[brucep]

I too thank you boulder for trying to actually answer the post instead of overreacting and snarling like a cornered dog.

I grew up in NW Arkansas and lived in Eureka Springs for 17 years. Yes, the negative things you speak of MerryBerry do exist but I agree with boulder that you should be fine and will probably enjoy Fayetteville. It's very diverse and accepting of others compared to some other places in Arkansas and the Ozarks.

I know in theory that you can't judge a book (or pickup) by it's cover. But when you see a rebel flag, a gun rack, a stupid bumper sticker (like "my kid can beat up your honor student"), all on/in the same pick up, AND the driver or passenger is flipping you off....in my opinion that's not pride, that's ignorance. And before the "snarlers" begin again, just take a breath and think about it. Okay?

Good luck, MerryBerry

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by MerryBerry

I had my fill of all that when I lived in Baton Rouge...and Mobile...and Destin...and Decatur (AL)...and Lexington...Georgetown (TX)...you get the idea.

Now my question:

Fayetteville area -- lots of rebel flags adorning cars and porches? Gun racks in trucks with mean-spirited bumperstickers plastered all over? Wrecked-up Camaros zooming past giving the finger at out-of-state plates?

The reason I ask -- I HAVE experienced this elsewhere in the South, and I'm a Southerner. Just a very unusual one, as in Asian! As in constantly assumed to be "foreign"!

Like many on these forums, I'm looking for a place to live in peace. NW Arkansas is so lovely! I am hoping it isn't unfriendly to those who don't "look" the same and who don't share the same religion.

When I lived in Magnolia, down by the Louisiana line, I even had trouble buying from the bakery, because they didn't like to sell to those who don't attend Christian churches...talk about BACKWARDS!!! Then again, this was almost 30 years ago...but in some places, times DON'T change!

Thank you for any insight.

MerryBerry -

Have you visited NWA? I think you will like it - pay no mind to those having a bad day (or life), I personally don't think they represent the majority of Arkansans.

Rebel flags are out...some of us love them but are willing to be politically correct so we don't fly them...

Gun racks? Yep. Trucks? Yep. Mean-spirited bumper stickers? What is mean-spirited? A funny story - I had a Widespread Panic (rock group) bumper sticker on my back window - a couple of younger black males asked me this weekend to remove it - they asked nicely - but said they were offended.....okay, so Widespread Panic isn't for everyone, but I like it - but it was just a little oval sticker with WP in the middle...at the bottom in teensy little letters it had the group's whole name. These young men thought it stood for White Power and were offended....I pointed out the teensy writing and we all had a nice laugh and I went on my way. I guess I could have found my windows bashed in, but I didn't, so now I think it's kind of funny. Most likely I will remove it, though, I don't want the same mistake made again.

Wrecked up Camaros? Pretty much all Camaros are looking rough these days since it's been a number of years since they were produced. Southern boys love their middle fingers, but not sure it has anything to do with YOUR license plate...

I think your last statement says a lot - the troubles you remember were 30 years ago. NWA is very progressive - I think you will like it, I don't think you will have any problems, and I think you got tacky, too....being from the South, you gotta already know - there ain't nothin' worse than tacky. And telling everyone to go to hell really IS tacky...right?

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by MerryBerry

Thank you Boulder, you actually tried to give some information instead of spewing out hatred.

To those who prefer to show their little closed minds: Arkansas is beautiful, but you are very ugly.

Junkman, it's "Rebel," not "Reble." Didn't care too much for "book-learnin'," eh?

nmrita, please move from New Mexico, so the average IQ can leap upwards with your departure.

As to the hillbilly woman -- "bad ass" catfish? Yes, throw some slang in your post and try to make it an "us agin' them" post. Very helpful. And why do I sincerely doubt you need to be eating any additional fried catfish?

Did I ever say I was against certain vehicles? Or was I asking about those who adopt certain vehicles along with certain behaviors that are vicious against others?

