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No offence, but the OP is being a little hypocritical saying there is unjust prejudice against the South all the while making jabs at the North and implying superiority of the South. You come claiming understanding, yet you say the North doesn't understand the South without realizing the action is reciprocated. The fact is that this board is hardly indicative of the real dynamic between the North and the South. Neither is better the other! Both sides, get over yourselves!
I have never heard of any restaurant anywhere refusing to serve anyone for any reason...not in 2009! I would think that with the current economy, just about any restaurant would be eager to serve everyone who comes through the door.
Of course incidents like you describe happened in the past throughout the U.S. - but not specifically in the South. Historically, this was a very racially segregated nation and there was rampant discrimination across the board.
Maybe we could "begin to understand" if you would explain what you mean by the bolded sentence. Specifically, what are you trying to say here?
I have visited the south, but not spent enough time of any significance there to make a judgement about the south overall. However, I carry some of the same negative ideas as others because of the types of things that have happened to people I know while in the south that would not be acceptable here (New Jersey). Both of these incidents occurred within the past five years.
1. A white neighbor and her black husband, while driving to Florida, stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Virginia. After sitting there for a half hour and being ignored as if they didn't exist, they realized they were not going to be served, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why.
2. A black coworker visiting Georgia suggested to his also-black friends that they stop in a nearby coffee shop for lunch. His friends (Georgians) laughed and told him he wouldn't be served there. Being from the north, he decided to be stubborn and went in and sat down. Sure enough, he was treated as if he did not even exist. No one would answer him when he spoke.
This isn't anything to do with politics--it is racism in action, 1950's style and it's apparently OK with everyone else who patronizes these businesses. Now these are just two incidents I know of personally in recent years, and I'm sure that you can give me thousands of examples of the opposite, but still--to answer your question--people hear stories like this and you'd better believe they are going to "misunderstand" the south.
I've not heard of those incidents, but you can find similar stories all across the nation, not just in the South--particularly in small towns. Do you judge all of the North by incidents like these?
so mightyqueen just because you hear these stories does that mean everyone is like that? i know this might sound churchy but if people would just treat others like they want treating themselves their wouldn't be any MISTUNDERSTANDING.
I've not heard of those incidents, but you can find similar stories all across the nation, not just in the South--particularly in small towns. Do you judge all of the North by incidents like these?
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.
so mightyqueen just because you hear these stories does that mean everyone is like that? i know this might sound churchy but if people would just treat others like they want treating themselves their wouldn't be any MISTUNDERSTANDING.
No, it doesn't mean everyone is like that and I never SAID that. If you don't understand what I said, say so and ask for clarification but please don't put words to my name that I never said or implied. I hate when people do that, because it's obvious they didn't bother to read what I said in the first place.
Yes on the golden rule--I think we all agree about that but it has nothing to do with the conversation here. It's not as if I said there was something wrong with the south. I was answering the question!
i'm from the south myself (north florida) and i gotta agree with cmo1984 when he says that the south is WAY behind (two exceptions being Florida and Texas). I would have to say that the south just doesn't (and likely never will) have the manpower nor the technology (and quite frankly nor the reason) to make any huge advancements (at least not yet). The South is what it's always been, primarily full of laid-back people who do what they like and like what they do and try to make a good impression on everyone. i would have to say that the south is in fact highly misunderstood and i think a lot of that has to do with the Civil Rights Movement of '64.
I have never heard of any restaurant anywhere refusing to serve anyone for any reason...not in 2009! I would think that with the current economy, just about any restaurant would be eager to serve everyone who comes through the door.
Of course incidents like you describe happened in the past throughout the U.S. - but not specifically in the South. Historically, this was a very racially segregated nation and there was rampant discrimination across the board.
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.
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.
i'm from the south myself (north florida) and i gotta agree with cmo1984 when he says that the south is WAY behind (two exceptions being Florida and Texas). I would have to say that the south just doesn't (and likely never will) have the manpower nor the technology (and quite frankly nor the reason) to make any huge advancements (at least not yet). The South is what it's always been, primarily full of laid-back people who do what they like and like what they do and try to make a good impression on everyone. i would have to say that the south is in fact highly misunderstood and i think a lot of that has to do with the Civil Rights Movement of '64.
Agreed--people aren't going to see everyday southerners going about their business on the news. And we all hope to god that the south is not the same at it was in 1964.
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