Mississippi! Damn you Hollywood. (Jackson, Vicksburg: appliances, credit, home)

[Wareagleolemiss]

I love Mississippi. LOVE IT. I defend this state every which way I can. We have our downfalls but, which state doesnt? Fattest state? You betcha! We love our food and with damn good reason. I constantly feel like im fighting an up hill battle with Hollywood and blame them soley responsible for the negative attention we citizens recieve. We aren't all rednecks. We're educated and racism? Please, I am willing to bet everything that people in the northern region such as, Boston, NYC etc etc etc are very more racist then anything i've encountered from our great state. I'm not speculating, ive seen and heard the northern "agression" for myself. The Movie "The Help" futher damaged our repuation. Once again, another movie about "the sipp" the portrays poverty and bigotry. So, to current citizens and future citizens, please take time to remember beautiful Mississippi. Here is a refresher into our great state. Please stand by.

- One small town in Mississippi – D'Lo – sent proportionally more men to serve in World War II than any other town in the country

-One of the world’s most prestigious dance events, the USA International Ballet Competition Not in New York. Not even California. Since 1979, the only place in the U.S. to see the International Ballet Competition has been in Mississippi.

-Some see the world in black and white. Others see varying shades of gray. But, Mississippi taught the world to see ... and hear ... the Blues. Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, W.C. Handy, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddly, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Milton, B.B. King ... they all travelled the most revered blues highway in the world – Mississippi’s Highway 61. Mississippi. Birthplace of the Blues

-Mississippian Dr. Arthur Guyton wrote the Textbook of Medical Physiology, used by medical students around the world since 1956.

-Mississippi consists of more black elected officials than any other state in the country – a number that grew from a mere 81 in 1970 to 897 in 2000.

-Oprah, Elvis, James Earl Jones, Jim Henson, Morgan Freeman, Muddy Waters, Lance Bass, Jimmy Buffett, Brett Favre, Conway Twitty, Sam Cooke, Faith Hill, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, John Grisham, Eudora Welty, Walter Payton, Eli Manning, Jerry Rice, Steve McNair.. and so much more all called Mississippi home.

-Mississippi was home to the first-ever heart transplant ... and the first-ever lung transplant ... and the first-ever kidney autotransplant.

-Worlds largest auto plant is in Canton, MS

-Stereo Manufacturer Peavey, Started in Mississippi.

-Pine-Sol, A Mississippi company.

-Viking appliances calls Mississippi home.

- Stennis Space Center. NASA’s primary center for testing and flight certifying rocket propulsion systems, Stennis tests all Space Shuttle Main Engines.

-Borden's Condensed Milk was first canned in Liberty, MS

-Barqs Root Beer, A Mississippi based company.

-The Teddy Bear was first incorpated in Mississippi after President Roosevelt refused to kill a bear cub in Onward, MS

-Mississippi was the first state in the nation to have a planned system of junior colleges.

- Cotton Capital of the World

-Catfish Capital of the World.


There is sooooooo many more pluses to this state then given credit for.

[Mrhindscounty]

Don't Forget Coca-Cola!

[mccarley]

Originally Posted by Wareagleolemiss

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There is sooooooo many more pluses to this state then given credit for.

I totally agree, however you are wasting your time. I expect this thread to prove my point shortly.

[donziejo]

As I've posted before: I've lived in 26 states. I too love, love, Mississippi. The friendliest people anywhere. This is the state I plan on staying in for the rest of my life. I have two cousins coming to stay with me to attend college next year. They love it here too.

[Wareagleolemiss]

Originally Posted by Mrhindscounty

Don't Forget Coca-Cola!

How could I forget? First bottled in Vicksburg

[Chris Balducci]

I think you are directing your anger to the wrong part of city-data.com, since Mississippians tend to largely agree with you.
For what it's worth, the author of "The Help" was born in Jackson.
Take it easy.

God bless,

CKB

[GunnerTHB]

I defend the south as a whole all the time as well, and that definitely includes Mississippi. Not all of us from outside the state are blind to the truth.

Greetings from Southeast Missouri! Y'all carry on.

[Sam I Am]

Best place to grow up in - Jackson in the 1960's-1976. Don't care what anyone says, when I cross the state line and am slam in the middle of the delta, I'm home!

Love,
Arkansas - runnin' neck and neck with ya in the PROUD department!

[FreePress601]

If it wasn't for Hollywood, nobody would even pay any attention to Mississippi.

Don't chop off your nose to spite your face.

And it's not Hollywood that gives Mississippi a bad name, it's the people themselves.

Mississippi also claims to be the "Hospitality State" but Hospitality is one of the last things you get here. I'm guilty of being rude to outsiders so I know the rest of the citizens can be like that or worse.

I think that despite your list of acheivements for Mississippi, the drag is the quality of life in Mississippi. According to your list, Mississippi should be the most luxurious place to live and visit. sad truth is, it's not. and I blame the attitudes of the people, the government of Mississippi city/state, and not the ability to acheive, as the cause for bad jokes and what not.

Add to that, the history of a LOT of atrocities to people happend right here in Mississippi, so that has been burned into people's mind. Even worse than the Watts riots or the Atlanta child murders.

[Sam I Am]

FP601, you surely have the dubious honor of being a buzzkill

Get out of MS if you don't like it, it's really pretty simple. Go and sin no more. Whatever. Alabama, Arkansas, Tennesse, or Louisiana can't be too far from you, no matter where you are. May I suggest Memphis for your inner urban child?

Of course there are bad things about Mississippi - of course there were horrid things that happened. Can't think of a place this side of heaven that doesn't have a big ol' black X on the history page. But it DOES have an upside, which you refuse to appreciate or even acknowledge.

Try putting in some new eyeballs and taking a more in-depth look at the unique qualities MS does have to offer. Yes, it is a slower place. Yes, it has quirks and kinks and bumps in the road. Sorry it isn't the Riviera of the South, or the epicenter of commerce or fashion. That's why some of us love it.

As far as your comment about no hospitality - well, you get back what you give most of the time. If you are unhappy it generally shows, transfers to others, and comes back to you ten fold.

Wherever you go, there you are - try to find some joy in the simpler things of life, like a storm in the Delta (my favorite Mississippi weather occurrence). Look at the miles of beautiful farmland unobstructed by acres of shoebox concrete buildings and plastic people rushing to their very important jobs. Learn to love the decidedly unpretentious people. There's a lack of pomposity that is very endearing if you let it be. Get comfortable, then befriend someone outside your comfort zone.

If MS isn't your cup of sweet tea, you won't be the first or the last - but try to allow those of us who can appreciate the good things the opportunity to occasionally wax poetic without burning us down. That's what we do in the South - to do anything else is just plain tacky.