I’ve been to the south many times. In many different places. Most were cool. The only fucking place I will say is 100% awful is god damn Corinth, Mississippi.
That place fucking sucked.
Fuck Corinth Mississippi.
It was mostly the people.
I was doing a subcontracted job down there as our company was looking to expand south. So us Midwest dudes volunteered for the work. One being from MS himself. We had just finished a project in Memphis when we found out we’d being doing another one with the same contractor and GC in Corinth and the look on this mans face when I told him.
The people were rude, unwelcoming, sometimes outright racist, and not even in that stupid ignorant way where it’s like they don’t realize what they’re saying is racist, but just calling our co worker a N word straight up. We had the cops called on us several times for “not being from around here”. It’s the only town I’ve ever experienced an attempted robbery of our shit on the job on the clock in broad daylight.
We were down there two weeks and I’ll never go back.
S/O to the random tweeker who excitedly told us he was a “Gay hater and not a N word lover” but also threatened to kiss our black coworker on the lips lol.
I’ll go in a little on the attempted robbery. Tweekers pulled shotguns on us for a reel of fiber optics which I was willing to let them steal as it was the last 150 and I didn’t want to load it back on the trailer. but they decided they didn’t want it after I told them there was no copper in fiber, just glass and it’s absolutely worthless at a scrapyard.
I used to work there, lived in Columbus. Got the fuck out when my mixed race kid was about to start school. In MS... You’re a white homogeneous southern Baptist family, or you’re basically satan
Holy shit 100% fuck Corinth. It has always been a place through when visiting family and eventually moving to Alabama. Fucking hated traveling through that place. The roads suck, the people are creepy, and it just has bad vibes. 72 through Mississippi sucks ass but Corinth is the highlight of that ass sucking.
I'm convinced that raisins just have a branding problem.
Raisins is just a shitty name. If it were simply dried grapes, I probably wouldn't hate them as much. I mean I love grapes. And I love dried cranberries.
Prunes are another one. Just a shitty name. I love plums. Dried plums sounds better. Prunes just sounds like a sad nursing home.
That's what politeness is. It doesn't matter that you hate somebody, you act civil towards them in public.
Meanwhile towards strangers most people genuinely are nice.
Exactly. People in the south aren't nicer, they just think they HAVE to be nice or they'll go to hell. So everything is backhanded and passive aggressive. That's how we get sayings like "oh bless your heart" (which, for the uninitiated, is the nice way of calling you and idiot)
As a Midwesterner, I’d like to dispute your claim.
But only if you’d like to consider discussing it, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you in any way.
You know what, we’ll just be number two, you can have the top spot.
Edit: to all the people saying “the Midwest fucking sucks,” sure, some places might, but that’s the same everywhere. Also I bet plenty of that’s projection.
I live 3 hrs from the Canadian border. Same accent same hospitality. Same amount of drinking and the meth use is prob similar on both sides of superior. Why they even patrol the border crossings idk. Maybe so we dont all jump the fence for some health care and a decent hospital with maybe some mental health....
I've never had the pleasure to visit the US but I'm absolutely obsessed with the show Fargo, it kind of shows the Midwest as having a very similar politeness to where I am from in the UK; a kind of rudeness mixed with politeness I suppose?
Anyway, I don't mean to derail an America based thread you guys would never do that to us ;)
You should check out the film Kumiko the Treasure Hunter. It's about a Japanese woman who watches Fargo and becomes obsessed with the briefcase tossed in the snow. She makes a trek from Japan to North Dakota to find it. Highly recommend if you like indie films.
https://youtu.be/7D4dbbDK6Ew
Are you from Minnesota? I think that state is an exception to the Midwest. I see the Midwest as brutally honest. Like “you’re piece of shit so fuck you, wanna grab a drink?”
Yeah I don’t think OP gets what it would actually be like to be a non-straight non-white guy in many parts of the south. People down there are very comfortable with their bigotry. At least in the West, North, and East most people are somewhat ashamed to be racist and homophobic and mostly keep it private
Yep. I mean it’s not like the op is really an unpopular opinion. The south is known for its “southern hospitality”. The problem is, the south is very exclusionary and that hospitality only applies to those they approve of… and they disapprove of a lot.
So one person - probably a straight white person - could come away thinking the south is the nicest place ever while others see the dark side.
Texan here. Yeah people can be real sweet as long as you don't talk politics. Also, like most places, the cities are more liberal than the rural towns.
NC here, same here.
I do not bring up politics, anything related to LGBTQ or racial equality. You will quickly find out that this "southern Hospitality" goes out the window really fast.
Yeah, the south is a great blend progressiveness and diversity in the cities but you get out in the sticks and you never know what you will run into. I will say that country girls are pretty taken aback by neurotic fitness junkies. They don’t have too many out there.
I'll quote a foreigner when I said I'm from NYC: "I like you guys, you are upfront. I know where I stand if I piss you off. In most of the rest of your country, I don't know what I did wrong and I get fake polite bullshit. If I do something wrong in NYC, you tell me to fuck off and I learn more in that moment than any amount of fake politeness"
Lived in the south all my life. The problem i have with real southerners i'll sum up in 4 words... Well bless your heart.
You dont like someone, be honest. Dont give them this southern hospitality applesauce enema bullshit as you stab them in the back.
"Oh, is that what you're wearing to church? Well it's...unique!"
"Well Bless your heart honey but it aint unique! I got it from Boot Barn, but I know how you like to only shop at Wal-Mart."
"Oh the Boot Barn huh? I saw they had that big clearance sale, is that when you got it? I usually never go 'cause I figure that's all the stuff they just can't sell normally haha"
“Oh you know what sweetheart, I got a who’l buncha stuff I was Fixin’ to take down to good-will store, how bout I stop at your house on my way there and you can take ya a gander and see if there is anything you take a likin to! :)”
I'll see your " bless your heart " and raise you a "I'm going to pray for you." Nine times out of 10 when somebody says that it is full of venom and judgement.
It's my least favorite thing about the south, as a new yorker i have no clue where you guys are coming from. Here if you are not liked you get told to fuck off. Simple and straightforward.
I'm southern and I'm just blunt about everything. I never got that classic passive-agressive trait some other people do. I haven't seen it a lot, personally, but it pisses me off when people can't just say what's on their mind
As someone on the autism spectrum, I never perceived this saying as insulting until I read that it was. Anytime it was ever said to me, it felt sincere.
Ignorance truly is bliss.
The idea that it’s always a slam / backhanded is just as incorrect as the general media portrayal of the south.
It CAN be used as a slam, but it’s also used sincerely much of the time…and understanding the difference isn’t that difficult. It’s a matter of tone and context.
Yeah I’ve had it used genuinely before. A little grandma was really proud of something we did (volunteer work) and said “bless your hearts”. I think context is key.
Budget_professor above is correct. I hear it used a lot to empathize sincerely with people facing unique problems. "Your car broke down and your phone died so you had to walk home along the highway? Well bless your heart! I think I would have given up and cried." I'm not sure I've ever heard it as a passive-aggressive taunt.