I believe in live and let live. When people in some places see my nice little Asian face, they react very nastily, based on my RACE! They don't know me, never heard me speak, even. But I get a middle-finger salute or have people start talking in what they imagine to be a "Chinese" voice.

I am very conservative. Conservative does not mean racist, except maybe in the hollers where you live. Ugh.

I am native to Arkansas, by the way, and am female, a retired physician.

So y'all go to hell, ya hear?

Would you care to explain that statement about leaving NM so the states IQ can go up? I didn't know we were comparing IQs on this thread? I do know statements like that won't help you get accepted with open arms.

Retired physician or not, you do not come across as the perfect person, quite the opposite, you come across as someone with a huge chip on thier shoulder.

Nita

[junkman18]

Originally Posted by Sam I Am

MerryBerry -

Have you visited NWA? I think you will like it - pay no mind to those having a bad day (or life), I personally don't think they represent the majority of Arkansans.

Rebel flags are out...some of us love them but are willing to be politically correct so we don't fly them...

Gun racks? Yep. Trucks? Yep. Mean-spirited bumper stickers? What is mean-spirited? A funny story - I had a Widespread Panic (rock group) bumper sticker on my back window - a couple of younger black males asked me this weekend to remove it - they asked nicely - but said they were offended.....okay, so Widespread Panic isn't for everyone, but I like it - but it was just a little oval sticker with WP in the middle...at the bottom in teensy little letters it had the group's whole name. These young men thought it stood for White Power and were offended....I pointed out the teensy writing and we all had a nice laugh and I went on my way. I guess I could have found my windows bashed in, but I didn't, so now I think it's kind of funny. Most likely I will remove it, though, I don't want the same mistake made again.

Wrecked up Camaros? Pretty much all Camaros are looking rough these days since it's been a number of years since they were produced. Southern boys love their middle fingers, but not sure it has anything to do with YOUR license plate...

I think your last statement says a lot - the troubles you remember were 30 years ago. NWA is very progressive - I think you will like it, I don't think you will have any problems, and I think you got tacky, too....being from the South, you gotta already know - there ain't nothin' worse than tacky. And telling everyone to go to hell really IS tacky...right?

The biggest problem merry has is her attitude and playing the race card.

[MOHIllbillyWoman]

Originally Posted by junkman18

The biggest problem merry has is her attitude and playing the race card.

Yes, you are correct, but I hope that you notice that others that are more than willing to help her be mean to people and then excuse her by blaming it all on us. Funny when you think about it because it is exactly why Merry is probably looking to move and find a new place to live.

[Visvaldis]

This whole thread should be read by anyone from the North comtemplating a move to the South. It sure is an eye opener, to say the least.

[ArkansasTraveler]

Originally Posted by MOHIllbillyWoman

eatin' some bad ass fried catfish.

Ah So - chinese - chinese catfish has been recalled do to bad bad chinese fishmongers.
Well you could douse it in Smokey Barbeque Sauce
We started with Ah-So Original as the base, then added Cayenne and other authentic spices to create a subtle yet robust taste experience...

[ArkansasTraveler]

Originally Posted by magrack

The Confederate battle flag?

Po old Beauregard never gets his doooooooooo.

