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Old 12-02-2014, 09:00 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
5,287 posts, read 5,739,480 times
Reputation: 4469

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Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415 View Post
That, too, is a stereotype. Stereotypes all around! No one's innocent, and everyone's a victim.
Ehh, the south still remains the most victimized.

I'll be the first to admit that there are indeed some pretty intolerant and undereducated areas of the south, but they're far from being the majority of the region.

 
Old 12-02-2014, 09:12 AM
 
12,883 posts, read 13,887,486 times
Reputation: 18448
Quote:
Originally Posted by mega man View Post
Ehh, the south still remains the most victimized.
I've had two people tell me they were surprised New Jersey has trees. Yes, TREES. One of my closest friends is a CA transplant to NYC and one day last spring I brought her to the beach here in NJ. She was on the phone with her grandpa who lives in San Jose and she said, "We're going to the Jersey Shore." And he answered, so loudly through the phone I could hear him, "WHY would you want to go THERE?!"

You guys really aren't that special in the South. It happens everywhere. You're the most victimized from YOUR point of view, sure, but I get a lot of hate for where I live - both my state and my region. And yes, some of it does come from Southerners. You're exposed to people who make comments to you because you're from the South, I'm exposed to people who make comments to me because I'm from the Northeast and NJ. From my view, I think we get it pretty bad, too. And no, Northerners don't make it their mission to bash the South, like I'm sure the reverse is true. The stereotyping of both areas is pretty aggressive and really typical (exhaustingly so!), but different in nature and what is being said. The South is viewed as backwards and uneducated, more country, and the Northeast is viewed as uptight, rude, provincial (I just LOVE that one!), miserable. I've had people tell me, right here on CD, that everyone in NJ is miserable. I'm like, oh yeah?! We're all miserable? That must be why I have a blast with my friends every time we're together! The stereotyping of here is different, but it's just as insulting from our point of view. It's not a competition of "who is stereotyped the most." At the end of the day, people who aren't ignorant are tired of ALL stereotypes and those who live in each region where cruel things are said feel bad and frustrated about it, one no more than another. That's universal.
 
Old 12-02-2014, 09:38 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
5,287 posts, read 5,739,480 times
Reputation: 4469
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415 View Post
I've had two people tell me they were surprised New Jersey has trees. Yes, TREES. One of my closest friends is a CA transplant to NYC and one day last spring I brought her to the beach here in NJ. She was on the phone with her grandpa who lives in San Jose and she said, "We're going to the Jersey Shore." And he answered, so loudly through the phone I could hear him, "WHY would you want to go THERE?!"

You guys really aren't that special in the South. It happens everywhere. You're the most victimized from YOUR point of view, sure, but I get a lot of hate for where I live - both my state and my region. And yes, some of it does come from Southerners. You're exposed to people who make comments to you because you're from the South, I'm exposed to people who make comments to me because I'm from the Northeast and NJ. From my view, I think we get it pretty bad, too. And no, Northerners don't make it their mission to bash the South, like I'm sure the reverse is true. The stereotyping of both areas is pretty aggressive and really typical (exhaustingly so!), but different in nature and what is being said. The South is viewed as backwards and uneducated, more country, and the Northeast is viewed as uptight, rude, provincial (I just LOVE that one!), miserable. I've had people tell me, right here on CD, that everyone in NJ is miserable. I'm like, oh yeah?! We're all miserable? That must be why I have a blast with my friends every time we're together! The stereotyping of here is different, but it's just as insulting from our point of view. It's not a competition of "who is stereotyped the most." At the end of the day, people who aren't ignorant are tired of ALL stereotypes and those who live in each region where cruel things are said feel bad and frustrated about it, one no more than another. That's universal.
Like I said, all one has to do is pay close attention to the media and they could clearly see that the south gets it the worse of all the regions, with the Midwest being a close second. That's not opinion or personal point of view. That's fact.

Plus, I have to reiterate that "backwards and uneducated" are true insults. "Uptight and rude" are not at all, since it can still be inferred that uptight and rude people are remarkably educated and well off.
 
Old 12-02-2014, 10:12 AM
 
Location: Crooklyn, New York
31,887 posts, read 34,400,786 times
Reputation: 14971
Quote:
Originally Posted by mega man View Post
Like I said, all one has to do is pay close attention to the media and they could clearly see that the south gets it the worse of all the regions, with the Midwest being a close second. That's not opinion or personal point of view. That's fact.
Or pay attention to basically any C-D thread where the South is mentioned.

I wouldn't consider the Midwest a close second; it's a distant second. The gripe people make about the Midwest is that it's boring and full of corn and wheat fields (which would be two very useful things in the event of catastrophe, no?). The South, however, is knocked not only for being slow and boring, but for being stupid, hayseed, gullible, naive, racist and lazy. The Midwest, at least, is appreciated for an industriousness and modesty that's supposed to epitomize American values. There's a reason they chose to set A Field of Dreams in Iowa rather than Mississippi.