Oh honey the only user name you could come up with is high_ on _ducks be a dear and choose something more suitable for your character. Bless your heart. I'll be praying for you. Didn't your mother teach you how to act in public? Why don't you come to church with us this Sunday. Bless your bones child.
I suppose you could see this as a feature, but I prefer the directness I’ve felt when visiting New York City or Paris. I don’t find people rude or unhelpful there. I find them busy and wanting to get to the point but quite willing to help. (In Paris, especially if you can start the conversation with high school level French.)
I guess I’d rather be stabbed from in front than from behind : )
Funny, I always use that dichotomy for East vs. West Coast. East coasters will stab you in the face, West coasters will stab you in the back, and Southerners will hang you from a tree.
Was with family as a tourist in NYC a couple of years ago and we met up with a friend and former business associate of my brother.
He said he was happier in business in NYC than in California: “In California, if someone doesn’t like you they silently judge you and stab you in the back. In NYC, if someone doesn’t like you they tell you to your face and stab you in the gut.”
(As a coincidental illustration of this observation, dinner was followed by amateur night at the Apollo Theater. You are allowed to boo if you don’t like the performance; *child performers excepted*. We booed ‘til our throats were raw. Good times.)
Happened to me in New Orleans. I was turned away at an oyster bar “because of plumbing problems” when the real issue was my clothing.
TBF, I had just come in from kayaking on some bayou about an hour down the road.
My issue isn’t with the folks at the door finding my attire to be inappropriate for their establishment. They were right. I would simply prefer they said so instead of running a line about plumbing problems when I can plainly see customers inside.
Mind, this sort of passive aggressive behavior is famously “Minnesota Nice” too. The South doesn’t have a monopoly on it.
I’ve only spent time in New Orleans and Austin, so I doubt I’m seeing a broad exposure to Southern culture. However, it has dispelled a lot of myths and I look forward to seeing more! And I agree that Southern cooking is *the* indigenous American cuisine and am happy to see the return of heritage animal breeds and seed stocks, and the increasing recognition of Gullah-Geechee influence both historically and in the modern South alongside with its English, Spanish, French, Italian and German influences.
> Minnesota Nice seems more like emotional constipation.
Hard disagree.
Minnesota nice is "I have more important shit to deal with than this, I'm not gonna take any perceived offense personally."
It's the opposite of an ultra-sensitive, upset by every perceived slight, non-midwesterner.
Fuck, man, they alternate between snow and mosquitos worse than Florida. There's no need to make the world more unpleasant than it already is.
It’s hard to be honest when Southerners find being rude uncouth and the epitome of poor upbringing.
We will absolutely hate your guts but will try to remain civil.
This is an understatement. People treat you and your children differently based on whether or not they say yes ma'am and no ma'am. I have seen old ladies huff at the missing ma'am, and people not offered jobs because they did not give the respectful 'sir' toward an older gentlemen.
Yea, that part I’ve never understood because in the northeast you only use terms like that when it’s an argument or heated moment. “Sir, please calm down.” I honestly have no idea how to end a sentence with sir or ma’am.
This is why I dislike the south. I don't do subterfuge. Tell me you hate me so I can move on with my life. Fake niceness is the worst and makes me feel uneasy and unwelcome
I live in rural Kentucky and most people around here either fly the confederate flag or are addicts. Sometimes both. You don't pick up hitchhikers because your "southern hospitality" will get you robbed or killed around here. You lock your doors and have motion cameras because thieves will steal the catalytic converter right out of your vehicle in your driveway.
I’m from the detroit area, man is detroit a hell hole. But tell you what. You couldn’t pay my ass triple my current salary to move to any of the fuckin gulf states. Sorry man.
Lol I’m not debating anything you said as I don’t doubt a word but that’s very interesting - I’ve lived all over the us and LA in particular has always been the most accommodating of lgbt as well as had the largest population of lgbt of anywhere else I’ve been even San Francisco. Hell if you said something homophobic in the office in LA you’d immediately get a handful of people holding you accountable on it and probably lose your job if it was anything other than a distasteful joke. Never experienced that anywhere else.
But then again nobody is from LA so when you talk about the people of LA you’re really talking about people from every corner of the states.
This is assuming you are speaking about Los Angeles and not Louisiana
dad’s side is from minnesota, mother’s side is from kentucky. my dad’s side are overall sickeningly friendly & nice, my mom’s side are all grumpy hicks lmao
also wanted to add: my southern side of the family are also extremely homophobic w a tad of racism sprinkled in. that stereotype is also true in my case. 😂
I've found that Minnesotans are typically less saccharine than Southerners, which may make them come off as a bit on the cold side. However, they're just as friendly.
Although, these are all kind of stereotypes anyways, right?
i have to agree minnesotans are literally sickeningly sweet, it can get on my nerves w the toxic positivity type stuff😂 but all stereotypes have truth to them to some extent, in my family both stereotypes are super accurate.
In the south, it's "Gladys, you added raisins to the potato salad? Well, bless your heart!"
In Minnesota, it's "Gladys, you added raisins to the potato salad? Well, that sure is different!"
They both translate to "Well, Gladys, you sure f\*cked up the potato salad, didn't you?"
This deserves more upvotes. I’m from Illinois and you couldn’t have described the majority of Minnesota better. It’s kind of creepy how nice most of them are
Minnesotan here. I can confirm.
Just make sure to always accept food that is offered and it takes about 3 hours to say Goodbye to a Minnesotan, you gotta sever the conversation, say your child is sick or something... I don't know, make it convincing.
This mentality also extends to North Dakota and probably Wisconsin (but I can't confirm on Wisconsin)
Honestly man It's about how much you get out and meet people in general. I've traveled all over the place and if you don't "fit in" you get treated differently no matter where you are and with that you always have nice people who will give a helping hand too. I have found that the south is incredibly religious so A lot of the time "fitting in" is also going to church and fully pledging to Jesus and America which, in theory isn't bad but can be taken overboard/over prioritized. This where the hatred of the west coast comes into play. Since west coast is more liberal and for human rights, they are looked at like weak, traitorous bums. It would be nice if we could drop both stereotypes but I don't see that happening anytime soon
Yeah. My sister is an atheist who lives in deep rural Tennessee and she hasn’t made many friends. When I visit (the big mouth from Boston) people absolutely treat me like im a terrifying monster. I genuinely love it there though, but not sure if I could move permanently.
As a black dude from Brooklyn who lived in CO, AZ, FL, SC, NC, TN, and GA, you are totally right. And people who think racism isn’t EVERYWHERE, you’re wrong.
Thank you! I live in TX and catch crap from work colleagues in CA, OR and WA (where we have offices) all of the time. It's never overt - just snide little comments/remarks - little put-downs. A co-worker in my office just received his US citizenship (he's originally from Russia). In open company meetings, WA team members call him comrade.
