Southern hospitality? Not here. (Little Rock, Hot Springs: relocation, travel, home)

[elainebenes]

I guess it's great that this country is big enough for everyone to find the people and places that suit them the best.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by JamesinLittleRock

um elaine, never said I was. I just dispise whining. and most yuppy treehuggers do that.

I agree, whiners and I do not get along.

Nita

[angi501]

I have lived in and visited many different states and one thing I can say without a doubt is that ignorance does not know where one state line ends and another one begins. I have been to several states where I honestly had nothing but a bad experience, and mostly due to rude and ignorant people. However, it would truly be ignorant of me to believe that everyone in the whole state was like that. If you're actually spending time in the Rebel Flag/Gun Rack forum and pulling from there to make conversation here, then of course it is going to be unwelcome. It is also silly. There is a reason that is a separate forum, but it doesn't mean that some people on here might not like their guns or their rebel flags. Coming over here and trying to make people feel backwards because that is part of who they are is probably offensive and it's not necessary. My question to you is, have you ever visited Arkansas? If you ever decide to, I am offering to be your tour guide, as long as you visit Northwest Arkansas, since this is where I live and that would be most convenient. I promise to show you that you should never base your opinion of an entire state and it's people off of what you read on the internet. You'll miss out on experiencing some great places in this country if you continue to do that.

[elainebenes]

Originally Posted by angi501

I have lived in and visited many different states and one thing I can say without a doubt is that ignorance does not know where one state line ends and another one begins. I have been to several states where I honestly had nothing but a bad experience, and mostly due to rude and ignorant people. However, it would truly be ignorant of me to believe that everyone in the whole state was like that. If you're actually spending time in the Rebel Flag/Gun Rack forum and pulling from there to make conversation here, then of course it is going to be unwelcome. It is also silly. There is a reason that is a separate forum, but it doesn't mean that some people on here might not like their guns or their rebel flags. Coming over here and trying to make people feel backwards because that is part of who they are is probably offensive and it's not necessary. My question to you is, have you ever visited Arkansas? If you ever decide to, I am offering to be your tour guide, as long as you visit Northwest Arkansas, since this is where I live and that would be most convenient. I promise to show you that you should never base your opinion of an entire state and it's people off of what you read on the internet. You'll miss out on experiencing some great places in this country if you continue to do that.

OK, wow- I had no idea starting this thread would take up so much of my time.

First of all, as I've said repeatedly, AFTER beginning in the rebel flag/gun rack thread I started poking around in OTHER threads in the Arkansas forum and noticed that many people looking for simple explanations on things about your state were frequently met with angry and/or cold responses. You can see this a lot if you look around. Even in the snake thread, which I really enjoy, it didn't take long for people to start picking each other apart.

So, no, I'm not basing my image of Arkansas on this one thread. That would be ridiculous. Of course I came in with some preconceived notions about your state. Really, I mean unless you've lived under a rock your whole life, you would have to admit that Arkansas is the center of a lot of jokes. So where does this come from? Most states gain a stereotype for some reason, it's just the way it is.

My original post was to find out why people got mad so fast, and for simple things. I can completely understand being defensive about a place you live and love. Would I ever visit Arkansas? Of course. Would I get to see some great places and experience some things I wouldn't anywhere else? Of course.

[arguy1973]

Originally Posted by elainebenes

OK, wow- I had no idea starting this thread would take up so much of my time.

First of all, as I've said repeatedly, AFTER beginning in the rebel flag/gun rack thread I started poking around in OTHER threads in the Arkansas forum and noticed that many people looking for simple explanations on things about your state were frequently met with angry and/or cold responses. You can see this a lot if you look around. Even in the snake thread, which I really enjoy, it didn't take long for people to start picking each other apart.

So, no, I'm not basing my image of Arkansas on this one thread. That would be ridiculous. Of course I came in with some preconceived notions about your state. Really, I mean unless you've lived under a rock your whole life, you would have to admit that Arkansas is the center of a lot of jokes. So where does this come from? Most states gain a stereotype for some reason, it's just the way it is.

