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It is also true that the states with the lowest percentage of people with a "high school diploma or greater" are mostly in the South. (Although California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Rhode Island is also in the low-education group while Virginia is not and Georgia is just slightly below average.)
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed
However I think the South has greater disparities than the North so its poorest and it's usually unfair to judge a place only by its poorest and most uneducated counties.
The South is elderly white racists from poor counties and impoverished blacks with little education. It also is a place with some of the best Historically Black Universities in America and some of the most racially integrated cities. It's a place important in the history of space travel (Huntsville), storytelling, and the arts. It's crucial in the history of the Blues, Country, and Rock & Roll.
Interestingly, even back during slavery, the laws against blacks learning to read were often ignored in Virginia by white people, even slaveowners. I guess education was held in high regard by the people of that state.
Ha, you're right about the economy--I'd bet they'd take anyone's money these days! No, these incidents were maybe in the past five or six years, as I'd clearly stated.
But in the past, they most certainly were most prevalent in the south. That was exactly what those college students did back in the 1960's--walk through the south and sit at "white-only" lunch counters.
There was discrimination everywhere--still is--as well as segregation, by law or not, but the north didn't have white-only bathrooms and water fountains and restaurants blessed by state law.
I'm pretty sure there were segregated waiting rooms and such in the North as well as the South. They may have gone away earlier, but they were certainly present. Also, there was more civil rights activity in the South because there was a much higher black population in the South, especially when comparing rural areas/small towns...black population in the Northeast was pretty much relegated to major cities, while in the South it was in the cities as well as the smaller towns and rural areas. Major cities (like Atlanta) weren't as segregated as rural areas.
It seems like to me that a blatant incident like the ones you described would be instant national news. It's a little hard to believe that anyone in this century would just let it go and move on without bringing it to someone's attention. I know historically, there was a certain fear factor when dealing with such things, but not so in modern times.
I appreciate you honesty, but it's that kind of misunderstanding and dismissive attitude towards issues that have long plagued the South that I'm talking about. Even though Boston and many other Northeastern areas were heavily involved in the early slave trade, they've never been held and anyway responsible nor have they had to deal with the vestiges of that ugly period like the South has.
"I find many southerners to be ignorant, and supportive of ideologies that are highly destuctive for our society, and for others around the world- like the hundreds of thousands who have died in Iraq since 2003."
Sorry, but this is yet another absurd statement. Southerners aren't just a bunch of Bush loving sycophants. We support our troops even though we don't necessarily agree with every last foreign policy decision that the previous administration made. "Hundreds of thousands who have died" You're seriously going to make that statement with a straight face. You probably believe Bush cooked up the 9/11 plot too don't you? And the Bush supporters are the naive ones. Unbelievable!! (shakes head)
"I find most of the south to be crime ridden, and that southern states do little compared to northern states to help poor people- making their problems worse."
No more crime ridden than inner city areas of the North. We DO help the poor. We just believe in economic development programs that bring jobs to these poorer people instead of free govt handouts that don't really amount to much. We also keep taxes and cost of living much lower to help as well. We're no perfect by any means, but far from the glum picture you paint. This idea that we can completely eliminate something that has been in every culture in every corner of the earth since the beginning of time (poverty) through govt programs is unrealistic. Communism tried this but we all see how that has worked in the past.
"I find southern cities often tend to extremes between extremely sterile and often gated- to extremely dangerous and filthy."
Sounds like every non-lily white area of the Midwest and Northeast to me. You guys love to complain about the crime and unsafe, poor conditions but conveniently blame it all on the white meanie conservative boogie man instead of acknowledging that many people of all races in the South are at fault and that's the whole point of my original post.
"Sounds like every non-lily white area of the Midwest and Northeast to me. You guys love to complain about the crime and unsafe, poor conditions but conveniently blame it all on the white meanie conservative boogie man instead of acknowledging that many people of all races in the South are at fault and that's the whole point of my original post'
Umm, when did I blame anything on white people? And the crime rates in southern states are far higher than those in the Northeast.
"No more crime ridden than inner city areas of the North. We DO help the poor. We just believe in economic development programs that bring jobs to these poorer people instead of free govt handouts that don't really amount to much."
hahaha
What does that even mean?
