General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm from the south. [View all]dgibby
(9,474 posts)attended public schools that taught all the same subjects my cousins studied in Pa. and Ohio.
I went to nursing school here, then joined the Navy. Spent 22 years in the military, got selected for duty under instruction, received a BSN from George Mason University. I could never have been selected for DUINS or attended GMU without the public school education I received, which included math, science, chemistry, civics, English, Latin, and Spanish, History of the US, geography, etc. BTW, I'm also female. The only class closed to me at that time was Shop; however, my older brother took half a semester of shop classes and half a semester of home ec. They had separated those 2 classes by the time I was in H.S.
Because I already had my RN, I was able to challenge out of my Jr year of college (all the clinicals) and only needed to attend college for 3 years instead of the usual 4.
During the 22 years I was in the Navy, I lived in California, Puerto Rico, NC, SC, Va, and Fla., so you don't have to feel sorry for me (that's more than just a little condescending), and believe me, I have lots to compare to living in the South.
I chose to move back to my hometown after retiring as a Sr. officer (something else I wouldn't have been able to achieve without a good education). I love my little town, and have lots of family and friends here. Some are conservative, some are liberal, some are religious, some not so much. We're just like any other small town in the US. We have the good, the bad, and the ugly (and I'm not talking about physical appearance). When I was growing up here, we were segregated. Now we're not, and it's an even better place as a result. I love that my bi-racial family is accepted and safe here. I love that my gay friends from HS are now out of the closet and are not harassed.
Are we perfect? Of course not, far from it, but we certainly have made progress. We have a Dem state senator, and I'm hoping we'll be able to vote Morgan Griffin out of office sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I'm working as hard as I can to get Terry McAuliff elected Gov. because as much as I love it here, I just might be forced to move if that idiot Cuccinelli gets elected.
I believe you when you say you were traumatized and suffered, and I'm sorry that was your experience; however, that doesn't mean we're all like those people, and it's not fair to treat us like we are.
I lived a mile from the Hell's Angels when I was stationed in Oakland, and some of them enjoyed harassing people, but I don't think everyone who rides a motorcycle is a Hell's Angel. I was also robbed in Calif. Should I believe everyone in Calif. is a thief? I had a Chief Nurse in a duty station in SC who was from New England. She had severe personality/emotional problems and decided to take out all her anger on me, including accusing me of stealing from a patient. Of course, she couldn't prove it because it never happened, but that didn't keep her from trying. So, should I believe that everyone from N.E. is evil or insane? Hardly.
It's ludicrous to blame everyone from a certain geographical area for the actions of a few. It's galling to think that someone who purports to be progressive, liberal, and tolerant sees nothing wrong with that type of bigotry.