Beauregard Battle Flag
Beauregard, who had already anticipated the need for a new battle flag, wrote to William P. Miles, chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee of the Confederate Congress, suggesting the adoption of a new national flag. Failing in that effort, Beauregard asked his Louisiana officers to suggest some possible new designs for a battle flag.
When it became known that a new battle flag would soon be adopted, the high command was inundated with designs and drafts. Of the many different designs and configurations, the basic pattern that appeared most often was a cross, of various shapes, emblazoned with stars. The colors of red, white, and blue were also prominent.
After lengthy consideration was given to various designs, Johnston and Beauregard met with Quartermaster General William L. Cabell at the Fairfax Courthouse in Virginia in September 1861 to finalize the design of the new battle flag. Johnston proposed a flag in the shape of an ellipse with a red field and a blue saltier (a diagonal cross, often called a St. Andrew's cross) containing a white star for each Confederate state.
Beauregard had suggested in his letter to Congressman Miles a square or rectangular design consisting of a blue field with a red cross containing gold stars. It appears from that correspondence that Beauregard favored either a Latin cross (a crucifix) or a Greek cross (St. George's), rather than the diagonal cross of St. Andrew.
Congressman Miles found Beauregard's color combination to be contrary to the laws of heraldry and suggested a blue saltier, with white stars, on a field of red. Deferring to Miles' knowledge of heraldry, Beauregard accepted his modifications and included them in his final proposal to Johnston and Cabell.
As the three Confederate officers were considering the design of the battle flag, Cabell indicated that Beauregard's design would be easier and quicker to produce than Johnston's and there would be no waste of cloth in a square or rectangular flag. Johnston, though he outranked Beauregard, accepted Beauregard's design and directed that the new battle flag be a perfect square. (figure 3)
The size of the flag was 4 x 4' for infantry, 3 x 3' for artillery, and 2 1/2 x 2 1/2' for cavalry.
General Bradley T. Johnson, whose Maryland regiment fought with the Confederacy at Manassas, had seen a watercolor drawing of the original design and described the flag several years later as a red square, on which was displayed a blue St. Andrew's cross, bordered with white, and charged with thirteen white, five-pointed stars. He referred to this design as Beauregard's battle flag.
Both Johnston and Beauregard were anxious to have new flags prepared before the next military engagement. They cautioned Cabell to keep the design and shape of the new emblem a secret to prevent Federal forces from counterfeiting the flag and causing more confusion on the field of battle.
Johnston's hope for secrecy was dashed when he arranged for about seventy-five women in Richmond to begin making the new flags. The new design could be seen all over the Confederate capital the day after its adoption.
Beauregard and some other officers urged the Confederate Congress to adopt the new design as the national flag of the Confederacy, but the Congress declined to do so.
Cabell issued orders to quartermasters throughout the Army of the Potomac to provide the new battle flag to all their fighting units.
On October 1, 1861, the Confederate War Department authorized the use of the new battle flag by the Army of the Potomac, which was later renamed the Army of Northern Virginia by General Robert E. Lee.
The war department did not direct other Confederate armies to adopt the new design although many of the Confederate armies east of the Mississippi River did eventually use the Beauregard flag.
When Beauregard assumed command of the Confederate forces in western Tennessee in early 1862, he found that General Leonidas K. Polk had already adopted a flag "similar to the one I had designed for the Army of the Potomac." Beauregard replaced Polk’s flag with his battle flag.
In September 1862, when Beauregard was reassigned to Charleston, he substituted the same banner for the state flags, then principally used in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
Although the Beauregard battle flag was perhaps the emblem most widely used by southern troops, it was never made the official battle flag of the Confederate Army and there were many other battle flags of varying styles, shapes, and colors used by Rebel forces during the Civil War.

A Brief History of the Confederate Flags (http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/features/feature2/histconflag.html - broken link)

This for k12 what makes it easy for most white folk to understand - if you do not then get that collage grad you may know to read it fo u.....:

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by Visvaldis

This whole thread should be read by anyone from the North comtemplating a move to the South. It sure is an eye opener, to say the least.

Would everyone please go back to page 1 and re-read this thread? WHAT are you people doing? You are throwing insults and barbs and "information" at one another like there's no tomorrow.

Visvaldis-

I personally am offended at the turn this thread has taken. If you consider this to be an indicator for the entire South, then you are as close-minded as some of the posters in this thread.