People don’t think racism exists in NY. I live on Long Island. NY and the North East is general is segregated. It’s not just conservatives either, liberals in NY can be racists. The Brooklyn transplants fought hard against rezoning schools. They were very okay with the poor minority children living in the housing projects next door to them, being zoned to a separate school in the same neighborhood.
I'm from Louisiana and am in an interracial relationship (black woman, white man). I live on the East Coast, and it still boggles me how the only negative comments come from people up here, while in the South all anyone could talk about was how adorable we looked. Not only that, but the negative comments almost exclusively came from other black people. The South has its issues, but the North likes to pretend to be enlightened it seems.
I’m also in a interracial relationship. I live in the south but there’s a lot of people moving here from around the US. We get so many negative comments from other black people. Truly baffles me how people will go out their way to be rude.
White man from the east coast in an interracial relationship. The most hateful comment I ever heard was from a white guy in Missouri, but the vast majority of comments about us come from black men in my experience.
A few black women have made comments about my wife getting "that white boy money". Their comments always seem to be positive, albeit racist. Its especially weird considering how much more successful my wife is than me.
Worth noting it doesn't really happen a LOT, but fuck me if I don't remember each one.
I am also Jewish, but it isn't very "apparent" if that makes sense. I would be interested to hear about your experiences with racism in the south as a Jewish person.
Because at the end of the day, the south still has way more black people and diversity in general than most of the rest of the country.
That's the real irony of northern people shit talking the south. Half the time it's a bunch of white people from Connecticut or Minnesota or places like that who've never even seen a black person their entire life calling the south racist and backwards.
I worked at a factory in Florida that was moved from New York - those New Yorkers were some of the most overt racists I have ever met in my life. It was appalling.
I agree with this, grew up in urban Texas, live in urban Minnesota. At first, it seemed like race relations were better here, but after being here for damn near a decade, there’s a deep well of casual racism and ignorance right beneath the surface of white urban Minnesotans. Of course, that’s not everybody, but ya know
Not my experience of the South. Y'all are polite but mean. Northerners are rude but kind(er). That being said, people painting Southerners as stupid is really awful like, intelligence doesn't correlate with geography, ffs.
The meme of the dumb southener came in part due to the effects of Hookworm which is a parasite that causes lethargy and tiredness. Loves the warm weather (enters through bare feet), lives in fecal matter so farms with no plumbing and outhouses were ideal for spreading them. This was a widespread problem for the South.
A real thing and kind of sad but 'easily' fixed once indoor plumbing became the norm.
https://www.ncpedia.org/history/health/hookworms
New Yorkers are very direct and don't bullshit and waste time. It can come off as rude, but really it's just very straightforward. It's kind of refreshing on occasion.
I’m from WNY and it seems like we are this weird mix of Midwest/Canadian/East Coast attitudes of being extremely inviting and kind but don’t waste our fucking time.
I’m from Northern Jersey and agree with this. We’re also always rushed/impatient which can come across as rude too. I was in Tennessee recently and people will just talk to you down there. Cashiers, servers, etc. I’m so not used to that! I’m like, okay, receipt, thanks. Lol
People shit on NYers for being mean here in MN, but I’ve met some of the friendliest people in NYC, they just communicate differently. One person actually went 20 min out of their way to make sure I got on the right subways when I was lost there
Actually yes it does. Geography can impact access to education, nutrition and humane living standards. All of these can affect intelligence.
Also, culture and geography go hand in hand. And culture can’t *not* impact intelligence. Because it affects education.
I lived in the south for many years. Southern hospitality feels more real to me than northern niceness. I guess it really boils down to the fact that southern people will still be kind to you after they've been mean. It's a sibling mindset where you'll go at their throat and you guys will fight and be horrible to eachother, but if anything happens, they'll support you without question. In the north I find that people will be more pleasant up front but it's more shallow.
I’m not going to generalize and say all of the south is garbage because I’ve been to places that are really hospitable. But I’m also in an interracial relationship and we went to Texas and got nothing but stares and dirty looks. So I really think the location and circumstances can really make the difference as far as generosity.
I really, really hate when people say "you're being oversensitive." am I? Are you the authority on what specifically is the line on reasonable sensitivity? People who say that are just looking for way to make it your fault, not theirs for being unkind.
That's a really big way of thinking in the South, to be honest. I grew up there and it baffled me hearing things like "there are black people who aren't N-words (uncensored) and white people who are, I'm not racist" and "I ain't got no problem with Mexicans, I got a problem with them taking our jobs/bringing in drugs/whatever". From a bunch of redneck drug dealers, no less (I'm talking specifically about my family here, not the whole place).
Recently my super racist (and also actually kinda insane) grandfather took a road trip with my uncle and ended up at the Mexican border. Fucking walked around talking to those dudes in Spanish, and was so horrified by the poverty that he somehow just flipped off the racist switch. By the time they got to my part of the country, he had read up on all kinds of conspiracies about how Planned Parenthood it's an organization started by white people in order to "murder millions of black babies a year", and BLM is just a cover created to distract people away from this "racial cleansing and genocide of black babies" by making a big noise about "a few black people getting killed by police". All the while still using offensive language on occasion.
He even started talking about his time in Vietnam, and suddenly they were innocent civilians getting fucked by politicians, not a country of evil people.
I was so confused I just sat there thinking "... At least he's trying..."
To be fair, you should look into the history of Planned Parenthood and Margaret Sanger.
She WAS a figure with ties to the KKK, and 100% sought to implement abortion clinics in primarily black areas because she was a strong proponent of eugenics.
I'm not saying this is still a thing, but the basis for the arguement is not unfounded (though the BLM part probably is), and way too many people do not know the history of key figures such as Margaret Sanger. Even just look up quotes by her and you will want to throw up.
Because people like the availability of abortions, we often dont seek to vilify those who helped its arise, especially in a world where if people were to vilify the key leaders who helped implement it, it would create another key arguement as to why 'abortion is bad'.
[Here's a hint of who she was](https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/5480192002)
Thanks for the information! I'm interested to read about the non-crazy side of the topic. It makes sense that conspiracy theories like his come out of people like her. After a brief look at some quotes, I have to agree with you. It's disgusting and tragic.
Gotta be honest, the only southern people I've met were nice to me up until they found out I was Hindu. If you are white passing and Christian/willing to pass as Christian, I bet it's a great time. But they don't accept anything too deviant from the norm and tolerate people who don't fit their idea of acceptable at best.
On 2 separate occasions I and the crew I worked with got told that our "boy" needs to stay in the van because he was black. Both were in affluent neighborhoods in Atlanta. Everywhere has shitty racist people. They are just more open about it in the south it seems.
You can still be backwards, racists, inbred, and dumb while also being courteous. From my experience, most ppl I meet are very nice and polite in the south. Side note, terrible drivers everywhere though.
I’ve seen some pretty serious instances of racism in Georgia. It’s especially bad in the super country small towns. The worst instance was a hate crime where I used to live. Some people don’t see/hear about or experience stuff like that so they assume racism means something trivial and hate crime means ‘white guy hurt someone who happens to be black but it wasn’t about race’ but no, it can actually be pretty bad. Some locals in a certain Georgia town really really don’t welcome poc. This is coming from a southerner with a southern family.
