[zenjenn]

Are there people in B'ham that would tell you that they are against multi-racial marriages? Yes, of course. As there are in NY and LA.

Yes, ignorance abounds everywhere. The preschool affiliated with my synagogue got a threatening hate-call from a bigot this last spring. A *preschool*. If some bigoted jerk feels the need to threaten 2 and 3 year olds in California, certainly there are no limits to where it can happen and to whom.

[suicidesamurai]

Originally Posted by zenjenn

Yes, ignorance abounds everywhere. The preschool affiliated with my synagogue got a threatening hate-call from a bigot this last spring. A *preschool*. If some bigoted jerk feels the need to threaten 2 and 3 year olds in California, certainly there are no limits to where it can happen and to whom.

I know someone online that did something similar in CA, although it was some sort of Jewish community center. He spent a couple of years in prison for that drunken phone call. He is now no less of an anti-Semite though.

[Sarges Dad]

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and saw more rasiam there than I do here. Racism is everywhere.

[Threestep]

Originally Posted by JS01

I have to say i hate the fact that all you yankees move down here to alabama. For one i would never move to huntsville or birmingham just cause yall are moven there in swarms and changing everything real alabamians love about this state. I would love to see yall bring that bull **** down here to randoulph county alabama, you might not find the locals too accepting of your librel yankee way of thinking. And just remember your still in alabama and while you may feel comftable inside those big city limits just know the rest of bama dont like you nor want you round.

I love to tell you this - I am not a d... yankee but even worse a d... foreigner.
My second day in the US was spent in Weedowee. The waitress at The Hub even sent someone to her house as I would not eat what was on the menu (had no clue what it was) so she could make a salad for me. Everytime I visit family or friends in Randolph County they make me welcome. I can show up on a bike or to go hunting with the boys.
If you consider yourself "the rest of bama" - time for a reality check.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by JS01

I have to say i hate the fact that all you yankees move down here to alabama. For one i would never move to huntsville or birmingham just cause yall are moven there in swarms and changing everything real alabamians love about this state. I would love to see yall bring that bull **** down here to randoulph county alabama, you might not find the locals too accepting of your librel yankee way of thinking. And just remember your still in alabama and while you may feel comftable inside those big city limits just know the rest of bama dont like you nor want you round.

You certainly don't speak for me, and my family has been here since the 1800's. Yes, some people who move here do have a very liberal way of thinking, and those are the ones who are probably complaining the most and don't fit in. But, you cannot put that label on everyone. I have friends who have moved here from states like Indiana and Missouri, and they are just as "redneck" as I am . Just because someone comes from up north doesn't mean they are a "liberal yankee".

[heathanoah]

Originally Posted by Victoria22

It seems that I may of offended some people with my first question about "Traveling through Alabama." And for those of you that actually think I may have got my way of thinking from a television show or movie, sorry but you are mistaken. We are a military family and we moved down to Texas about three years ago. We have met people from just about every state there is, but the only people that are either shocked to see my husband and I together or have seemed disturbed by it are the people from either North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia or Mississippi. My personal experiences have not been that great. I do know that not all the people in those areas have the same view, but I do know that in some of those areas "outside" people are not welcome. Even people that are the race but have a different accent (like people from the northern states) are not welcomed.
Now, anyone that reads this and gets offended because they are not like that please know that again I'm not putting everyone in those states together in one category. But from my personal experience, I have come to that conclusion.

I am glad I'm not alone! I apparently offended some people too with my personal opinions. Apparently I am a negative person and that's why I don't get along well in Alabama. The Alabama thread has just validated our plans to move ASAP! But you are right, not everyone in Alabama is the same!

[heathanoah]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

As we went into the theater, an elderly woman remarked (loudly): "Well, she just spreads it around, doesn't she?""

I've worked in theatres, and I'll say that there is a subset of the senior audience that can be both incredibly rude and vocal. Sometimes you just have to confront them head on. Put on your sweetest voice, get in her face, and say "Well bless your little heart, Dearie. You have a right to your uninformed opinion, but I'm embarassed for these little children that your mother wasn't ever able to teach you manners or keep your mind out of the gutter." Then turn to the children and say "Let this be a lesson to you." gather them and walk off.

Or, if you were really mean, you could take a chance and say "Say, I think I knew your husband. He certainly described you well." Then smile and walk away while she sputters.

As for racism, I saw a lot more of that in south Florida than I ever did in Alabama. The pecking order was totally confusing. Hatians were at the bottom, but often the people from Columbia didn't like the people from Nicaragua, the Cubans didn't like the Puerto Ricans, and so on. What was sad was that many of these people were supposedly well-educated, and didn't have the excuse of a sheltered life or lack of proper upbringing. The old southern white segregationists could have learned a few tricks from some of the hispanic cultures.

Anyway, the thread seems to be bent on reinforcing a stereotype of the south. I guess the positive effect of that will be to discourage migration into the area.

I love it! When I first moved to Alabama I worked as a waitress and some old man actually hit me in the back with his cane and said "i need some coffee." He had also earlier commented that "you ain't from roun' here" which I ignored, but a cane in my back I would not ignore. I was only about 19 years old but I got right up in his family's face and told them that the old fart was obviously too rude and senile to be out in public and they should put him in a home! They left me a $50 tip. You are right, sometimes you have to just confront them-they just don't know any better.

[JS01]

Look here buddy truth is most people in alabama dont want outsiders moving to our communities. If you really ask most people in alabama especially rural bama they will tell you that they dont like mexicans movin here, or rich forin yankees buyin up land and meanwhile driving up the prices for everyone. Now i got to worry if i can graze my cattle on leased land next year. Bottom line is over here in WADLEY alabama most people round here feel the same way i do, we are proud of the old alabama cause thats the way our grandparents and parents made it for us, so if you dont like that than you can threestep your ass back where you come from.

[seekinghome]

Originally Posted by JS01

Look here buddy truth is most people in alabama dont want outsiders moving to our communities. If you really ask most people in alabama especially rural bama they will tell you that they dont like mexicans movin here, or rich forin yankees buyin up land and meanwhile driving up the prices for everyone. Now i got to worry if i can graze my cattle on leased land next year. Bottom line is over here in WADLEY alabama most people round here feel the same way i do, we are proud of the old alabama cause thats the way our grandparents and parents made it for us, so if you dont like that than you can threestep your ass back where you come from.

Wow, that's about all I can say about that post! Thank God most people in this country do not feel like you-at least not those that I have met, in all parts of the country. What a sad, little world it would be. People migrate, the world changes, jobs dry up or become available. Unless you are native American, your people came to AL from somewhere at some point. Glad they weren't run out of Wadley before they could make a nice life for themselves and their descendants.

[VMH2507]

Originally Posted by heathanoah

I love it! When I first moved to Alabama I worked as a waitress and some old man actually hit me in the back with his cane and said "i need some coffee." He had also earlier commented that "you ain't from roun' here" which I ignored, but a cane in my back I would not ignore. I was only about 19 years old but I got right up in his family's face and told them that the old fart was obviously too rude and senile to be out in public and they should put him in a home! They left me a $50 tip. You are right, sometimes you have to just confront them-they just don't know any better.

I guess where you moved from old people were not rude. I have always found that old people can be very rude no matter what part of the country they lived. That being said "getting in HIS FAMILIES face" and calling him an "old fart" is just as rude and you can't even blame it on senility. I'm surprised that you weren't fired on the spot. I was always brought up to meet rudeness with civility!