The south

Truer words were never spoken.

You’re so wise, OP.

I avoided it in my travels.

The south of WHAT?!?

[quote] It’s too bad it’s full of freaks and racists

Every section of the USA is full of freaks and racists. But I realize this is just another "let's talk shit about the south" thread.

the South. Not The south.

The south definitely has a disproportionate number of freaks and racists, r5. I'm sure you're one of the "good ones" but let's not pretend racism is evenly distributed across the US.

The Savage Ideal as described by W. J. Cash in his study The Mind of the South.

they don't have that in north

Only a few parts seem tropical. Most of it is just humid, which why winters are surprisingly unpleasant.

Wether. Oh, dear.

Okay: since we're making hideous geographic generalizations, the NORTH is full of pasty, fat, dumb, grumpy assholes with zero social skills and ugly houses and wardrobes--- all BEIGE. Their fat-hocked wives all have stupid-looking 'Pixie' haircuts that make their heads look like canned hams sprouting mold.

🫖 🍰 🧵.

Are Texas and Florida the South? They seem to have their own distinct identities.

Texas doesn't like to think of itself as the South, but it was a slave state and East Texas has more in common with Louisiana than it does with the rest of the state. Florida gets more Southern as you go North. Both are essentially feudal places which reflect their slaveholding roots. Furdlaism is one of the things that definitely distinguishes the South from elsewhere.

You mean the south of France?

Look away, Dixieland! Fuck them Yankees!

I don't think the South is any more or less racist than anywhere else in the country.

[quote] the wether is nice and warm

Oh, dear.

And you say that like it's a good thing.

Honey, not everyone likes "warm."

In fact, I quite hate it.

If I had the means, I would travel around the world all year, just to be in a cold climate.

When all people can talk about is "the weather" , you know they're living in some sort of cultural wasteland.

Keep the South beautiful, put a yankee on a bus.

The US is a beautiful country. Every region has something to offer.

I don't understand why this thread was created. Was it to troll or to talk about the good things about the south?

and fucking humidity

Lived all the country. NYC, LA, CHI, SD , DC and VA. VA is the best by far of any of those places. Wouldn't consider living anywhere else. Love the South and my Southern heritage. And no I am not a racist nor are my family or friends.

[quote]When all people can talk about is "the weather" , you know they're living in some sort of cultural wasteland.

Exactly. Also: people need to remember the difference between "weather" and "climate"

Anyone, no matter what part of the country they live in, who thinks that their area is not packed with racists and bigots is either deaf, dumb, and blind, or just plain stupid. One thing we've learned to count on since the last election is that 99% of all republican voters in the US are hateful racists and bigots. Last time I checked every state in the union is loaded with republicans.

And the gays are certainly not immune from this problem. Just get in a room full of gay men and pay attention to what's being said and you'll find out right quick that we can be some of the most small minded people on the planet.

[quote] the wether is nice and warm

I don't know whether or not to tell you that the correct way to spell weather, is w-e-a-t-h-e-r, and not wether.

The racist and bigots aren’t running all the states, R26, but they are running a considerable number of the former Confederate states below the Mason-Dixon Line.

[quote] The racist and bigots aren’t running all the states, [R26], but they are running a considerable number of the former Confederate states below the Mason-Dixon Line.

Trump won EVERY single state in the South, from Texas, all the way East.

So yeah, no thank you. I'll stick to my blue city in my blue state.

Who cares who's running the states. There are still tons of republican voters in democratic majority states. Just because they live in blue states doesn't make them any less right wing bigots.

Of course it matters, R30, who is running the state I’M living in. I fucking well care. The rightwing bigots are not writing laws and running things here as they are in the South and my sane, sensible neighbors are doing everything they can to resist the idiots and their idiocy.

[quote] Of course it matters, R30, who is running the state I’M living in

Exactly.

A perfect example is Tennessee, and the current book banning laws taking place there.

There are blue areas of Tennessee, in Nashville and Memphis.

However, the rest of the state is red. And those red areas dictate laws for the entire state.

