a seperate forum for us.)

I think every Southern liberal has felt like you feel right now at some point. It'll help to know you aren't alone.

We all gotta stick together. :hug:

[Hippo_Tron]

14. You guys voted for Jimmy Carter in '76 and sorta voted for JFK in '60

Neither of which were racist bigots.

[autorank]

15. Another reason to love Alabama

Birthplace and residence of football God, Kenny Stabler

Leader and savior of my team, the Oakland Raiders

[Extend a Hand]

16. In 2004 , 37% of Alabamians voted for John Kerry

43% voted for Al Gore in 2000. You are not alone.

Alabama is a beautiful state with many warm and gracious and generous people. I can't wait to be on Lake Martin in July. And if I'm lucky I'll get to move back to AL and bring my "blue" vote with me. ;)

[southlandshari]

17. And you will be welcomed, as you well know,

with open Alabama arms if you make that move. We would love to have you AND your blue vote!

:toast:

[Extend a Hand]

18. aww, thx

:hi: :hug:

[alittlelark]

19. I lived in Montgomery 73-74, and 82-84

My dad was at the Air War College. It was a SERIOUS culture shock. I attended Auburn for 1 year... there are sooo many tales.

For those of us that did not grow up in the south..... it's like throwing a Brazilian into Indonesia. I had the advantage of the year plus I spent there in elementary school, but that only buffered the shock.

[Syrinx]

21. I don't think the problem is so much "white supremacy" anymore

And you touched eloquently on this. It's the encroaching theocracy that has me really worried at this point.

It seems that the Republicans are making, so far small, but not insignificant, inroads in the African-American community. Hopefully, there will be a backlash against the over-reaching that the GOP has exhibited of late, both nationally and across this state.

Judging by my personal observations, race relations are actually pretty good, at least in the part of the state that I live. Of course there are exceptions on both sides, but those folks are at the far fringes of society.

I'm not saying that the Roy Moore's and Tom Parker's aren't racists. I'm just saying I don't think that, by and large, the people who vote for them are doing so for racist reasons. I think it's more of a theocratic impulse these people have. (And that's maybe even more dangerous than racism, though the intent is not as inherently hateful.)

And for the record, I don't believe Roy Moore is a racist, but I do think he's a very dangerous man. As for Tom Parker, yes I believe he's a racist son-of-a-bitch.

[rasputin1952]

22. I am proud to have you here with us at DU...as long as Progressives

keep the future in thier sights, Alabama will, come around.

When I went through AL, I found it a remarkaby beautiful state, and the people were friendly and down to earth...The bigest mouths get the attention...but the people of AL are fine by me...:D

[BamaBecky]

23. Hi BamaLefty...good to speak with you again!

I agree with Syrinx. Theocracy is the key word these days. Many Alabamians are 'salt of the earth' folks. Most do mean well. They head off to church on Sunday. They look after each other and load you up with food if there is a death in the family, come see ya in the hospital, and shower you with gifts if you marry.

On the flip side of this is, they are so steeped in 'Mom, apple pie, and the good ole USA' that they LITERALLY CAN NOT SEE and REFUSE TO SEE what the cabal has done to their beloved country. If Alabamians had a real clue about what's going on, they would head off to Washington with their assorted shotguns racked up in their pickups, and 'take care of things'. Many of the guys fighting in Iraq were Alabamians in the National Guard.

BamaLefty it will take the liberal Alabamians to help 'them' see the truth. We have our work cut out for us. I hope you can go on to the Alabama School of Law and create a great future in politics for yourself. You can count on my support! Hurry up and grow up...Ha! So good to hear from you again!

:hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :dem: :kick:

[scarletlib]

24. Don't give up

Stand up for your beliefs. Do the right, honest and good things as you live. Lead by your life of integrity, honesty and love of your fellow human being.

I think there are lots of young people like you in Alabama and all through the South and the entire nation.

You just need to find your voices, to know that you are not alone, to know that you have chosen the correct path to walk on.

The hope and future of this country really does rests in your hands.

[MadHound]

25. Hey, I understand, and don't sweat it.

You folks down in Alabama did do one important thing. You forced the ruling elite in this country to change the dividing wedge from one of race to one of religion. Let me explain.

Back in the 1670s, there was widespread unity across the racial divide of working class and poor people. After all, a white slave and a black slave were in the same boat, and a white or black freeman of the lower class realized that he had more in common with his enslaved brothers than with the ruling elite of the time. All were getting treated like shit, and they started making common cause in rebellion.

There were many small rebellions throughout the colonies, but it cumilated in a large one known as Bacon's Rebellion. Liberating slaves, killing the rich, promising redress for grievances of both blacks and whites, Bacon's Rebellion was a cross racial rebellion that shook the ruling elite's power structure to its core. After finally putting it down in a brutal manner, the ruling elite decided they needed to do something. What they did was the time honored tactic of divide and conquer. They started reducing the numbers of white slaves to zero, imposing stiff new laws on blacks, in general, creating the racial divide that yawned across the working class until thirty years ago.

But you folks changed that with the civil rights movement. Yes, there are still racists and white supremesists, but the civil rights movement so threatened the divide and conquer strategy that served the ruling elite so well for so long that they had to come up with some other divisive wedge. They found it in religion. Looking ahead at the spector of racial unity, the ruling elite decided thirty years ago to capitalize on the brand new Born Again movement going on, and to start forming the new dividing wedge based on religion. This first bore fruit with the election of Reagan, and really started to become effective in the ninties. Now instead of a group of people who have more in common with each other being artificially divided by race, they are increasingly divided by religion.

So don't feel bad for being an Alabaman. It is beautiful country down there, and you folks have changed history in many ways, most of them for the better. But now, instead of a civil rights movement marching against the inequaties of racial prejudice, we need a movement to march against the artificial divide of religion. Somehow, I think that when such a movement comes, it will be your state that will be the battleground for that also.

[TacticalPeek]

26. Don't feel bad - you've always got us Mississippians to feel better than.

Our racists, theocrats and right wing zealots are much worse than yours.

:) :) :) :) :) :)

[mistertrickster]

28. Uhhh . . . no . . .

Thanks for listening.

[BamaLefty]

29. Thanks for the input guys...

It seems that we share a lot of the same viewpoints on the state of state.


And I appreciate all who voted for this topic to reach the "Greatest" page. I sure didn't see that coming! :)

[GreyRoofoo]

30. I live in Alabama

And I do my best to avoid paying sales tax to the state

[BamaLefty]

31. Then Drop In The Alabama Forum!

We'd love to have you!