Not to knock your fine state but.... (Jackson, Gulfport: crime, home)

[Mr.Wax]

It seems like whenever you hear folks talk about "the worst state for BLANK" Mississippi gets brought up. Education, Litter, Obesity, so many mentions of low scores. I've been to Gulfport before and had a great time. I find the people there (as with with most the deep south) quite friendly. Is MS really as bad as statistics make it out to be?

[DiogenesofJackson]

I know many on this forum will disagree with me, and that's fine. People form different opinions about things, and I completely understand that. What I'm about to type is my experience and my experience only. I do not mean that what I'm about to type is objectively true. It's merely my subjective experience.

Mississippi is the worst state in the Union, hands down!! I've lived in other states, Cali, Michigan, Louisiana, and I've been to just about every state in the lower 48 except North Dakota (will be traveling to Alaska next month). Mississippi sucks.

Before I get to what sucks, allow me to tell you the positives. There's not much traffic here and that's good--not much traffic because not many metropolitan areas--and even in Jackson, Southhaven or the Coast, traffic patterns are predictable and you can avoid congestion. It's not like Chicago where it takes hours to get anywhere by car.

People are friendly to your face (no telling what the say behind your back and that's true of anywhere). People nod to you on the street or say hello. That's nice. I've caught myself doing that outside of Mississippi and you get no response from the person you're acknowledging.

Property values are still quite cheap in Miss. and the overall cost of living is lower than other areas, like say Atlanta, which is hundreds of times more expensive than living in Mississippi's largest city (Memphis).

Virtually little crime in Miss. I've heard that Jackson is bad, but when I lived there, I never experienced any crime committed against me. In fact, I rarely even locked my door when I lived there.

Beauty: There's an abundance of scenic beauty in the state, but you need to take it in during the Fall or Spring because Winter is rainy and summer is too durn hot.

Now for the bad: When I last lived there, I worked for the AG's office and we did a survey of people's internet connectivity. We found in 2006 that 76% of Mississippians who had internet in the home were still on dial-up. Reason: affordable high speed is not available in rural areas. We also found that only about 34% of the state's population had internet access at home. Those were depressing numbers for what we were trying to do. This matters because if you go to rural areas to visit friends, like I have to do, then you won't have internet access for a few days unless you drive to town and try to find an unsecured wifi.

Culture: most Mississippians are hyper-enthused about sports. People seem to be ga-ga about sports--all levels, especially youth sports. I'd venture to guess that most folks' lives revolve around whether or not little suzy or johnny can hit, kick, or tackle. Then there's the college sports--and you don't want to try and engage the rabid State or Ole Miss fan because they're ridiculous. It's as if they eat, sleep, and breathe their mediocre team's fortunes on the field or on the court--and both teams are really bad. Don't tell their fans that.

Hunting rules all. Wives complain of losing their husbands during the autumn for deer season. Men seemed distrustful of me because I refused to go hunting with them. Hunter's camo is everywhere, even trucks are colored to look like hunter's camo.

The cops: they're all over the place. mississippi was the first time I ever experienced a police road block for no reason other than to check drivers out, where they're going, etc. Don't mess with Mississippi cops--they have little to do other than to harass people from out of state.

The people: they're generally racist (not all of them). They blame black people and Mexicans for all their woes and then they'll say "now I'm not racist...I have black friends..." People are braggarts in Mississippi. They brag about material wealth, if they have any, which reveals their simple-mindedness. They eat like ravenous wolves and then claim they aren't fat. Everything in the state seems to revolve around food and race. Last thing on the people--most of them are idiots, yet they'll tell you that you are the idiot.

Jobs: there are few decent-paying jobs in the state. Up to the 2000 census, Mississippi lost a net population each ten years. I think that's telling.

I knew and know of quite a few folks who came to Mississippi from other states. In 9 cases out of 10 they agreed that Mississippi was the worst state in the Union. They claimed to hate the state and its arrogant people. If you don't believe me, read the posts by Mississippians on this forum and you'll get a sense of their arrogance. The common refrain among its people is "...if you don't like it here, then you can leave..." So I left--and best decision I ever made. NOLa is much better even though it too is corrupt place. The culture makes up for the negatives.

Politics: Gov. Haley Barbour--need I say any more?