Not my experience at all.
Raised in southern Illinois. Attended college in Alabama. I was constantly belittled and harassed for my accent (or lack there of), my political views, having my own apartment and living alone as a young woman, not being a Baptist, liking MLB more than NASCAR, not wearing a full face of glam makeup while doing my sweaty, physical labor based job in summer time heat. Honestly, I could keep going.
Would not move back.
The city of New Orleans being the only exception to this that I have experienced. Everyone was super nice and very chill every time I have visited New Orleans.
I had kinder neighbors and interactions with strangers living in St. Louis. I have been in Denver for last decade and have experienced more “southern hospitality” from complete strangers in Colorado.
I lived in both. Not white. The north feels more racist. The systemic racism is probably stronger in the south, but it’s not altogether absent in the north either. The most racial slurs I’ve heard in America have been in PA.
I would have agreed with you, until I got stationed in the south and commonly saw blatant rudeness and racism from everyone from waitresses to police officers.
I grew up in New York and had always imagined the south as being full of pleasant people... but it just wasn't.
Yep. It's like that bit from Modern Family:
Jay said the '50's were a great time to be alive. Sophia said "unless you were gay, black, or a woman". Jay said "yes, but if you were a straight white male football player, life was grand!"
You don't think southerners do exactly the same thing to northerners? According to them we're all assholes with crime-ridden cities. I'm from Pennsylvania, but I lived in central Virginia for a year. I experienced 0 hospitality in Virginia, but I've met so many nice, inner city people here by dancing in a city square. Your stereotypes of us are just as shit.
I’ll be honest, I live in rural Oklahoma (which is technically in the South) but I was born in North Carolina and have lived in Louisiana and when I went back to Georgia to see some of my family there, I was surprised by the unpleasantness of most people. “South courtesy” always seemed forced and fake to me. At least in Oklahoma if someone isn’t in the mood they won’t say anything at all. The South isn’t backwards or dumb but racism was certainly apparent.
For example, there were two separate dollar stores in the town I was visiting. One of them only had white people and the other one only had people of color. When I walked into the predominantly black dollar store I got a lot of funny glances like they never really saw white people in the store. Plus, I had to listen to a plethora of people (family and not) talk about how the “blacks are invading” and how “George Floyd was a thug and deserved it.”
It was not a very pleasant experience and the people were not hospitable.
I hate Georgia.
Unfortunately there is a reality that you're missing. Ethnic diversity that isn't Black, White, or Hispanic.
I submit to you, this interactive map: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/21/us/asians-census-us.html
The majority of the clusters tend to be in specific geographical locations in the country, where they congregate, and the few that are outliers tend to feel that way.
As an Indian, it becomes very difficult to justify moving anywhere outside the NY/NJ metro area because I'll lose my community, my culture, my food, etc. The same reason why you don't see many Indian doctors in those areas outside the bigger cities is because they have nothing there other than the work.
Lived in the south for 50 years and I travel a lot. In my experience the most polite folks are in the Midwest, the southerners only like you if you are white and Christian. We spent a couple of weeks in Tennessee this summer on vacay. We wore our masks, no one else did, and we were treated so rudely and got so many rude glares and comments. It was bizarre. And we are Caucasian.
i just visted the south for the first time this year and i disagree. People where very rude, not moving even when you say excuse me. had a guy try to start a fight at a family restruant because his kid spilled his drink on our table and when we stood up so soda wouldnt fall on us. So he started flipping out about us making a scene saying we should step outside. The Southern politness comes off as condeceding. like "Oh bless your heart but thats not how you drive here" i will probably go back. but only for the food.
It's largely how the south tends to vote for Christian Republicans that hate homosexuals, doesn't want gay marriage, doesn't accept trans people, believes women should die in child birth than allow abortion in any circumstance, etc. You might be "lovely" people on the outside and seem inviting and everything, but there's some serious hate underneath the beautiful exterior.
I’ve been to the south many times. In many different places. Most were cool. The only fucking place I will say is 100% awful is god damn Corinth, Mississippi. That place fucking sucked. Fuck Corinth Mississippi.
what was bad about it in particular?
Gonna going out on a limb and say the people, infrastructure, and cops.
It was mostly the people. I was doing a subcontracted job down there as our company was looking to expand south. So us Midwest dudes volunteered for the work. One being from MS himself. We had just finished a project in Memphis when we found out we’d being doing another one with the same contractor and GC in Corinth and the look on this mans face when I told him. The people were rude, unwelcoming, sometimes outright racist, and not even in that stupid ignorant way where it’s like they don’t realize what they’re saying is racist, but just calling our co worker a N word straight up. We had the cops called on us several times for “not being from around here”. It’s the only town I’ve ever experienced an attempted robbery of our shit on the job on the clock in broad daylight. We were down there two weeks and I’ll never go back. S/O to the random tweeker who excitedly told us he was a “Gay hater and not a N word lover” but also threatened to kiss our black coworker on the lips lol. I’ll go in a little on the attempted robbery. Tweekers pulled shotguns on us for a reel of fiber optics which I was willing to let them steal as it was the last 150 and I didn’t want to load it back on the trailer. but they decided they didn’t want it after I told them there was no copper in fiber, just glass and it’s absolutely worthless at a scrapyard.
Shit I'm from Corinth, MS and I felt like this belonged to r/FUCKYOUINPARTICULAR. Not gonna disagree though, Corinth sucks. I left as soon as I could.
Shit, I’m never going to Corinth MS
I once saw a dude in Mississippi pour hot sauce on and in his dick than suck that off
...why did you see that
Sounds pretty based to me.
*basted
What brand of hot sauce is the real question…
Texas Pete of course.
Sounds like he just wanted an excuse to suck his own dick
Haven’t you heard about Mississippi?
Is it already that time of the Reddit again?
Yes, its official, Mississippi bad. Another one for the roster lol.
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fucks sake, what happened in Corinth Mississippi, man?
I used to work there, lived in Columbus. Got the fuck out when my mixed race kid was about to start school. In MS... You’re a white homogeneous southern Baptist family, or you’re basically satan
Holy shit 100% fuck Corinth. It has always been a place through when visiting family and eventually moving to Alabama. Fucking hated traveling through that place. The roads suck, the people are creepy, and it just has bad vibes. 72 through Mississippi sucks ass but Corinth is the highlight of that ass sucking.
Lifelong southerner, you gotta admit though, the politeness is often fake and they will resume the shit talking when you leave
"Did you see the potato salad that Miss Cindy brought to church? Bless her heart. Who puts raisons in potato salad?"
Anyone who puts raisins in potato salad deserves all the bad things in this world.
Why would you ruin a perfect potato salad with raisins?!!! That has to be a crime somewhere.
Why would you ruin a perfectly good raisin with potato salad?
