Why I don't like Mississippi (Jackson, Gulfport: transplants, motels, club)

[Southrain]

Besides bashing Mississippi for all its faults. Did anyone notice that Randy also made a statement about he couldn't wait to leave this country. So does that mean he has the same issues with all of the States?

[Sam I Am]

Randy hasn't been around C-D in almost 18 months. Guess he left and took his internet with him....

[John Williams]

This Randy guy really stirred up some mess. What struck me the most about this entire thread is the passionate and damn-near reflexive defense of the state. There were even people questioning the guy's patriotism for voicing his opinions about the state of the...state. I wasn't aware that a service member had to be unconditionally supportive of the state he's living in.

Then there was canuckmtl's antidote of how her son and his friend were treated. A few people even went so far as to call her a troll. Plenty of people here willing to jump on someone because they thought they talked bad about their state.

I realize that there are plenty of positive things about MS, but not everyone's gonna think it's all gravy. The state is still a bit behind when it comes to certain issues. Reading the responses just kinda put me off a bit.

This thread's got some legs on it. I'm surprised it hasn't been closed or pushed into the more obscure corners due to age.

[Lucario]

Originally Posted by Southrain

jhadorn, you are so right about this country and race. It most countries they don't separate themselves from everyone else. Meaning if you are French you are French regardless of your skin tone. Unfortunatly, the South catches all the race issues. I've spent allot of time in Chicago and even worked there and had to deal with what I call quiet racism. In other words smile in your face and whisper behind your back. If I said hi to someone, something would be said and I would hear about it later. So, its not just the South its everywhere in this country

Have you ever heard of the LePen family?

[Lucario]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

Also, who said the south was anti-Black?

It is.......but so is the rest of this country.

[linicx]

I was in Biloxi with my dog for 10 days and loved it. The worse is I can say is a couple of young kids tried to break into my vehicle for dog food. I run 'em off; no harm done.

[Jadastwin]

Wow I can't believe many months later this thread is stll going strong. Mississippi is a beautiful place to live and as a former resident of Chicago, my hubby and I wish we'd moved here years ago.

[Chris Balducci]

Mississippi has its faults but I know I belong here!

[paisley4]

I will add that I moved to Diamondhead to get away from the aggression in Slidell, LA. However, as much as I tried it has been really hard to make it work here. The neighbors will not speak no matter how much I wave just to say hi. (Feel like a fool now, so have given up). Tried like crazy to get sorted with a primary care Dr to no avail. Although the staffs were not loud and horrible like the last place, they just couldn't get the job done, couldn't take a message, didn't know how to discuss a bill. Dr's quit as they didn't like it and moved out of town with out warning while patients on medication had no istructions or warning that they were leaving. Just to find out they left as they hated the area. I am trying VERY hard to make it work. Joining things was pointless as the first thing I'm asked is am I Baptist and a Republican. Just say yes, and you get a big hug. Why so small minded. Almost feels like dictatorship. Their way or nothing. I made the mistake of asking directions to the local Art house type thaters just to be laughed at. Not trying to cut MS down but sure am made to feel out of place. And if I ask about it the usual response is we have many roads out of here I suggest you take one.
People tell me that I should be grateful that the stupidity is more peaceful than the horrors of Slidell. But, why would locals be proud to call their town stupid when I'm not saying it is. I'm just wondering why it is so hard to fit in if you're from another area. I'm not from Slidell, I'm from all over. Not military just move a lot b/c of the job.
Can anyone explain why so close minded and unwelcoming here?

[DiogenesofJackson]

Originally Posted by paisley4

I will add that I moved to Diamondhead to get away from the aggression in Slidell, LA. However, as much as I tried it has been really hard to make it work here. The neighbors will not speak no matter how much I wave just to say hi. (Feel like a fool now, so have given up). Tried like crazy to get sorted with a primary care Dr to no avail. Although the staffs were not loud and horrible like the last place, they just couldn't get the job done, couldn't take a message, didn't know how to discuss a bill. Dr's quit as they didn't like it and moved out of town with out warning while patients on medication had no istructions or warning that they were leaving. Just to find out they left as they hated the area. I am trying VERY hard to make it work. Joining things was pointless as the first thing I'm asked is am I Baptist and a Republican. Just say yes, and you get a big hug. Why so small minded. Almost feels like dictatorship. Their way or nothing. I made the mistake of asking directions to the local Art house type thaters just to be laughed at. Not trying to cut MS down but sure am made to feel out of place. And if I ask about it the usual response is we have many roads out of here I suggest you take one.
People tell me that I should be grateful that the stupidity is more peaceful than the horrors of Slidell. But, why would locals be proud to call their town stupid when I'm not saying it is. I'm just wondering why it is so hard to fit in if you're from another area. I'm not from Slidell, I'm from all over. Not military just move a lot b/c of the job.
Can anyone explain why so close minded and unwelcoming here?

It has been my experience that Mississippians tend to be insular and suspicious of outsiders. There's historical basis for this that stretches back to the antebellum period. Ole Miss, the state's flagship university, was founded so Planters' kids wouldn't have to go North to get a college education (and be exposed to abolitionism, which was not prevalent in northern universities at the time). After the Civil War, numerous speculators and opportunists came to the state to take advantage of office holding restrictions designed to keep former confederates from re-attaining their pre-war position in life. These were called scalawags and carpetbaggers and other names I cannot state on this forum. Fast forward to the Civil Rights era and Mississippians claimed they had been "invaded" by outside agitators looking to stir up their otherwise docile and contented African American population. Then the federal government passed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 that enabled African Americans to vote freely thanks to the efforts of federal election regulators (other outsiders).

The late Ole Miss history prof Jim Silver called Mississippi the Closed Society because its resistance to reform and applause of tradition was considered so sacrosanct, that one challenged these notions only with great risk of bodily harm or even death. Ira Harkey was one who challenged the status quo only to be nearly run out of town on a rail in the mid 1960s. Others experienced similar fates.

Things are certainly different in Mississippi today, but there is this overwhelming insistence on conformity--or so I've experienced when I lived there. I worked in a professional setting where I shared office spaces with avid hunters and youth sports enthusiasts. I rejected all invitations for hunting trips only to be derided because I didn't participate in their "heritage." Moreover, I turned down invitations to attend church with my co-workers, only to be denigrated as a devil worshiper. At the time I lived in Mississippi I was battling unusually high blood pressure for one of my age, and so I heard that abstaining from red meat, pork, and chicken would help (in addition to some serious exercise and cutting down on my alcohol intake). That didn't go over too well either. At office get togethers, I'd just have salad where my co-workers chided me for being "too good to eat their food" which usually consisted of lots of barbeque (my fav now that I'm back on meat) and other cholesterol-laden, meaty casseroles.

It's difficult to answer your question(s), but I'd say it has much to do with Mississippians "heritage" as they like to call it. For the most part, they just don't like outsiders.