""Hundreds of thousands who have died" You're seriously going to make that statement with a straight face. You probably believe Bush cooked up the 9/11 plot too don't you? And the Bush supporters are the naive ones. Unbelievable!! (shakes head)"
Its funny how you chastize me for generalizing (when I was being honest about doing so) by then following up mocking my anti-war stance with trying to marginalize me as a conspiricy theorist. And what is absurd about the statement that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died as a result of the war? Or that we have wasted or national wealth on death and destruction, instead of having healthcare for all,or feeding our own homeless. Or would that be a "free govt handouts that don't really amount to much". This is the type of negative ideologies that southerners continue in our country.
My distate for the south has nothing to do with slavery, or the civil war. Its southerners who obsess over that. I dont like the south for what it is now, andI think thats the general consensus up here. I know it''s easier to dismiss our thoughts as misinformed, but we're not.
Our county is in shambles, and if southerners didnt vote for Bush twice, we would be much better off.
The south does get a bad rap it does not deserve. One of the first responses to this post was from some leftist south basher from the peoples republiK of Massachusetts. He called people from the south ignorant, blamed them for the war in Iraq and claimed their states were dangerous and crime ridden. THis is typical from the arrogant northeast. First off, Massachsusetts is a little hole in the wall, dirty run down, overrun with traffic and people. Oh and your people are rude too, and anti american, anti christian, and plain immoral. So how do you get off running down the south when your own state is such a drag on this nation???
I am from the midwest (Michigan), and from my perspective the people of the south are some of the nicest youll meet. They love America, they love god, and yes they still believe in capitalism. When im in the south its like a different world, the cities are nice, things are being built, people are working, so I dont understand were people come up with these sterotypes and attacks on the south. For those from the south, I think you know were most of these attacks come from, mostly snobby northeasterners or Californians. Hollywood creates these myths about the south and everyone believes EVERYTHING they see on tv. Anyone who spends time in the south knows the truth. I also agree that the midwest is alot more racist than the south. My state of Michgian for example is very segregated, with almost all of our blacks living in Detroit, while rural michigan is extremely white. The only reason Michigan ends up going democrat is those 900000 detroiters who dominate our politics. Outside of the 3 county detroit area, most of the other 80 counties are as conservative and redneck as anywhere you will find in dixie. We have Klan, we have militia, lots of confederate flags on trucks and houses. It is not just michigan, youll find this acrost the midwest in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. It is not fair that the south is constantly attacked, when most of the accusations against it are just plain not true, or exagerated to an extreme. Oh and for the record, They should keep bringing up the war of northern aggression because they were RIGHT, the north wrong. States should be able to govern themselves without federal tyranny, the constitution should be respected, goverment should be small. They stood up in 1861 in the spirit of the founding fathers to preserve liberty, god bless them for that. We need that kind of courage and determination today in order to save america from socialism and tyranny.
Of course you haven't heard of these incidents unless you know the exact same people I know.
But no, I've not heard of people being allowed to not wait on/ignore customers in a restaurant because of their race in any other part of the country. However, when it happens in a place that specifically has a stereotype of that kind of behavior, it just reinforces the stereotype.
Your links are not comparable. NYC has had a number of violent racist incidents, especially involving the police. THAT happens everywhere, especially in big cities. And Pennsylvania is known for having more Klan activity than any other state.
The OP's question was why do people misunderstand the south, and I gave examples of possibly why that was. "But the north has bad things, too, neh neh neh" seems kind of childish and doesn't further the conversation.
The point of this thread is to get beyond the stereotypes and get to reality. And when it comes to the things you mentioned and the incidents I linked to, I think I'd choose being ignored in a restaurant.
The south does get a bad rap it does not deserve. One of the first responses to this post was from some leftist south basher from the peoples republiK of Massachusetts. He called people from the south ignorant, blamed them for the war in Iraq and claimed their states were dangerous and crime ridden. THis is typical from the arrogant northeast. First off, Massachsusetts is a little hole in the wall, dirty run down, overrun with traffic and people. Oh and your people are rude too, and anti american, anti christian, and plain immoral. So how do you get off running down the south when your own state is such a drag on this nation???