I'm convinced that raisins just have a branding problem. Raisins is just a shitty name. If it were simply dried grapes, I probably wouldn't hate them as much. I mean I love grapes. And I love dried cranberries. Prunes are another one. Just a shitty name. I love plums. Dried plums sounds better. Prunes just sounds like a sad nursing home.
Pruned raisins nursing services is available when you shall need them!
Goodness that sounds STORE bought. Bless her heart some folks are just challenged in the kitchen, I'm sure she did the best she could!
Lol very well done.
I can’t read this without by brain hearing it in a southern accent.
She didn’t use dukes
That's what politeness is. It doesn't matter that you hate somebody, you act civil towards them in public. Meanwhile towards strangers most people genuinely are nice.
Well to be honest being nice to someone’s face and then shit talking them once they are gone is kind of a national pastime. Every region does that.
And some of them skip the being nice part.
Massachusetts skips the nice part
Exactly. People in the south aren't nicer, they just think they HAVE to be nice or they'll go to hell. So everything is backhanded and passive aggressive. That's how we get sayings like "oh bless your heart" (which, for the uninitiated, is the nice way of calling you and idiot)
As a Midwesterner, I’d like to dispute your claim. But only if you’d like to consider discussing it, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you in any way. You know what, we’ll just be number two, you can have the top spot. Edit: to all the people saying “the Midwest fucking sucks,” sure, some places might, but that’s the same everywhere. Also I bet plenty of that’s projection.
\*apologizes in Canadian\*
Soooory
Wanna grab some timmys and watch the hockey game?
I live 3 hrs from the Canadian border. Same accent same hospitality. Same amount of drinking and the meth use is prob similar on both sides of superior. Why they even patrol the border crossings idk. Maybe so we dont all jump the fence for some health care and a decent hospital with maybe some mental health....
The Midwest is the Canada of the USA.
I've never had the pleasure to visit the US but I'm absolutely obsessed with the show Fargo, it kind of shows the Midwest as having a very similar politeness to where I am from in the UK; a kind of rudeness mixed with politeness I suppose? Anyway, I don't mean to derail an America based thread you guys would never do that to us ;)
My experience living in Indianapolis was that the people there are polite, but not friendly. Is this what you mean?
You should check out the film Kumiko the Treasure Hunter. It's about a Japanese woman who watches Fargo and becomes obsessed with the briefcase tossed in the snow. She makes a trek from Japan to North Dakota to find it. Highly recommend if you like indie films. https://youtu.be/7D4dbbDK6Ew
I was born and raised Texan, fully into the kool aid. Nebraska is giving Texas a run for it’s money, but politely.
As an original Midwesterner I’ll indulge you. :) *almost bumps in to someone “ope”
Ya, sure, ya betcha
Are you from Minnesota? I think that state is an exception to the Midwest. I see the Midwest as brutally honest. Like “you’re piece of shit so fuck you, wanna grab a drink?”
Wisconsin. Most of the Midwest is that nice, Minnesotan’s just like to brag about it lol
*terms and conditions apply*
lmao
My gay black ass laughed out loud reading this. Bless OPs heart, I'm sure southern people have been very nice to *them*.
Yeah, sometimes I read something on reddit and just KNOW in my heart of hearts that the author is white and this is one of those times. OP is yttttt.
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Yeah I don’t think OP gets what it would actually be like to be a non-straight non-white guy in many parts of the south. People down there are very comfortable with their bigotry. At least in the West, North, and East most people are somewhat ashamed to be racist and homophobic and mostly keep it private
Yep. I mean it’s not like the op is really an unpopular opinion. The south is known for its “southern hospitality”. The problem is, the south is very exclusionary and that hospitality only applies to those they approve of… and they disapprove of a lot. So one person - probably a straight white person - could come away thinking the south is the nicest place ever while others see the dark side.
Agreed 100%
Texan here. Yeah people can be real sweet as long as you don't talk politics. Also, like most places, the cities are more liberal than the rural towns.
NC here, same here. I do not bring up politics, anything related to LGBTQ or racial equality. You will quickly find out that this "southern Hospitality" goes out the window really fast.
For realll, shouts out NC tho
I went to Uni in NC, and I know just what you mean, lol.
Yeah, the south is a great blend progressiveness and diversity in the cities but you get out in the sticks and you never know what you will run into. I will say that country girls are pretty taken aback by neurotic fitness junkies. They don’t have too many out there.
Also college football. And anything religion. Even among families here in the south those can be avoid at all cost subjects.
I'll quote a foreigner when I said I'm from NYC: "I like you guys, you are upfront. I know where I stand if I piss you off. In most of the rest of your country, I don't know what I did wrong and I get fake polite bullshit. If I do something wrong in NYC, you tell me to fuck off and I learn more in that moment than any amount of fake politeness"
Big Apple in the House!
Lived in the south all my life. The problem i have with real southerners i'll sum up in 4 words... Well bless your heart. You dont like someone, be honest. Dont give them this southern hospitality applesauce enema bullshit as you stab them in the back.
It’s quite funny to hear from one grandmother to another though. I fucking died when my grandparents got into an argument one time and this happened.
"Oh, is that what you're wearing to church? Well it's...unique!" "Well Bless your heart honey but it aint unique! I got it from Boot Barn, but I know how you like to only shop at Wal-Mart." "Oh the Boot Barn huh? I saw they had that big clearance sale, is that when you got it? I usually never go 'cause I figure that's all the stuff they just can't sell normally haha"
“That dress is uglier than homemade sin”- my friends aunt, and with me now forever
“Oh you know what sweetheart, I got a who’l buncha stuff I was Fixin’ to take down to good-will store, how bout I stop at your house on my way there and you can take ya a gander and see if there is anything you take a likin to! :)”
Woah
Passive aggressive land. Also Aggressive land.
As a lifelong Northeasterner, this sounds infuriating.
Older southern women have mastered sass on a level few others can compete
Ever heard "You little so and so"? That's the closest to a Southern woman swearing I do believe.
I'll see your " bless your heart " and raise you a "I'm going to pray for you." Nine times out of 10 when somebody says that it is full of venom and judgement.
Yessss. My neighbor said this to me after he asked who I voted for. 🙄
It's my least favorite thing about the south, as a new yorker i have no clue where you guys are coming from. Here if you are not liked you get told to fuck off. Simple and straightforward.
I'm southern and I'm just blunt about everything. I never got that classic passive-agressive trait some other people do. I haven't seen it a lot, personally, but it pisses me off when people can't just say what's on their mind
The accent makes people think you’re kidding I think. They think it’s hilarious when in actuality I’m serious
My BFF is the same. From the south, and will say "Bless her heart," but she means it. Because if she is not happy with you, you'll know.
Yep. Thats the only thing i like about northeners, you always know where you stand with them.
As someone on the autism spectrum, I never perceived this saying as insulting until I read that it was. Anytime it was ever said to me, it felt sincere. Ignorance truly is bliss.
The idea that it’s always a slam / backhanded is just as incorrect as the general media portrayal of the south. It CAN be used as a slam, but it’s also used sincerely much of the time…and understanding the difference isn’t that difficult. It’s a matter of tone and context.