My original post was to find out why people got mad so fast, and for simple things. I can completely understand being defensive about a place you live and love. Would I ever visit Arkansas? Of course. Would I get to see some great places and experience some things I wouldn't anywhere else? Of course.

What I find from most of the threads were that the people you are referring to getting mad WERENT even FROM Arkansas. Of course when someone bad mouths your state and way of life, you are gonna get defensive, look at the original post in the "gun racks" thread...it starts out the whole thread out in bad mouthing to a degree our state. While personally I dont have a big rebel flag or gun rack in my truck or on it, and I DO have a college education, and do LIVE in AR, I fully support anyone that wants to wave their flag, be a redneck..its just part of AR.

[JamesinLittleRock]

Originally Posted by arguy1973

What I find from most of the threads were that the people you are referring to getting mad WERENT even FROM Arkansas. Of course when someone bad mouths your state and way of life, you are gonna get defensive, look at the original post in the "gun racks" thread...it starts out the whole thread out in bad mouthing to a degree our state. While personally I dont have a big rebel flag or gun rack in my truck or on it, and I DO have a college education, and do LIVE in AR, I fully support anyone that wants to wave their flag, be a redneck..its just part of AR.

amen
and I am only a transplant here.

[Ira500]

Well I figure it's time for me to weigh in on this one.
Like ElaineBenes, I live far away from Arkansas in the PAcific Northwest, Washington State.
Unlike Elainebenes, I've been to AR a lot. She decided from reading some posts that southern hospitality didn't exist in AR, and was wondering why Arkansans were so hostile and defensive.
First...how about cause you attacked them?
Second.. there are ignoramuses in all places. I've met some in Oregon and Washington.
Third: Visit Arkansas and then declare it a place where there is no Southern hosptality. You couldn't. Arkansans are about the friendliest people anywhere.
Which is not to say I'd be comfortable living anywhere in the state; I wouldn't.
Like many places, Arkansas is diverse. Sure, there are places with gun toting racist bible thumpers.
But there are also places with food co-ops, ethnic diversity, jazz festivals, documentary film festivals, synagogues, mosques, Hindu temples, streetcars, riverboats, large bookstores, vegetarian restaurants, and the best bbq in the United States.
Yes, Arkansas has heat and humidity in the summer that can fell mere mortals, and mosquitoes the size of small dogs, but it's a beautiful state with hills and lakes and rivers, and some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. It can be sophisticated, but it's also refreshingly unpretensious.

[btoverdrive]

Ira500, well said. That best BBQ wouldn't be McClards in Hot Springs, would it?

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Well I figure it's time for me to weigh in on this one.
Like ElaineBenes, I live far away from Arkansas in the PAcific Northwest, Washington State.
Unlike Elainebenes, I've been to AR a lot. She decided from reading some posts that southern hospitality didn't exist in AR, and was wondering why Arkansans were so hostile and defensive.
First...how about cause you attacked them?
Second.. there are ignoramuses in all places. I've met some in Oregon and Washington.
Third: Visit Arkansas and then declare it a place where there is no Southern hosptality. You couldn't. Arkansans are about the friendliest people anywhere.
Which is not to say I'd be comfortable living anywhere in the state; I wouldn't.
Like many places, Arkansas is diverse. Sure, there are places with gun toting racist bible thumpers.
But there are also places with food co-ops, ethnic diversity, jazz festivals, documentary film festivals, synagogues, mosques, Hindu temples, streetcars, riverboats, large bookstores, vegetarian restaurants, and the best bbq in the United States.
Yes, Arkansas has heat and humidity in the summer that can fell mere mortals, and mosquitoes the size of small dogs, but it's a beautiful state with hills and lakes and rivers, and some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. It can be sophisticated, but it's also refreshingly unpretensious.

Wonderfully well put.

Nita

[Ira500]

btoverdrive:
I love McClard's..It's my second favorite BBQ joint anywhere.
The first? Smokin' in Style BBQ, also in Hot Springs. Ribs so good they'd tempt lifelong vegetarians.