What is your opinion of Mississippi?

[dalej42]

I may be the only liberal Democrat with a positive opinion of Mississippi. Friendly people and a gorgeous state.

Anyone else like Mississippi?

[eleanorigby]

I have no opinion of Mississippi per se (although it is fun to type). I've only been there once, and I was 4 years old.

[Lamar Mundane]

It's one of only three U.S. states I've never been to (Alaska, Louisiana).

[Anaamika]

My uncle was shot to death there, and I heard horrible stories of racism from my aunt & young cousins, so, no, I can't say I have a very good opinion of it, I'm afraid.

[Ephemera]

As a Tennesseean, it and Alabama seem to be the most common targets of derision for the rest of the Southern states.

[Bobotheoptimist]

I have no opinion of Mississippi. I saw that movie one time (in an college Ethics class, no less) and there's that big river, but I don't think of it as one of the backward hillbilly states or anything.

[NinetyWt]

(although it is fun to type).
Not while tipsy!! ;)

Born-n-raised, here.

There are many things to love about our state, and many things to hate. However, having lived elsewhere, I don't think I'd be happy anywhere else. It just feels right.

There are going to be pluses and minuses to anywhere ya live.

Put me in the "I like Mississippi " category.

Sorry to hear about your uncle, 'mika.

[Khadaji]

No opinion at all. I have never been there.

[Lsura]

I lived there for a year and liked it- I'm a fairly liberal democrat as well. Admittedly, I was there in the late 90s, so not that long ago.

[lobstermobster]

It's a fantastic state to get murdered in.

[Evil Captor]

I feel a sneaking sort of gratitude toward Mississippi. No matter how bad Georgia does in economic development, education, standard of living or quality of life, Mississippi is always there to make us look good by comparison. They and Tennessee (sorry Aesiron) and Alabama are always there to make us look progressive by comparison, no matter how bass-ackwards we are.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[eleanorigby]

I want to know something (no snark)--when will MI decide that it needs to invest in its education system? Just asking.

[askeptic]

I want to know something (no snark)--when will MI decide that it needs to invest in its education system? Just asking.


OK. But why ask a question about Michigan in a thread about Mississippi?

[Ephemera]

I feel a sneaking sort of gratitude toward Mississippi. No matter how bad Georgia does in economic development, education, standard of living or quality of life, Mississippi is always there to make us look good by comparison. They and Tennessee (sorry Aesiron) and Alabama are always there to make us look progressive by comparison, no matter how bass-ackwards we are.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Though I'm not particularly fond of this state -- having escaped it for Oregon once and hoping to again, one day -- I'm surprised to see it grouped with Mississippi and Alabama, especially below Arkansas and South Carolina.

This could actually make for an interesting spin-off : "The Hierarchies of State (or Subnational) Reputations" or somesuch.

[Shagnasty]

I want to know something (no snark)--when will MI decide that it needs to invest in its education system? Just asking.

Now that is what I call irony.

[Shagnasty]

I want to know something (no snark)--when will MI decide that it needs to invest in its education system? Just asking.

In all seriousness, Mississippi has some pretty severe demographics issues when it comes to education. It is about 40% minority and very poor and rural. Jackson is the only real city in the state and it isn't all that big. The Jackson area was the headquarters of a now infamous company called Worldcom which was a cash cow that pulled an Enron and went poof sucking away billions with it.

Mississippi was doing pretty well in the casino and Gulf Coast tourism fronts until a little storm called Katrina came along and literally picked up some of the casinos and relocated them miles inland.

The other other states can sit there and shake their fingers at Mississippi but they don't have to deal with the same circumstances. That isn't to say that Mississippi shouldn't try to do better in education but it isn't reasonable to expect equivalent results given the same amount of effort as other states.

My mother and stepfather lived in Clinton for a few years until recently. It is obvious that Mississippi has some issues but it isn't like the whole place is a shit hole. There are plenty of nice places. One of my favorite places in the world is Natchez, MS (http://www.visitnatchez.com/) which is historical and has gorgeous Southern architecture in spades. It is also quite wealthy.

Oh, and if you like blues music or music derived from it like rock and roll, you owe a huge thanks to Mississippi.

[Glazer]

Damn you Evil Captor. You beat me to it.

[Mosier]

All I know about Mississippi I read in books and the news. I don't like the state, although I admit my opinion isn't based on much information.

[carnivorousplant]

Oh, and if you like blues music or music derived from it like rock and roll, you owe a huge thanks to Mississippi.