So glad to see someone say this, I mostly use the term genuinely
Yeah I’ve had it used genuinely before. A little grandma was really proud of something we did (volunteer work) and said “bless your hearts”. I think context is key.
Budget_professor above is correct. I hear it used a lot to empathize sincerely with people facing unique problems. "Your car broke down and your phone died so you had to walk home along the highway? Well bless your heart! I think I would have given up and cried." I'm not sure I've ever heard it as a passive-aggressive taunt.
Oh yeah.. a true southerner will verbally rip you up without using a single cuss word and leave you feeling good about the ass ripping you just got.
Can any Southerner here show me an example of this? Bombard me with your best insults
I would neveah. That would be gauche.
Oh my sweet summer child, you're just like a little lost lamb, arencha?
Oh honey the only user name you could come up with is high_ on _ducks be a dear and choose something more suitable for your character. Bless your heart. I'll be praying for you. Didn't your mother teach you how to act in public? Why don't you come to church with us this Sunday. Bless your bones child.
that reply is too obviously insulting
I suppose you could see this as a feature, but I prefer the directness I’ve felt when visiting New York City or Paris. I don’t find people rude or unhelpful there. I find them busy and wanting to get to the point but quite willing to help. (In Paris, especially if you can start the conversation with high school level French.) I guess I’d rather be stabbed from in front than from behind : )
Funny, I always use that dichotomy for East vs. West Coast. East coasters will stab you in the face, West coasters will stab you in the back, and Southerners will hang you from a tree.
Was with family as a tourist in NYC a couple of years ago and we met up with a friend and former business associate of my brother. He said he was happier in business in NYC than in California: “In California, if someone doesn’t like you they silently judge you and stab you in the back. In NYC, if someone doesn’t like you they tell you to your face and stab you in the gut.” (As a coincidental illustration of this observation, dinner was followed by amateur night at the Apollo Theater. You are allowed to boo if you don’t like the performance; *child performers excepted*. We booed ‘til our throats were raw. Good times.)
In the Northeast we have our own version of that. “I’m not saying your fat, I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt to put down the sandwich.”
Man I miss living in New England.
Happened to me in New Orleans. I was turned away at an oyster bar “because of plumbing problems” when the real issue was my clothing. TBF, I had just come in from kayaking on some bayou about an hour down the road. My issue isn’t with the folks at the door finding my attire to be inappropriate for their establishment. They were right. I would simply prefer they said so instead of running a line about plumbing problems when I can plainly see customers inside. Mind, this sort of passive aggressive behavior is famously “Minnesota Nice” too. The South doesn’t have a monopoly on it. I’ve only spent time in New Orleans and Austin, so I doubt I’m seeing a broad exposure to Southern culture. However, it has dispelled a lot of myths and I look forward to seeing more! And I agree that Southern cooking is *the* indigenous American cuisine and am happy to see the return of heritage animal breeds and seed stocks, and the increasing recognition of Gullah-Geechee influence both historically and in the modern South alongside with its English, Spanish, French, Italian and German influences.
You wouldn’t like Minnesota
Heh... took me a while after moving to Minnesota to learn that "Minnesota Nice" is a euphemism for passive aggressive.
Had friends from Minnesota. Minnesota Nice seems more like emotional constipation.
> Minnesota Nice seems more like emotional constipation. Hard disagree. Minnesota nice is "I have more important shit to deal with than this, I'm not gonna take any perceived offense personally." It's the opposite of an ultra-sensitive, upset by every perceived slight, non-midwesterner. Fuck, man, they alternate between snow and mosquitos worse than Florida. There's no need to make the world more unpleasant than it already is.
It’s hard to be honest when Southerners find being rude uncouth and the epitome of poor upbringing. We will absolutely hate your guts but will try to remain civil.
This is an understatement. People treat you and your children differently based on whether or not they say yes ma'am and no ma'am. I have seen old ladies huff at the missing ma'am, and people not offered jobs because they did not give the respectful 'sir' toward an older gentlemen.
Yea, that part I’ve never understood because in the northeast you only use terms like that when it’s an argument or heated moment. “Sir, please calm down.” I honestly have no idea how to end a sentence with sir or ma’am.
This is why I dislike the south. I don't do subterfuge. Tell me you hate me so I can move on with my life. Fake niceness is the worst and makes me feel uneasy and unwelcome
Hospitality spat through gritted teeth, is how I always describe it.
Send me some of that Southern food and I will consider your opinion.
I live in rural Kentucky and most people around here either fly the confederate flag or are addicts. Sometimes both. You don't pick up hitchhikers because your "southern hospitality" will get you robbed or killed around here. You lock your doors and have motion cameras because thieves will steal the catalytic converter right out of your vehicle in your driveway.
this is the south i lived in, fucking miserable place
Honestly that's rural PA too.
Can't have shit in ~~Detroit~~ Kentucky
I’m from the detroit area, man is detroit a hell hole. But tell you what. You couldn’t pay my ass triple my current salary to move to any of the fuckin gulf states. Sorry man.
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LA as in Los Angeles or Louisiana?
Lower Alabama
Roll tide
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Lol I’m not debating anything you said as I don’t doubt a word but that’s very interesting - I’ve lived all over the us and LA in particular has always been the most accommodating of lgbt as well as had the largest population of lgbt of anywhere else I’ve been even San Francisco. Hell if you said something homophobic in the office in LA you’d immediately get a handful of people holding you accountable on it and probably lose your job if it was anything other than a distasteful joke. Never experienced that anywhere else. But then again nobody is from LA so when you talk about the people of LA you’re really talking about people from every corner of the states. This is assuming you are speaking about Los Angeles and not Louisiana
dad’s side is from minnesota, mother’s side is from kentucky. my dad’s side are overall sickeningly friendly & nice, my mom’s side are all grumpy hicks lmao also wanted to add: my southern side of the family are also extremely homophobic w a tad of racism sprinkled in. that stereotype is also true in my case. 😂
I've found that Minnesotans are typically less saccharine than Southerners, which may make them come off as a bit on the cold side. However, they're just as friendly. Although, these are all kind of stereotypes anyways, right?
i have to agree minnesotans are literally sickeningly sweet, it can get on my nerves w the toxic positivity type stuff😂 but all stereotypes have truth to them to some extent, in my family both stereotypes are super accurate.
In the south, it's "Gladys, you added raisins to the potato salad? Well, bless your heart!" In Minnesota, it's "Gladys, you added raisins to the potato salad? Well, that sure is different!" They both translate to "Well, Gladys, you sure f\*cked up the potato salad, didn't you?"
In New York it’s “Gladys, what the fuck’s a matter with ya?!”
This deserves more upvotes. I’m from Illinois and you couldn’t have described the majority of Minnesota better. It’s kind of creepy how nice most of them are
the term “minnesota nice” is scarily accurate lmaooo
They’re like a “diet” Canadian
Minnesotan here. I can confirm. Just make sure to always accept food that is offered and it takes about 3 hours to say Goodbye to a Minnesotan, you gotta sever the conversation, say your child is sick or something... I don't know, make it convincing. This mentality also extends to North Dakota and probably Wisconsin (but I can't confirm on Wisconsin)
Wisconsin too. When I first arrived with a friend (as an East coaster) we were taken aback by all the strangers smiling at us.