So when the state legislature bans books with gay or other "questionable" content, it affects Nashville and Memphis too.

Same goes for Texas and their stupid "10 Commandments" and abortion laws, which impacts EVERYONE.

Including people living in Democratic areas such as Austin and Houston.

THAT is why living in a blue versus red state matters.

I worked in Salem, Massachusetts for over a decade.

The Southerners and Midwest tourists were generally the most pleasant Americans to work with.

The East Coast and the West Coast were generally awful, especially the East Coast.

East Coast people are the absolute worst. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were the ones who lead the stereotype of obnoxious Americans who travel. When Europeans say American tourists are awful, I truly think it’s mostly East Coast Americans.

What do tourists at the House of Seven Gables have to do with racism and bigotry, R33?

I’m not generalizing (nor is R32) about political control of people’s lives. Texas, for example, has more laws restricting its citizens rights than any other state. What does that have to do with people’s manners? Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi are among the poorest, stupidest, and least healthy states in the country. Being a “pleasant” person from one of them doesn’t give you much in the way of bragging rights.

Or is your’s an attempt to normalize the erosion of citizen’s rights in the South by talking about those rude Yankees?

Jackson, Mississippi is the safest and most prosperous city of its size in the country.

R12, thou doth protest too much.

The South is not without its problems; some have been listed in this thread. I just think that people in other regions like to use the American South as a scapegoat so they can ignore their own issues or do the whole "we may have problems, but we're not like them" finger-pointing. I would argue that there are just as many "isms" and "phobias" in New York and California as there are in Mississippi and Louisiana, the only difference being that you just don't legislate it.

[quote]Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi are among the poorest, stupidest, and least healthy states in the country.

Replace Arkansas with Louisiana and you've got it just right, R34. I'd argue that Arkansas is a step higher than the Deep South, which is the most backward region in the country.

It's a shame the country has come to this - red states and blue states hating each other. The desire to travel and see beautiful countryside. Trump has really brought out the worst in people.

[quote]…. and the wether is nice and warm.

You have no grounds to criticize spelling elsewhere.

I've long been drawn to the idea of visiting the Southern states, partly because of their rich and complex history, and partly to experience the beauty of the landscapes, from the Appalachian Mountains to the coastal plains. But in recent years, that desire has been clouded by the overwhelming presence of MAGA culture, which makes the region feel less welcoming and more politically charged than I had hoped.

R35 “Come on down, the water’s fine.”

R39 people were flying Confederate flags long before Trump and long after the Civil War.

Trump’s a symptom, not the cause. Racism and Christofacism are.

"Uptown Funk" thinks Jackson, Mississippi is smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy.

So there.

Born and bred Southerner who lived in many different states including the hellholes that are Texas,Louisiana and Alabama. Away from the cities you do tend to find ignorant racist people but thats true of any state . Imagine my shock the 1st time I went up north to NY state and found that they were FAR more openly racist than even the deepest South . Not only are they segregated but the white people up there hated everyone . Period. Everywhere I went people were absolutely blown away by my good manners . If I heard it once I heard it 1000 times . Thats because they are some of the rudest,unhappiest and miserable people overall Ive ever met. I truly believe the miserable weather has a lot to do with it.

[quote] I went up north to NY state and found that they were FAR more openly racist than even the deepest South . Not only are they segregated but the white people up there hated everyone . Period. Everywhere I went people were absolutely blown away by my good manners

Lots of Italians and Irish in Upstate New York.

Just saying.

Also R45, the exact same thing that you wrote, could be said for Central and Eastern Pennsylvania. Again, lots of Italians and Irish.

[quote] Trump’s a symptom, not the cause.

So tired of hearing this. Trump has EMBOLDENED racists and Christofacists.

R38 no doubt you’re right, but Arkansas, ranking 49th worst in crime, 47th worst in health, 45th worst in child safety, and 43rd worst in education is still pathetic. Forget about letting kids work at the age of 12; another generation of kids is again being shortchanged by the state in the name of what? Not that Louisiana is that much worse - I mean, just how much worse could it be?