Darn you, I came here to post
Home of Robert Johnson and the Delta Blues

[drm]

I've only ever met one person from Mississippi. She's my aunt and she's around 106 now. She's racist and extremely religious. She was visiting years ago when she was still upwardly mobile and she asked me what I thought of Billy Graham and I told her I really had no opinion as I wasn't Christian. She didn't handle it well. It should suffice to say that I am no longer in her will. It's probably a good thing that my dating someone of another race (at the time) didn't come up as she might have had a heart attack.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I have an awfully small sample size but I imagine there are more people like her (although I am sure there are plenty of clear thinking people with good solid heads on their shoulders as well, I just don't know any).

As far as the landscape goes, I've never been but my dad says it's beautiful.

[dead0man]

I spent 7 months there (Biloxi) in the Summer of '95 and all I remember is that it wasn't as bad as Louisiana.

[kambuckta]

When I was in grade 4 (about 8yrs old) I learned how to spell Mississippi, and that was quickly followed by hippopotamus. Both sorta rolled off've your tongue once you got the rythym going, and I've never forgotten either.

So, I like Mississippi, because I could lord it over my peers in latter-year spelling bees. Not that Mississippi came up all that often in my Australia-centric classes, but just every now and again......... :p

[Bad Samaritan]

My father was career military, and we spent 4 years back in the 70’s in the Gulfport-Biloxi area. It truly was my favorite and most fun place to live. This was before the casinos and all of the growth started to take off, so all the usual redneck stereotypes were present and in effect. Still it was a great place to grow up. I’ve looked into moving back to the area several times but there just isn’t much of a job market for my career.

[DianaG]

I don't have a firm opinion of Mississippi. I've been to Jackson. Happenin' town. It has both and Outback AND a Red Lobster!* :D

Driving from Jackson to Baton Rouge, I do remember wondering exactly how many bibles anyone could possibly need, and whether demand was actually sufficient to maintain the rather ridiculous (IMO) number of bible "superstores" we passed.

The people were awfully nice, for the most part.

*To be fair, we did find a lovely restaurant, which I can't remember the name of at the moment except that it began with an R. While I was there, I noticed that Jackson also only has one plastic surgeon, because there was a preponderance of women in there who all had the exact same nose, and the exact same breasts, and they couldn't have ALL been related.

[WhyNot]

It works pretty well instead of "one thousand" when counting seconds without a watch...

I got nothin'. Never been there, don't know anyone from there. My totally uninformed ignorant opinion is that it's not quite one of the worst states - in terms of racism and poverty and lack of education - but it's closer to the bottom than the top.

[F. U. Shakespeare]

I'm a social liberal, and slightly right of center otherwise. I'm also an amateur musician (old blues and country). I have vacationed in the Delta (not just Mississippi -- I also go to Memphis and Helena, Arkansas) for close to ten years. I visit historic blues sites and play on radio shows. I found it more interesting when I first started visiting, because the increased interest in blues tourism has resulted in more commercialization.

I find the area charmingly anachronistic. People are indeed more polite, but the poverty is very sad. I'm from West Virginia, where there is a lot of poverty, but the poor are able to live off the land (hunting deer, chopping wood, etc.) The poor in MS seem to have less such options, so they seem to be even poorer than they appear on paper.

Regarding friendliness: on one of my 'pilgrimages' around 1999, I drove up to a farmer's house. I told him I was a music teacher from up north, and was looking for Robert Johnson's gravesite nearby. The farmer was just leaving in his truck, but he volunteered to show me to one of the purported sites ((the one near Quito), and then told me how to find the second one (the Morgan City one -- the one near Greenville hadn't been suggested yet). He was clearly a busy man, and it took us pretty far out of his way. That was damn nice of him.

[Evil Captor]

To be fair to Mississippi, grateful as I am to it for all the wrong reasons, it has always struck me as a fitting and proper state in the United States (even if its people didn't always think so).

As bad as Mississippi is, it's a long step up from Texas, which strikes me as a Third World country that has somehow managed to slide into the U.S., then stunk the place up with its tasteless oil wealth, its eagerness to execute children and retarded people, it's eagerness to execute folks period, and its dynastic families of Third World banana republic wannabe dictators (I'm looking at you, Bush family.)

[CateAyo]

I've been to and through Mississippi many times, and I like the state and the people. It is unfortunate that the whole of the state gets painted with a broad brush by some. That seems a popular tactic when assessing the South and Southerners in general.

[NinetyWt]

It's a fantastic state to get murdered in. :confused:

[Little Nemo]

Admittedly, I've never been to Mississippi. But nothing I've ever heard about the state inspires me to visit. My general impression is that Mississippi has all the bad parts of the South and none of the good.having escaped it for Oregon once and hoping to again, one dayWhat? Are they sending out agents to recapture people who leave the state?Oh, and if you like blues music or music derived from it like rock and roll, you owe a huge thanks to Mississippi.I love listening to the blues. But I wouldn't want to live in a place that inspires people to sing the blues.