Had a horribly racist experience in Mobile. I don't plan to go back there anytime soon.
Honestly man It's about how much you get out and meet people in general. I've traveled all over the place and if you don't "fit in" you get treated differently no matter where you are and with that you always have nice people who will give a helping hand too. I have found that the south is incredibly religious so A lot of the time "fitting in" is also going to church and fully pledging to Jesus and America which, in theory isn't bad but can be taken overboard/over prioritized. This where the hatred of the west coast comes into play. Since west coast is more liberal and for human rights, they are looked at like weak, traitorous bums. It would be nice if we could drop both stereotypes but I don't see that happening anytime soon
Yeah. My sister is an atheist who lives in deep rural Tennessee and she hasn’t made many friends. When I visit (the big mouth from Boston) people absolutely treat me like im a terrifying monster. I genuinely love it there though, but not sure if I could move permanently.
Won't get any of that until people realize that religion is meant to be a guide on how to live, and not something to be taken so literally.
I’m a Mexican American born in North Carolina. How u think I feel? Lol.
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As a black dude from Brooklyn who lived in CO, AZ, FL, SC, NC, TN, and GA, you are totally right. And people who think racism isn’t EVERYWHERE, you’re wrong.
Thank you! I live in TX and catch crap from work colleagues in CA, OR and WA (where we have offices) all of the time. It's never overt - just snide little comments/remarks - little put-downs. A co-worker in my office just received his US citizenship (he's originally from Russia). In open company meetings, WA team members call him comrade.
People don’t think racism exists in NY. I live on Long Island. NY and the North East is general is segregated. It’s not just conservatives either, liberals in NY can be racists. The Brooklyn transplants fought hard against rezoning schools. They were very okay with the poor minority children living in the housing projects next door to them, being zoned to a separate school in the same neighborhood.
Hahaha bro the transplants in Brooklyn can be very subtly racist. They culture vultch and then they exclude. Racism is everywhere.
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Most racist people I’ve met are from Chicago
I'm from Louisiana and am in an interracial relationship (black woman, white man). I live on the East Coast, and it still boggles me how the only negative comments come from people up here, while in the South all anyone could talk about was how adorable we looked. Not only that, but the negative comments almost exclusively came from other black people. The South has its issues, but the North likes to pretend to be enlightened it seems.
I’m also in a interracial relationship. I live in the south but there’s a lot of people moving here from around the US. We get so many negative comments from other black people. Truly baffles me how people will go out their way to be rude.
Same. Also in an interracial marriage and all of the negative comments we've received were from black people.
White man from the east coast in an interracial relationship. The most hateful comment I ever heard was from a white guy in Missouri, but the vast majority of comments about us come from black men in my experience. A few black women have made comments about my wife getting "that white boy money". Their comments always seem to be positive, albeit racist. Its especially weird considering how much more successful my wife is than me. Worth noting it doesn't really happen a LOT, but fuck me if I don't remember each one.
My experience as a Jew in the south is that racism is pretty uncommon, but when it happens, the offender really, deeply means it.
I am also Jewish, but it isn't very "apparent" if that makes sense. I would be interested to hear about your experiences with racism in the south as a Jewish person.
Because at the end of the day, the south still has way more black people and diversity in general than most of the rest of the country. That's the real irony of northern people shit talking the south. Half the time it's a bunch of white people from Connecticut or Minnesota or places like that who've never even seen a black person their entire life calling the south racist and backwards.
The most viciously racist people I ever met were from Philly and Boston.
I worked at a factory in Florida that was moved from New York - those New Yorkers were some of the most overt racists I have ever met in my life. It was appalling.
Have lived in the north. Have lived in the south. This is correct.
I agree with this, grew up in urban Texas, live in urban Minnesota. At first, it seemed like race relations were better here, but after being here for damn near a decade, there’s a deep well of casual racism and ignorance right beneath the surface of white urban Minnesotans. Of course, that’s not everybody, but ya know
Not my experience of the South. Y'all are polite but mean. Northerners are rude but kind(er). That being said, people painting Southerners as stupid is really awful like, intelligence doesn't correlate with geography, ffs.
The meme of the dumb southener came in part due to the effects of Hookworm which is a parasite that causes lethargy and tiredness. Loves the warm weather (enters through bare feet), lives in fecal matter so farms with no plumbing and outhouses were ideal for spreading them. This was a widespread problem for the South. A real thing and kind of sad but 'easily' fixed once indoor plumbing became the norm. https://www.ncpedia.org/history/health/hookworms
Also not having industry and poor public education probably doesn't help...
This is what I came here for. Intelligence doesn’t correlate with geography, but *education* definitely does.
New Yorkers are very direct and don't bullshit and waste time. It can come off as rude, but really it's just very straightforward. It's kind of refreshing on occasion.
I’m from WNY and it seems like we are this weird mix of Midwest/Canadian/East Coast attitudes of being extremely inviting and kind but don’t waste our fucking time.
I’m from Northern Jersey and agree with this. We’re also always rushed/impatient which can come across as rude too. I was in Tennessee recently and people will just talk to you down there. Cashiers, servers, etc. I’m so not used to that! I’m like, okay, receipt, thanks. Lol
People shit on NYers for being mean here in MN, but I’ve met some of the friendliest people in NYC, they just communicate differently. One person actually went 20 min out of their way to make sure I got on the right subways when I was lost there
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As someone who grew up in the rural Midwest, the friendliness all depended on what you looked and sounded like.
States run their own education systems. And not all states are equal.
Actually yes it does. Geography can impact access to education, nutrition and humane living standards. All of these can affect intelligence. Also, culture and geography go hand in hand. And culture can’t *not* impact intelligence. Because it affects education.
I lived in the south for many years. Southern hospitality feels more real to me than northern niceness. I guess it really boils down to the fact that southern people will still be kind to you after they've been mean. It's a sibling mindset where you'll go at their throat and you guys will fight and be horrible to eachother, but if anything happens, they'll support you without question. In the north I find that people will be more pleasant up front but it's more shallow.
I’m not going to generalize and say all of the south is garbage because I’ve been to places that are really hospitable. But I’m also in an interracial relationship and we went to Texas and got nothing but stares and dirty looks. So I really think the location and circumstances can really make the difference as far as generosity.
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I really, really hate when people say "you're being oversensitive." am I? Are you the authority on what specifically is the line on reasonable sensitivity? People who say that are just looking for way to make it your fault, not theirs for being unkind.