I guess it’s more important for the R45s of the world to have good manners and fuckit if the kids are stupid and unhealthy? The trouble is, kids getting shot and abused and left stupid by shitty schools probably didn’t have good manners anyway.

R47 they were here first. Like the cicadas, something brings them back every time.

He couldn’t embolden something that didn’t exist.

R25 they were part of the Confederacy. So that’s a yes.

For R14^^

We can't have nice things in this country because of The South and its politicians. Fact.

No amount of fried chicken, sweet tea, and 'charm' can make up for their centuries of regressive, mean, and hostile behavior.

R34 Salem, MA is racist as fuck.

What R34 doesn’t understand that is if Black Americans had to live in ultra liberal blue states like Massachusetts they’d have less businesses, less home ownership, less access and welcome to suburbia, and less education.

You have more chance of wealth being black in the south than you do in the north.

And that’s the statistics.

[quote]And that’s the statistics.

And so, of course, you can point us to reputable links supporting this hypothesis?

How is it a hypothesis? You’re telling me there’s more black home ownership and businesses in Massachusetts? That the school system and towns aren’t extremely racially segregated?

Black people famously HATE Massachusetts. It’s well known.

And yet it’s one of the top liberal progressive blue states in the US

[quote]a report in 1975 revealed that southern schools had become less racially segregated compared to their northern counterparts.

Yes, let's rely on "a report" from 50 years ago to ascertain today's climate. What could possibly go wrong?

R48 I mentioned manners just to show how miserably unhappy Northerners seem to be overall.A little kindness and courtesy seemed foreign to them . I cant help if manners are important to me,its how I was raised . Kids across the country are stupid now,that has more to do with educational system and less with different states .

Arkansas is a great state for (straight white Christian and gullible) familys!

I’m not trying to shit talk the South it’s a beautiful place. Some of my favourite cities are there and it’s very beautiful naturally and architecturally. Although the cities are full of normal people it does seem like many of the smaller communities are full of especially backwards people.

[quote] You have more chance of wealth being black in the south than you do in the north.

[quote] And that’s the statistics.

Case in point: Atlanta, Georgia.

[Quote] Every section of the USA is full of freaks and racists.

This is like Hitler saying “but FDR does bad things too!!!”

The American south has been the focus of evil in the USA for a long time. Without the south, no Republican since Nixon would have stood a chance (ok maybe Reagan 84).

If the south broke off and slipped into the sea, win-win for the USA.

In addition to discovering the collected plays of Tennessee Williams and the works of Carson McCullers in my teens, I thought "Sling Blade" and "Mud," both set in Arkansas, were gorgeous movies. They made me curious about visiting the South. I still hope to someday, "once all this blows over." I'm reading this thread with interest--it's about as educational as DL gets.

And the South is not even the most conservative part of the US R5

[quote] And the South is not even the most conservative part of the US

I think it is.

What metric are you using, to determine who is "conservative?"

Trump voters?

Republican voters?

Ultra religious?

Fiscally conservative?

You can't just generalize, by calling somewhere "the most conservative."

You have to define your parameters, and then back it up with proof.

[italic]Based on the 2024 presidential election results, here are the states that voted for Donald Trump, ranked from greatest to least by the percentage of votes he received:

West Virginia (70.15%)

North Dakota (67.55%)

Idaho (66.89%)

Oklahoma (66.16%)

Alabama (64.83%)

Arkansas (64.2%)

Tennessee (64.2%)

South Dakota (63.4%)

Utah (59.4%)

Nebraska (59.6%)

Montana (58.4%)

South Carolina (58.23%)

Kansas (57.18%)

Kentucky (57.2%)

Texas (56.26%)

Florida (56.1%)

Alaska (55.53%)

Ohio (55.23%)

Missouri (58.5%)

Indiana (55.8%)

Arizona (52.6%)

North Carolina (51.1%)

Nevada (50.59%)

Pennsylvania (50.38%)

Georgia (50.7%)

Wisconsin (49.74%)[/italic]

R48 I knew a couple of people from Arkansas. Extremely kind folks, but each three died far too young from either alcoholism or violent crime. What’s the source of your state rankings?

