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What about Mork? - When did he get written out of the plot?
That's like asking what typical Dharmas and Gregs do in real life? No one knows a Dharma.
If you're post is a slam against profiling, that was my experience. Every Brenda and Mindy I have known were not the brightest of bulbs. I can't help it that those are the Brendas and Mindys I've met.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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^ ^ Actually that brings up the one area that I think has hurt the South the most, and has helped contribute to the ''low information voter'' rap that it often gets, and that's the apparent low value put on education. Yeah, we all know the South has some fine schools and and has produced some great writers, but let's face it, ''edu-macation'' doesn't hold quite the same value in Southern culture as it does say for asians, jews, or blacks, who even have their own universities! In fact very few rural Southerners of either race went beyond the 8th grade until after 1945, and even today, the term ''educated elite'' ain't exactly a form of praise!
So while southern culture actually has contributed a lot to this country, IMHO, that general ''ambivalence'' (if not hostility) towards higher learning & education in general, has always held the South back and arguably contributed to its dependence on ante-bellum slavery. And they're definitely not stupid, as I have met farmers in Alabama who never got past h.s., and yet taught themselves everything from how to disassemble tractor hydraulics, to installing their own 3-phase wiring! Yet it's hard to understand where all that anti-intellectual ''attitude'' comes from... is it about class distinctions, or a religious thang?
The urban South has been cosmopolitan for a LONG time. The historical South, such as Savannah, Charleston, and Asheville, has always been a mecca of sorts. However, there are towns in the South that, in 2013, are not living in 2013. There are towns in the Intermountain West that could be labeled the same way. I notice you are in JAX metro. I've been there. Ponte Vedra is nice. So are Fernandina and Amelia Island to the north. However, I've heard that Brunswick GA, 30 minutes north, is not any place a more "with it" person would want to be. Also, within JAX, when asking about the area, people will speak of the West Side, the further you go away from the St. John's River, as being very "Soouuuthernnnn" (every transplant slurred that word when they said it). The South will not be changing uniformly. However, some observations still apply, while others don't.
So you've heard this - and you've heard that. What do you actually know? Where have you traveled or lived?
And where do you live now - and what do you do for a living? And why do you think you are "with it" - so to speak (which seems like a hideously antiquated phrase to me)?
FWIW - I think you are very mistaken when you mention places like Savannah and Charleston and Asheville as so-called meccas.
The biggest problems that exist in the south are an ill-educated work force and jobs that don't pay so well. But - when I look at the rest of the country - it's catching up to us pretty fast (a race to the bottom IMO). Robyn
^ ^ Actually that brings up the one area that I think has hurt the South the most, and has helped contribute to the ''low information voter'' rap that it often gets, and that's the apparent low value put on education. Yeah, we all know the South has some fine schools and and has produced some great writers, but let's face it, ''edu-macation'' doesn't hold quite the same value in Southern culture as it does say for asians, jews, or blacks, who even have their own universities! In fact very few rural Southerners of either race went beyond the 8th grade until after 1945, and even today, the term ''educated elite'' ain't exactly a form of praise!
So while southern culture actually has contributed a lot to this country, IMHO, that general ''ambivalence'' (if not hostility) towards higher learning & education in general, has always held the South back and arguably contributed to its dependence on ante-bellum slavery. And they're definitely not stupid, as I have met farmers in Alabama who never got past h.s., and yet taught themselves everything from how to disassemble tractor hydraulics, to installing their own 3-phase wiring! Yet it's hard to understand where all that anti-intellectual ''attitude'' comes from... is it about class distinctions, or a religious thang?
And what century are *you* living in? And on what planet?
We have some of the finest universities - especially public ones - in the south today.
And as for the state of black education/drop-out rates etc. - well it's quite miserable just about everywhere in the US - not only the south:
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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I think the South has contributed more to American culture than any other region. From presidents (Virginia has the most presidents), popular music, folk tales...in part due to the African American contribution. Don't forget Southern cuisine, which is sometimes considered America's true regional cuisine. That's what fascinates me mostly about the South, it's cultural richness and contribution.
I honestly don't know whether the people posting here are old - or stupid - or not well-traveled - or what. Robyn
I actually agree with you. Some of these posts are ridiculous!
In my graduating class, everyone went to college. A couple of guys had to drop out because they partied too much, but one's in law school now and one's in the USAF. They are both doing well. That's a 100% college attendance rate (minus the professional military guy). Not too bad for rural MS!
When I was a teacher in NE PA, my principal (at a private school) walked into my 9th grade algebra class and told the students with a straight face that they would never need this stuff. He proudly boasted about his lack of education and said his kids didn't need college to be successful. I never, EVER, EVER heard that in MS - even from the impoverished students. They knew they needed an education, but they weren't in a position (emotionally, financially) to get it. I would not say that Southerners devalue education any more than rural people anywhere in the world.
LOL!! Yes, forgot about the interesting names, and BTW, why do southern gals so often have two names... Ellie-May, Rhonda Jean, Emma Rae, Betty Sue, Emmy Lou, Jewel Dean, Anna Beth, Bobby Jo, etc., etc.?
And don't get me started re: the ever-popular Missy, Posey, Reba, Lulubelle, Waynelle, Shirlene, Billy-Ray, Cletus, Bubba, Jethro, Clyde, Skyler, etc.!!
What in the world? I like you're using movie/tv names and celebrity names. That's like pointing out Gwyeth Paltrow's kid Apple and saying, "Oh, Americans typically name their kids after fruit." I know a lot of Emmas because it's one of the most popular names in the US right now. I know two Shirleys (no Shirlenes), and they are in their 60s. I do know one Wynell (in her 60s). I know one Cletus (in his 60s) and one Missie (30s) and one Betty (60s). No one today is naming their kids these names. Goofy examples!
No one in my class had two names! There was one girl a year behind me with two names. I have no idea why. She was a snot, and I couldn't stand her. I can't think of another girl I ever knew with two names. Seriously weird.
I just want to say, for the record, that very few people in the Deep South would consider OK a Southern state. I know you didn't bring this up, but another poster did. My family is from SE OK, and they do not consider themselves Southern. They consider themselves Midwestern. I don't know about all OKns, but my friends and family from OK would not call themselves Southern.
The only one in the NE that is near or above places like UNC - Georgia Institute of Technology - University Of Texas - and University of Florida is Penn State. But its ranking is kind of suspect IMO. Although we love our college football - I can't recall that we countenance the molestation of young boys to achieve football program goals (which is not to say that we don't have some unsavory players on our teams). Robyn
Southern Culture appears to be generally perceived as being inferior so much so that cities in the South like Dallas, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Houston and New Orleans try to disassociate themselves from the South by falsely claiming they aren't southern because they don't want the southern label attached. Go to the Dallas forum and the residents are in denial.
The only one in the NE that is near or above places like UNC - Georgia Institute of Technology - University Of Texas - and University of Florida is Penn State. But its ranking is kind of suspect IMO. Although we love our college football - I can't recall that we countenance the molestation of young boys to achieve football program goals (which is not to say that we don't have some unsavory players on our teams). Robyn
What a joke, have you looked at the top 20 universities in the country overall, nearly half of which are in the Northeast regardless if they are public or private: Harvard, Penn, Cornell, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, MIT, and Johns Hopkins.
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