It's also technically a Midwestern accent that's considered the General American accent. The Southern accent is usually ridiculed.

On C-D, posters from border South areas deny the influence of the South, emphasize that they are no longer part of the South, or sometimes even claim they were never really southern at all. People who are indisputably in the South (North Carolina, for example) make it a point to distinguish themselves from other parts of the Deep South (i.e., Alabama). And that's very interesting because you will never see anyone go through great pains to make it clear that Philadelphia is NOT the same brand of Northern that Boston is.
 
Old 12-02-2014, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Philaburbia
41,733 posts, read 74,684,043 times
Reputation: 66668
Quote:
When will the south shed its poor stereotypical image?
It's not the South that is the problem; it's the narrow-minded people who perpetuate the stereotype. And I'd be willing to bet that most of them doing so have never been to the South.
 
Old 12-02-2014, 11:13 AM
 
Location: One of the 13 original colonies.
10,189 posts, read 7,911,839 times
Reputation: 8114
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81 View Post

It's not the South that is the problem; it's the narrow-minded people who perpetuate the stereotype. And I'd be willing to bet that most of them doing so have never been to the South.



I totally agree.
 
Old 12-02-2014, 11:16 AM
 
12,883 posts, read 13,887,486 times
Reputation: 18448
Quote:
Originally Posted by mega man View Post
Like I said, all one has to do is pay close attention to the media and they could clearly see that the south gets it the worse of all the regions, with the Midwest being a close second. That's not opinion or personal point of view. That's fact.

Plus, I have to reiterate that "backwards and uneducated" are true insults. "Uptight and rude" are not at all, since it can still be inferred that uptight and rude people are remarkably educated and well off.
That's easy to say about the rude and uptight stereotype, but the annoying part is it's not true! Just like stereotypes about the South aren't true. It's annoying and frustrating when people constantly say in threads about differences between the east and west, for example, "yeah, easterners are so rude and uptight! There's no customer service and no one is nice to each other or gives each other the time of day." Umm... not true. It doesn't matter that people also tend to view the northeast as educated and wealthy, because we are NOT all rude like people love to say. It IS insulting and it's spreading a negative and false idea. It is used as a put-down towards the Northeast. There's no way around that.

My overall point here is that it is difficult to change any stereotype. Like I said, you cannot make everyone go visit other areas of the country and see for themselves - it's not possible. Stereotypes will always exist. It doesn't make it right or okay that people think ridiculous things about others based on the media and Hollywood impressions, and of course some truth but not overwhelming, but it is what it is. You can't make people change their minds. You just have to know there is ignorance everywhere and keep yourself above it. I try to correct people, and sometimes they apologize and sometimes it's completely pointless and they keep taunting - in real life and online.

Also, shows like Honey Boo Boo really don't help your cause. Like Jersey Shore didn't help ours even though the cast was 95% New Yorkers anyway. They just promote stereotyping. People should pull support for these types of shows and publicly denounce them. Both examples are off air now, but it's true that shows like that don't help anything and fit stereotypes perfectly. I know NJ largely hated Jersey Shore. My grandparents get an Italian-American newspaper delivered to their home, and there were so many articles about the negative connotation Jersey Shore brought. That kind of stuff isn't fair, but what can you do? It's entertainment and the entertainment industry sure doesn't help people unite and end stereotyping.
 
Old 12-02-2014, 11:23 AM
 
Location: north bama
3,486 posts, read 727,856 times
Reputation: 6379
folks up nawth can thank whatever they want about the south as long as they stay up nawth ...
 
Old 12-02-2014, 12:34 PM
 
Location: Milwaukee
3,450 posts, read 4,494,909 times
Reputation: 2987
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoss429 View Post
folks up nawth can thank whatever they want about the south as long as they stay up nawth ...
^ More of that famous "southern hospitality"
 
Old 12-02-2014, 06:10 PM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,666 posts, read 60,249,386 times
Reputation: 101006
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese plate View Post
^ More of that famous "southern hospitality"
In
Being hospitable doesn't mean putting up with bad behavior.

My FIL didn't approve of me marrying his son, for reasons that I won't go into here, but let's just clarify that he is very prejudiced and old. It's like I told him, "You're welcome to your own opinion, but when you're in my house, you will respect my family and me. That respect may be fake, but it better be convincing. You don't have to allow me into your house, but when you're in my house, you'll play by my rules."

By the way, he adores me now. I just had to stand up to him.

That's what the poster above meant - people from other regions are entitled to their opinions, but don't come down here mouthing off and expect to receive that famous Southern hospitality in spite of your disrespect.
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