What do they teach American kids (Southern or otherwise) about the Vietnam war? The Korean war? The Iraq and Afghanistan wars?

♪ This time the South will rise again, Mame ♫

The South has nice weather if you consider eight months a year of 90 degrees nice.

They’re conservative republicans because if GUNS and RELIGION.

Surprised that neither Mississippi nor Louisiana are on your list, r66

Why do they call it the "Dirty South?"

Is it because all the men smell bad down there?

All that heat and humidity must make for some foul smelling neither regions.

I’m using the metric that liberalism isn’t unheard of in the south R66 ; there are permanently blue/light blue cities there such as Dallas, Tampa, Orlando, New Orleans, Houston, Atlanta and some others…

Meanwhile the most MAGA states are part of the Northwest like Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas, Wyoming, I don’t even think Wyoming has any county that’s not red or light pink, you don’t hear about it because Washington and Oregon thanks to their eastern sides are kept blue and because there no relevant/famous cities in the MAGA states that I mentioned.

There are also typically/permanently red states outside of the south and the northwest like Arizona and Utah, therefore it makes no sense to me to see the south always being mentioned as if it was a region made of angry rednecks and KKK members only, not to mention that unhinged racists can be found even in permanently blue states like Vermont and Massachusetts.

[quote] Of course it matters,

As far as the claim that the south is where all the racists are, it does not matter. We're not discussing politics here. Get it, got it, good.

[quote] Why do they call it the "Dirty South?"

“Dirty South” is an expression that endearingly refers to the southern part of the United States—from Virginia to Florida, Texas, and the states in between—whose Black traditions and artistic expressions have shaped the culture of the region and the nation. The term describes an identity born out of the southern landscape and its agriculture as well as its diverse mix of races, ethnicities, practices, rituals, and beliefs—a flavorful amalgamation of African, European, Indiginous American, and Caribbean influences. The cultural, spiritual, and artistic practices passed down from enslaved Africans, in particular, figure prominently for their role in shaping regional and national identity and expression.

[quote] Jackson, Mississippi is the safest and most prosperous city of its size in the country.

Just don't drink the water.

R63 That’s ONLY if you’re white.

Black people don’t do much better in blue liberal states. That’s what I’ve been pointing out about Massachusetts.

Black people on average do far worse in the liberal cities and states in the northeast & midwest. That's why so many fled back to the south beginning in the late 60s once race relations in the south started getting significantly better. They are far more economically advantaged in the south than they ever were up north.

R79, your post sparked a question in me, which I asked A.I.:

[quote] What part of the united states has the highest percentage of rich african americans?

Maryland's Prince George's County and Montgomery County are known for having a high concentration of affluent African Americans. These areas, particularly Prince George's County, have a significant number of high-income households and are often cited as examples of thriving Black communities.

Key points about these areas:

Prince George's County:

This county, adjacent to Washington D.C., has a large, affluent Black population, with many residents working in government and related fields. It's been called the richest majority-Black county in the nation.

Montgomery County:

Also near Washington D.C., Montgomery County is another area with a substantial number of high-income Black residents.

Factors contributing to this concentration:

These areas benefited from the growth of the Federal government in the mid-20th century, with many Black Americans securing well-paying jobs in government and related fields.

Other areas with notable Black wealth:

Baldwin Hills, California:

Known as the "Black Beverly Hills," this Los Angeles neighborhood has a high concentration of affluent Black residents and high property values.

Atlanta, Georgia:

While not necessarily having the highest percentage of rich Black residents in a specific area, Atlanta has a large and growing population of Black millionaires and a thriving Black upper class.

Mitchellville, Maryland and Fort Washington, Maryland:

These communities in Maryland are also known for their affluent Black populations.

The Sowth

Culturally the south is superior to the north but it all mostly due to the accomplishments of black people.

LOL @R82