Reply #87: No decent, thinking Dirtsvillite would take offense at this

[southlandshari]

Because if we are honest, we must admit that Joanne's points are dead on with how angry we ourselves feel when we see self-righteous fundamentalist right-wingers in our towns use 9/11 as a rallying cry for Bush's war.

In my small Alabama town there are many more intelligent and thinking people than the stereotypes suggest. That said, I'm not going to waste time trying to convince anyone that they outnumber blind Bush supporters - because they don't.

I cringed while reading part of Joanne's post. It is uncomfortable to hear angry words aimed in your general direction. I was tempted to post a defense of the good people of Dirtsville. But that would just be a diversion from the truth - that there are still far too many among us in Dirtsville who are following Bush's example of exploiting a terrible tragedy for personal gain.

There is such a strong human defense mechanism that tells us it is ok to criticize "our own" but that we should fight to the death should some "outsider" attack us. We in the South (or the Democratic Party, or the U.S., or any other group) need to be brave and truthful enough to admit our shortcomings as well as our strengths.

I know I am not alone among others in rural areas and small towns (in the South or elsewhere) who bitch to one another all the time about the ignorance we see every day here. Let's be big enough to admit that when someone from the "outside" points it out as well. I think it can be done without turning into self-hating wimps.