I am from the midwest (Michigan), and from my perspective the people of the south are some of the nicest youll meet. They love America, they love god, and yes they still believe in capitalism. When im in the south its like a different world, the cities are nice, things are being built, people are working, so I dont understand were people come up with these sterotypes and attacks on the south. For those from the south, I think you know were most of these attacks come from, mostly snobby northeasterners or Californians. Hollywood creates these myths about the south and everyone believes EVERYTHING they see on tv. Anyone who spends time in the south knows the truth. I also agree that the midwest is alot more racist than the south. My state of Michgian for example is very segregated, with almost all of our blacks living in Detroit, while rural michigan is extremely white. The only reason Michigan ends up going democrat is those 900000 detroiters who dominate our politics. Outside of the 3 county detroit area, most of the other 80 counties are as conservative and redneck as anywhere you will find in dixie. We have Klan, we have militia, lots of confederate flags on trucks and houses. It is not just michigan, youll find this acrost the midwest in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. It is not fair that the south is constantly attacked, when most of the accusations against it are just plain not true, or exagerated to an extreme. Oh and for the record, They should keep bringing up the war of northern aggression because they were RIGHT, the north wrong. States should be able to govern themselves without federal tyranny, the constitution should be respected, goverment should be small. They stood up in 1861 in the spirit of the founding fathers to preserve liberty, god bless them for that. We need that kind of courage and determination today in order to save america from socialism and tyranny.
^^^^^
hahaha
"the war of northern aggresion"
Lmao
"Massachsusetts is a little hole in the wall, dirty run down, overrun with traffic and people. Oh and your people are rude too, and anti american, anti christian, and plain immoral"
Lmao
Minnesota here: Could never live in the South because of the heat and the humidity but I must say that they are not the only place that voted for Bush as I did too - twice - and I am proud of it. Our country is safer bacause of it and more well off because of it, thank you very much. Actually, don't thank me, thank the soldiers that risk their lives and the businees owners that form the backbone of our country.
BTW: Michelle Bachman is my rep and will continue to be so for as long as I have anything to say about it.
The south does get a bad rap it does not deserve. One of the first responses to this post was from some leftist south basher from the peoples republiK of Massachusetts. He called people from the south ignorant, blamed them for the war in Iraq and claimed their states were dangerous and crime ridden. THis is typical from the arrogant northeast. First off, Massachsusetts is a little hole in the wall, dirty run down, overrun with traffic and people. Oh and your people are rude too, and anti american, anti christian, and plain immoral. So how do you get off running down the south when your own state is such a drag on this nation???
I am from the midwest (Michigan), and from my perspective the people of the south are some of the nicest youll meet. They love America, they love god, and yes they still believe in capitalism. When im in the south its like a different world, the cities are nice, things are being built, people are working, so I dont understand were people come up with these sterotypes and attacks on the south. For those from the south, I think you know were most of these attacks come from, mostly snobby northeasterners or Californians. Hollywood creates these myths about the south and everyone believes EVERYTHING they see on tv. Anyone who spends time in the south knows the truth. I also agree that the midwest is alot more racist than the south. My state of Michgian for example is very segregated, with almost all of our blacks living in Detroit, while rural michigan is extremely white. The only reason Michigan ends up going democrat is those 900000 detroiters who dominate our politics. Outside of the 3 county detroit area, most of the other 80 counties are as conservative and redneck as anywhere you will find in dixie. We have Klan, we have militia, lots of confederate flags on trucks and houses. It is not just michigan, youll find this acrost the midwest in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. It is not fair that the south is constantly attacked, when most of the accusations against it are just plain not true, or exagerated to an extreme. Oh and for the record, They should keep bringing up the war of northern aggression because they were RIGHT, the north wrong. States should be able to govern themselves without federal tyranny, the constitution should be respected, goverment should be small. They stood up in 1861 in the spirit of the founding fathers to preserve liberty, god bless them for that. We need that kind of courage and determination today in order to save america from socialism and tyranny.
I couldn't read anymore.... =)
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