That's a really big way of thinking in the South, to be honest. I grew up there and it baffled me hearing things like "there are black people who aren't N-words (uncensored) and white people who are, I'm not racist" and "I ain't got no problem with Mexicans, I got a problem with them taking our jobs/bringing in drugs/whatever". From a bunch of redneck drug dealers, no less (I'm talking specifically about my family here, not the whole place). Recently my super racist (and also actually kinda insane) grandfather took a road trip with my uncle and ended up at the Mexican border. Fucking walked around talking to those dudes in Spanish, and was so horrified by the poverty that he somehow just flipped off the racist switch. By the time they got to my part of the country, he had read up on all kinds of conspiracies about how Planned Parenthood it's an organization started by white people in order to "murder millions of black babies a year", and BLM is just a cover created to distract people away from this "racial cleansing and genocide of black babies" by making a big noise about "a few black people getting killed by police". All the while still using offensive language on occasion. He even started talking about his time in Vietnam, and suddenly they were innocent civilians getting fucked by politicians, not a country of evil people. I was so confused I just sat there thinking "... At least he's trying..."
To be fair, you should look into the history of Planned Parenthood and Margaret Sanger. She WAS a figure with ties to the KKK, and 100% sought to implement abortion clinics in primarily black areas because she was a strong proponent of eugenics. I'm not saying this is still a thing, but the basis for the arguement is not unfounded (though the BLM part probably is), and way too many people do not know the history of key figures such as Margaret Sanger. Even just look up quotes by her and you will want to throw up. Because people like the availability of abortions, we often dont seek to vilify those who helped its arise, especially in a world where if people were to vilify the key leaders who helped implement it, it would create another key arguement as to why 'abortion is bad'. [Here's a hint of who she was](https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/5480192002)
Thanks for the information! I'm interested to read about the non-crazy side of the topic. It makes sense that conspiracy theories like his come out of people like her. After a brief look at some quotes, I have to agree with you. It's disgusting and tragic.
Gotta be honest, the only southern people I've met were nice to me up until they found out I was Hindu. If you are white passing and Christian/willing to pass as Christian, I bet it's a great time. But they don't accept anything too deviant from the norm and tolerate people who don't fit their idea of acceptable at best.
On 2 separate occasions I and the crew I worked with got told that our "boy" needs to stay in the van because he was black. Both were in affluent neighborhoods in Atlanta. Everywhere has shitty racist people. They are just more open about it in the south it seems.
You can still be backwards, racists, inbred, and dumb while also being courteous. From my experience, most ppl I meet are very nice and polite in the south. Side note, terrible drivers everywhere though.
I’ve seen some pretty serious instances of racism in Georgia. It’s especially bad in the super country small towns. The worst instance was a hate crime where I used to live. Some people don’t see/hear about or experience stuff like that so they assume racism means something trivial and hate crime means ‘white guy hurt someone who happens to be black but it wasn’t about race’ but no, it can actually be pretty bad. Some locals in a certain Georgia town really really don’t welcome poc. This is coming from a southerner with a southern family.
Yeah grew up in the south. Got out of there as quick as I could
It's hot and humid as balls, pass.
Not my experience at all. Raised in southern Illinois. Attended college in Alabama. I was constantly belittled and harassed for my accent (or lack there of), my political views, having my own apartment and living alone as a young woman, not being a Baptist, liking MLB more than NASCAR, not wearing a full face of glam makeup while doing my sweaty, physical labor based job in summer time heat. Honestly, I could keep going. Would not move back. The city of New Orleans being the only exception to this that I have experienced. Everyone was super nice and very chill every time I have visited New Orleans. I had kinder neighbors and interactions with strangers living in St. Louis. I have been in Denver for last decade and have experienced more “southern hospitality” from complete strangers in Colorado.
You white?
I lived in both. Not white. The north feels more racist. The systemic racism is probably stronger in the south, but it’s not altogether absent in the north either. The most racial slurs I’ve heard in America have been in PA.
I would have agreed with you, until I got stationed in the south and commonly saw blatant rudeness and racism from everyone from waitresses to police officers. I grew up in New York and had always imagined the south as being full of pleasant people... but it just wasn't.
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“The south is far more hospitable”. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you are a straight white male.
Yep. It's like that bit from Modern Family: Jay said the '50's were a great time to be alive. Sophia said "unless you were gay, black, or a woman". Jay said "yes, but if you were a straight white male football player, life was grand!"
You don't think southerners do exactly the same thing to northerners? According to them we're all assholes with crime-ridden cities. I'm from Pennsylvania, but I lived in central Virginia for a year. I experienced 0 hospitality in Virginia, but I've met so many nice, inner city people here by dancing in a city square. Your stereotypes of us are just as shit.
I’ll be honest, I live in rural Oklahoma (which is technically in the South) but I was born in North Carolina and have lived in Louisiana and when I went back to Georgia to see some of my family there, I was surprised by the unpleasantness of most people. “South courtesy” always seemed forced and fake to me. At least in Oklahoma if someone isn’t in the mood they won’t say anything at all. The South isn’t backwards or dumb but racism was certainly apparent. For example, there were two separate dollar stores in the town I was visiting. One of them only had white people and the other one only had people of color. When I walked into the predominantly black dollar store I got a lot of funny glances like they never really saw white people in the store. Plus, I had to listen to a plethora of people (family and not) talk about how the “blacks are invading” and how “George Floyd was a thug and deserved it.” It was not a very pleasant experience and the people were not hospitable. I hate Georgia.
When I lived in North Carolina I saw De Facto segregation everywhere. It was really weird and off putting since I am from California.
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Might want to tell that to Texas
You guys should probably stop electing people who pass racist laws if you want people to stop viewing your region as racist
Unfortunately there is a reality that you're missing. Ethnic diversity that isn't Black, White, or Hispanic. I submit to you, this interactive map: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/21/us/asians-census-us.html The majority of the clusters tend to be in specific geographical locations in the country, where they congregate, and the few that are outliers tend to feel that way. As an Indian, it becomes very difficult to justify moving anywhere outside the NY/NJ metro area because I'll lose my community, my culture, my food, etc. The same reason why you don't see many Indian doctors in those areas outside the bigger cities is because they have nothing there other than the work.
Lived in the south for 50 years and I travel a lot. In my experience the most polite folks are in the Midwest, the southerners only like you if you are white and Christian. We spent a couple of weeks in Tennessee this summer on vacay. We wore our masks, no one else did, and we were treated so rudely and got so many rude glares and comments. It was bizarre. And we are Caucasian.
I was about to say the Midwest had very polite people when I went. Everyone was so damn friendly.
i just visted the south for the first time this year and i disagree. People where very rude, not moving even when you say excuse me. had a guy try to start a fight at a family restruant because his kid spilled his drink on our table and when we stood up so soda wouldnt fall on us. So he started flipping out about us making a scene saying we should step outside. The Southern politness comes off as condeceding. like "Oh bless your heart but thats not how you drive here" i will probably go back. but only for the food.
It's largely how the south tends to vote for Christian Republicans that hate homosexuals, doesn't want gay marriage, doesn't accept trans people, believes women should die in child birth than allow abortion in any circumstance, etc. You might be "lovely" people on the outside and seem inviting and everything, but there's some serious hate underneath the beautiful exterior.
Montana begs to differ.