Why I don't like Mississippi (Jackson, Tupelo: student loans, magnet schools, tornado)

[DiogenesofJackson]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

People in Mississippi are generally uneducated and close-minded individuals that can't understand another persons perspective.
See what I did there?

You really hit the nail on the head. The education system in Mississippi is quite bad and it's what I attribute to the reasons people there seem to be suspicious of outsiders and overly insular.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by Chris Balducci

...............What did you do "there"?

Whatever he did escaped me, too. Must be a Cajun thing.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by Chris Balducci

I don't think Louisianans are any different than Mississippians, except their food may taste better.

What did you do "there"?

Originally Posted by Listener2307

Whatever he did escaped me, too. Must be a Cajun thing.

You should clearly see the broad generalizations that were both incorrect and stereotypical.
I'm not Cajun at all.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

You should clearly see the broad generalizations that were both incorrect and stereotypical.
I'm not Cajun at all.

OK.....(pant, pant)....I'm caught up, now

PS....Saw a sign at the end of a dead end road in Louisiana once that said, "Stop, You!" Self effacing humor is sometimes the very best kind.

[90sman]

Oh for God's sake, if you people don't like Mississippi, then DON'T go there! No one is forcing you to be there. I don't live in Mississippi but when I visited it, I found it to be a beautiful state with very friendly and hospitable people. Leave the state alone, it's fine the way it is. All of you whiners can just stay where you guys are from. I think some of you are just jealous of the state, that's why you "hate" on it so much.

[SonofDixie]

Originally Posted by DiogenesofJackson

You really hit the nail on the head. The education system in Mississippi is quite bad and it's what I attribute to the reasons people there seem to be suspicious of outsiders and overly insular.

Do you honestly believe education is why people are suspicious of outsiders and come off as insular? While it may occasionally be true, I don't think it's the main reason. Example: Usually the elite/wealthy class is one of the hardest ones to break into, as an outsider. Those folks are generally very well-educated, but wouldn't give the time of day to a a wealthy, liberal yankee family that moved into their town. Especially if that person came down and attempted to do everything differently. I just think most Southerners are wary of outsiders, regardless of education level. Many of us are very traditional and do not want outsiders to come in and change our area. Just look at what happened to Florida and the metro areas of North Carolina and Georgia. Mississippians aren't the only ones not fond of outsiders. Sometimes, it's unfortunate because those who want to assimilate often get lumped with the rest of the transplant crowd. Anyway, I think you're putting a little too much emphasis on education being the main factor.

[jamesd1967]

I like Mississippi. I love to visit there, spend a few days, etc. Living there, ummm, probably not. I am a gay male and MS is not known for being tolerant.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by jamesd1967

I like Mississippi. I love to visit there, spend a few days, etc. Living there, ummm, probably not. I am a gay male and MS is not known for being tolerant.

Simple solution. Just go to the areas that you think are "known" for being tolerant. And why on earth would you find Mississippi fun to visit, and then gasp in horror at the thought of living here? Afraid someone will see your license plate and disapprove?

This, as they say, is not rocket science. Our educational system is pretty much at the bottom of the list of states. Know why?
Because if you took all the 3 million people living here and melted them all together, you know what you would have? You would have a chocolate brown person who came from a working class family whose father did not have a college education; who goes to church; who drives a four year old car; who lives in a small town he has no intention of leaving; who holds the door open at the hardware store if someone is coming; who will say, "how ya doin?" if he bumps into you accidentally; who will touch you occasionally as he speaks to you; who will loan you his lawn mower if you need it; who mostly doesn't like going to school; who doesn't kill every snake he sees; who is nervous when pulled over by the State Patrol; who doesn't care if you are gay; who did not vote for Obama last time and won't this time, either; who admires men and women in uniform; can and will recite The Pledge of Allegiance, and a whole bunch of other things mostly having to do with the maintenance of cars and trucks.

And why on earth all y'all who are not living in this state think that we who live in this state should learn how to unpack quadratic equations, become fluent in Spanish, should stand and salute every time someone says "global warming", should tear down every Christian symbol we see on public property, become "tolerant" in some way that you get to define, should dance around all issues so that no one's feeling are hurt; should welcome with open arms every condescending New Yorker who shows up to save us and teach us how to speak English properly is a complete mystery to me.

We don't like going to school. We are not good students. We don't intend to leave our state and our family. We're going to live in the same town that we grew up in (Gasp! Ended a sentence with a preposition).

But, Lordy! We're all glad that you dropped in to lecture us.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by jamesd1967

I like Mississippi. I love to visit there, spend a few days, etc. Living there, ummm, probably not. I am a gay male and MS is not known for being tolerant.

Agreed. Beautiful state to visit, but living there would be a totally different story, I'm sure (gay here also). Last time I went down there, I visited Jackson/Ridgeland, Natchez, Meridian, Oxford and Tupelo. All places were interesting in their own regard. I would probably say that I liked Natchez the best, for its quaintness and proximity to the river. Once thing I noticed about Natchez is that I felt like a minority, since I am white and the population there was very much black. But depsite MS being a beautiful state, I can tell that the quality of life is just not on par with New York and Connecticut. There seemed to be a lack of amenities, severe lack of gay men, and most of the housing seems to be run-down. I can't imagine there would be good access to a variety of healthcare services, either, unless you're in the Jackson area. But like I said, I felt somewhat outcultured by the large black population wherever I went. Coming from CT, that would take a lot of getting used to!

But despite me being a somewhat fast-paced italian Yankee, I was impressed with how NICE the MS people were. 100% of my interactions were positive with MS people. But if they only knew that I was gay and never attend church....I am not sure if they would see me differently because of those things!

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by SonofDixie

Do you honestly believe education is why people are suspicious of outsiders and come off as insular? While it may occasionally be true, I don't think it's the main reason. Example: Usually the elite/wealthy class is one of the hardest ones to break into, as an outsider. Those folks are generally very well-educated, but wouldn't give the time of day to a a wealthy, liberal yankee family that moved into their town. Especially if that person came down and attempted to do everything differently. I just think most Southerners are wary of outsiders, regardless of education level. Many of us are very traditional and do not want outsiders to come in and change our area. Just look at what happened to Florida and the metro areas of North Carolina and Georgia. Mississippians aren't the only ones not fond of outsiders. Sometimes, it's unfortunate because those who want to assimilate often get lumped with the rest of the transplant crowd. Anyway, I think you're putting a little too much emphasis on education being the main factor.

Education is exactly why people have this view of outsiders. School has nothing to do with this type of education.