The OP started with many, many stereotypes, and I assumed she was attempting to be funny with generalizations and mental pictures of how others see the South…but she threw the race card from 30 years ago into the pile, which is just like saying sic ‘em to a dog even in this day and age, junky cars, and also threw in the Confederate flag, which is enough to get a lot of people riled up (not to mention Ole Miss fans). The next couple of responses, although possibly honest enough, were bare-knuckle punches. Then we have a couple of people who try to stop the bad they see coming and even admit that this IS a different culture, one that has a heritage and strong roots that will not change simply to make the world tilt on it’s axis the way the rest of the world believes it should.

And then the OP weighs in again, causing things to seriously go south, in a manner of speaking…. “Arkansas is very beautiful, but you are very ugly”, followed by bare-knuckle insults of her own that are personal in nature and not generalized at all.

To the OP and anyone that’s interested…good God, people, get a friggin’ grip on yourselves. UseJeff mentioned “stupism”, which I believe may be a new one for Mr. Webster, but it sort of encompasses this entire thread. “Rude” is another word would come to mind. Where are your manners?

There is racism, bigotry, close-mindedness and stupism everywhere – Arkansas and even the South as a whole does not have the market cornered on this…not Harrison, not Possum Grape, not Ash Flat, not New York City. It’s out there, deal with it.

I spent 15 months living in the Caribbean – the U.S. Virgin Islands - where I, too, was the victim of bigotry…if you are white or from the mainland – matter of fact, if you’re from anywhere except the islands – you are looked down upon. You CANNOT get a government job, it’s saved for the locals. Other than the hospitality industry or the oil field, you’re lucky to get a job at all. Graft and corruption make the mainland look like a tea party. Everyone that wasn’t born there is assumed to be rich and trying to take over the islands, or at least the one I was on. There’s even a pecking order for islanders…and if you are a native to the Caribbean but came from the Dominican or one of the “down” islands, you were lower than low. I was heckled – I was cursed by school-aged children – I was the victim of violent crime. Do I excuse the behavior I witnessed? No, and I do not consider it to be the whole of the Caribbean. I assume I ran into some very bad mannered folks. Did I want to stay and be part of a culture that I didn’t understand, no one would explain the rules, and where I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin? Nope….and so I moved on.

The “race” incident in Harrison is unfortunate, but let’s not forget – this was one stupid kid in a sheet – these were teenagers, who aren’t known for being the brightest bulbs in the box even though they think they are. By and large, teenagers are a pain in the patoot. So we’re going to judge an entire state or region by this? That’s like condemning New York City for what happens on the subway….things happen, they are isolated incidences. I don’t think whatever happened in Bed-Stuy has any bearing on whether I should move to “the North”, so don’t flip-flop the same thing to the South.

If indeed Harrison is as people proclaim, then I for one vote they secede from the Union…but you see, I don’t think that’s everyone in Harrison, and certainly know for a fact it isn’t everyone in the South. I could pull news articles out that show where a concerted effort is being made and has been made in the past to not cover up these type things, but to put them on the table where they can be dealt with. I will never for one minute believe this is the mindset of most of us living in the South…. “we ain’t never gonna change, if you don’t like it, get out”. I call BS on that one, sorry.

Some things Southerners cling to with a fierce pride, but I do not think bigotry and racism would be up there at the top. I know personally that it does exist – it exists everywhere. Whether you chose to know an overzealous, narrow-minded remark when you see it and consider the source and move on, or allow a couple of really idiotic statements to rule your life – well, that’s your business - but I’m offended by this whole thread and have asked the moderator, who is again MIA, to remove it.

The flip side of the coin is that I think the OP may have landed herself in hot water by stereotyping, even in jest.

Magrack is completely correct – this debate is likely to never end – but at least those that feel they are better than some other portion of the population could present their arguments in a cohesive, well thought out, POLITE manner rather than taking off the gloves at the edge of the ring and throwing left hooks. And that includes doctors, lawyers, Indian chiefs, Asians, Hispanics, Afro-Americans, and good ole Southern boys and girls.

This whole thing is embarrassing.

[nmnita]

Sam,

You have put everything into perspective.

thanks, now let's see if the post dies a natural death?

Nita