[percypercy]

MS gets extra bonus points from me right now. The NPR folks in town recently sold off a station. The one station left plays classical music 80 percent of the time. They cut the hour of freshair in half.

BUT if I'm very lucky, I can pick up MPB from Oxford. It's the best.

[F. U. Shakespeare]

I love listening to the blues. But I wouldn't want to live in a place that inspires people to sing the blues.But it's the best place in the universe to visit if you want to understand where the blues came from.

E.g., my friends chide me for visiting Mississippi in the summer. Why go when it's so hot?

Which is, to me, a little like like visiting Disneyland when it's closed, because it's less crowded.

[carnivorousplant]

I also go to Memphis and Helena, Arkansas
Are there any particular places you go in Helena?

[F. U. Shakespeare]

Are there any particular places you go in Helena?The Delta Cultural Center, where Sonny Payne hosts King Biscuit Time on radio KFFA (1360 AM) every weekday at 12:15. (Sonny, 82, has hosted KBT since the forties, over 14,000 shows. He's a national treasure). And every Friday afternoon, Terry Bucklew hosts 'Delta Sounds'. I love to play on both shows.

I also like to drop in on Mr. Morris Gist, Sonny Boy Williamson's former landlord, who has a music store on the main street in Helena. Last trip, I recorded about an hour of material with an Australian musician who was in the states doing a documentary. We filmed in the storefront of Gist Music.

Then there's Bubba Sullivan, who has a record store on the corner.

To quote Sonny Boy himself, "Don't start me to talkin'...."

[Hippy Hollow]

I've only driven through the state, but I know a number of wonderful and very intelligent people from Mississippi. They're all educators, or in education. They all come from humble means, are quite successful, and never forgot where they came from.

Speaks volumes to me about the character of folks from the state. Assholes live everywhere, and any act of intolerance in Mississippi has likely been committed in every other state - but when I think Mississippi, I think of these wonderful people, and I smile.

[Missy2U]

:confused:

Ditto.

As for Mississippi, it seems to me that's a state John Grisham writes about a lot, isn't it? That and WhyNot is right - it IS very convenient when counting off seconds.

[ForumBot]

Lifelong Alabamian here.

The unofficial state motto is "thank god for Mississippi."

[Grave]

Best part of being from Mississippi : being able to weed the potential idiots out a bit faster by the knee jerk reactions, such as that from the criminal crustacean above.

As for the OP: I do my best to be apolitical, however liberal seems to be a label the people I agree with the most espouse.

Do I like the state? Yes, very much so. As NinetyWt pointed out, Mississippi is absolutely no different than any other arbitrary geographic region; there is much to love and much to hate. I prefer the climate, culture, and (mostly) the social norms of the rural / freshly sub-urban areas here, and after a decent bit of travel came back to it. I do hate the fact that we seems unable to resolve the Delta problem to the detriment of the rest of the state, but perhaps that will come in time. After seeing what a 'boom-town' reputation did for Austin and a few other places, I'll be happy for us to stay low key forever.

[ShibbOleth]

As to the OP, I've never been there so not much of an opinion. It's supposed to be a very poor state, with a really messed up court system and bad education. But all of that is hearsay. I'm sure that there are some very beautiful parts of the state.

It's a fantastic state to get murdered in.

You're a bit obsessive on this topic. What's so fantastic about getting murdered?

[NinetyWt]

After seeing what a 'boom-town' reputation did for Austin and a few other places, I'll be happy for us to stay low key forever.True, true. We are planning to leave the 'burbs of Jackson for deer camp in a couple of years, on account of the growth headed up I-55.

Say, next time I go up to First Monday, I should trot over your way and us go to the fish house. They've got one near Verona where the hush puppies are good enough to make you slap yer gran'maw. ;)

[lobstermobster]

As to the OP, I've never been there so not much of an opinion. It's supposed to be a very poor state, with a really messed up court system and bad education. But all of that is hearsay. I'm sure that there are some very beautiful parts of the state.



You're a bit obsessive on this topic. What's so fantastic about getting murdered?

Did I or did I not tell you people that I was a murder expert? Don't act so surprised.

[Leaffan]

Well, it's very narrow at the beginning, gets much, much larger in the middle, and then is skinny again at the other end. That is my theory.

Ann Elk.

[feppytweed]

Having lived in Natchez, MS my whole life, I have a fairly high regard for my home state. We do have nice scenery, nice people, good food and a bit of history. On the other hand, we are one of the poorest states. That's only because farmers aren't making 6 figures a year. As for obesity... well, fried food is not very healthy.

Overall, I like Mississippi. I don't love it. I wouldn't be hard to persuade to move to another state. But I'm here for now, and that's alright.