[brickpatio]

What makes Mississippi unique among states is that it is has more small towns than cities and there is more of a balance of white and black population. This dynamic does affect the statistics but also adds charm and character. The people have beautiful manners, everyone goes to church, and there's lots of open space. Companies are beginning to discover this such as Toyota, Nissan, Rolls Royce, and others that coming to the state. There is a good ways to go, no doubt, but one thing no one seems to point outs that Mississippi's per capita income is virtually identical to that of Germany and higher than France and Spain and only slightly behind Australia and Canada. The statistics can be quite relative in that sense.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by Mr.Wax

............ Is MS really as bad as statistics make it out to be?

Nah. Mississippi's OK. We take a lot of heat from a lot of folks who have never been here, and then there's that stereotype thing.

Mississippi's history is interesting, and mostly unknown, too. From 1840 to 1860 Mississippi's population more than doubled. We were HOT back then!

Population in 1860 was about 700,000 white, maybe 450,000 black. The war killed off 50,000 young white men and mostly maimed 30,000 others.
It also freed 450,000 illiterate (by law, BTW) black folks who had no idea what to do. Can you imagine how they felt?

Then the Union punished Mississippi by stationing huge numbers of black troops here. Possibly well intentioned, I don't know, but it sure irritated the dickens out of the locals.

Then the black folks - as one might expect - voted themselves into office. In Okolona there was not a single black official who could read. See the problem?

The white folks muscled the black folks out of office in due time and repressed them for the next 80 years or so. Many black folks left during that time.

Then the 1960's came. Everyone knows that part of history; they just don't know the background.

So Mississippi, the pride of The Confederacy, never recovered from the Civil War. But it really is a nice place to live. Especially if you know a thing or two.

[mccarley]

In any ranking list of anything , there is always someone or something at the bottom. That's life.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by mccarley

In any ranking list of anything , there is always someone or something at the bottom. That's life.

That's right! And in at least one area Mississippi is far from the bottom. That's in the percentage of students we graduate from high school. Last place goes to................................................ ........Nevada!

[covedweller]

Originally Posted by DiogenesofJackson

Property values are still quite cheap in Miss. and the overall cost of living is lower than other areas, like say Atlanta, which is hundreds of times more expensive than living in Mississippi's largest city (Memphis).

You learn something new every day.

[KaoCT]

Originally Posted by DiogenesofJackson

Then there's the college sports--and you don't want to try and engage the rabid State or Ole Miss fan because they're ridiculous. It's as if they eat, sleep, and breathe their mediocre team's fortunes on the field or on the court--and both teams are really bad. Don't tell their fans that.

Mississippi State's football team is good - they crushed Michigan in the Gator Bowl!

[DiogenesofJackson]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

Nah. Mississippi's OK. We take a lot of heat from a lot of folks who have never been here, and then there's that stereotype thing.

Mississippi's history is interesting, and mostly unknown, too. From 1840 to 1860 Mississippi's population more than doubled. We were HOT back then!

Population in 1860 was about 700,000 white, maybe 450,000 black. The war killed off 50,000 young white men and mostly maimed 30,000 others.
It also freed 450,000 illiterate (by law, BTW) black folks who had no idea what to do. Can you imagine how they felt?

Then the Union punished Mississippi by stationing huge numbers of black troops here. Possibly well intentioned, I don't know, but it sure irritated the dickens out of the locals.

Then the black folks - as one might expect - voted themselves into office. In Okolona there was not a single black official who could read. See the problem?

The white folks muscled the black folks out of office in due time and repressed them for the next 80 years or so. Many black folks left during that time.

Then the 1960's came. Everyone knows that part of history; they just don't know the background.

So Mississippi, the pride of The Confederacy, never recovered from the Civil War. But it really is a nice place to live. Especially if you know a thing or two.

Hiram Revels was Mississippi's first black U.S. Senator and he could and did read. He's just one example of black elected officials who could and did read during Reconstruction.

The above post is from the Dunning School version of history, which is inherently white supremacist. The Union did not station huge numbers of black troops in Mississippi, nor any other state during Reconstruction.

You need to quit listening to the SCV or UDC and read Foner's Reconstruction (1988). Much of what you posted about the post-war state is myths--racially motivated myths--especially the part about blacks not being able to read during this era (and the innuendo that black people are a "problem". Sadly this is the prevalent view among whites in Mississippi). There were Freedmen's Bureau schools in the state at the time and slaves oftentimes broke the law to teach themselves to read during the antebellum period.

[DiogenesofJackson]

Originally Posted by KaoCT

Mississippi State's football team is good - they crushed Michigan in the Gator Bowl!

A mediocre team beat another mediocre team. Wow!

Yet you should celebrate that win because it means soooo much! It was State's first bowl appearance and win in like 10 years or so.