Mississippi is just alright.

[NinetyWt]

Did I or did I not tell you people that I was a murder expert? Don't act so surprised.
Do you have a delicious novel on the burner, with a mysterious murder set in Miss. ? Oh, the possibilities! You must dish! :)

feppy I will be in Natchez in the spring. Would you care to take tea? (or run 'cross the river for a cold one?)

[madmonk28]

I have to admit I have a negative view of the state based in part on the election (and re-election) of Trent Lott; also as someone from a southern state, I find the idealization of the confederacy (as seen at Ol' Miss football games) distasteful in the extreme.

[ShelliBean]

My life is divided between Mississippi and Alabama. My parents have moved back to MS in the last few years to the sleepy retirement community they grew up in. It makes me sad to see the town dying. It's one of those that removed the stop light because it was slowing people down, and lost the Wal-Mart because they couldn't support it.
But, a lot of people my parents' age have started moving back as retirement sets in or work-from-home becomes an option so maybe the town will pick up some.
Mississippi will always be, in my mind, a hot day where you hear the dogs barking far away and bugs of many species and smell the hay baking in the sun and you always have to go one town over to get to anything decent no matter where you start. And you grow up with one of three attitudes: (1) yes, we're from MS and we love it - please come visit!, (2) move away because you can't take it, or (3) yeah, I'm from MS and I know how to read and use indoor plumbing, so fuck you.

[Ellen Cherry]

Ditto.

As for Mississippi, it seems to me that's a state John Grisham writes about a lot,

And someone else you may have heard of -- William Faulkner.

[ShelliBean]

Hey - back in high school in MS John Grisham came to speak to us. Being a "home state boy does good" type thing. In college, Eudora Welty spoke - I went to her alma mater.
Faulkner, not so much. I hear he wasn't available. Stuck up bastard.

[cmkeller]

I've only been there once, and that was eleven years ago, but the impression I had as a tourist was that if you're not into antebellum plantations, there ain't much to do. Our "tour" of Mississippi consisted of a visit to the place in Vicksburg where Coca-Cola was first bottled.

[Sunrazor]

I drove through part of Alabama and Mississippi en route back to Colorado from Georgia. I was surprised that, while crossing the state line from 'bama into Miss that the highways seemed to be suddenly better manicured. We stopped for lunch in a town that looked exactly like every shady Main Street small town ever seen in the movies. That's the only first-person impression I've ever had of Mississippi. I have to admit that the state's media exposure hasn't been very good, but I'll never forget that drive through the state.

[ethelbert]

I have never been to Mississippi, but for many years I could not hear about the state without thinking of Phil Och's Here's to the State of Mississippi (http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/ochs-phil/heres-to-the-state-of-mississippi-11445.html) .

[miss elizabeth]

I went to the same high school as John Grisham. We had the same Creative Writing teacher. I asked her if he was a good student, and she said he goofed off a lot; she never would have guessed he would become an author. Also, his law practice was in my town.

I've lived in Mississippi for most of my life. I'm extremely liberal, and so a lot of the political stuff here bothers me. There is a lot of racism, and there is a heavy expectation that you be religious. As an atheist I've learned to keep my mouth shut. I don't know; things are backward here in a lot of ways, but since I grew up here, I tend not to notice it all that much. But when I do think about it, it bothers me. My children are still very young, but I think a lot about moving because I don't think I want them to grow up here.

Also, I should say, I live in a very rich part of the state. Which is to say, it's a normal suburb (we're next to Memphis, TN), and if I plopped you down in the middle without saying where you were, you wouldn't guess you were in such a poor state. The schools still suck though. I mean, the football teams are well funded, but other than that, forget about it. And at least when I was in school (about 10 years ago) all the well known problems of the state (racism, sexism, "good ol' boys," etc.) were much worse in the high schools. We had separate black and white class presidents, for example. And my history teacher refused to call the Civil War anything but the War Between the States (he also called it the War of Northern Aggression, seriously). And he taught that it was not about slavery. And the KKK isn't really racist. So, think about that for a second. He was VERY well respected at the school, also; it's not like he was some kind of fringe whacko.

I guess I would say it falls more on the negative column, but there are a lot of wonderful things here, too. The people are very nice, that's no joke. I love my neighbors. I like camping and outdoorsy stuff, and I love being within an hour or so of complete wilderness. Also, as I said, I am close to Memphis, which has a lot of "city" stuff, so that helps. I mean, we have good hospitals and all that. It's a mixed bag, and I'll be the first person to say there are problems. If I lived further into the middle of the state, I would move, no question. It's a popular place to hate, but it's pretty much always been my home, and I'm not ready to leave it yet.

[Frosted Glass]

I have spent a few summers in Mississippi visiting family. My father grew up in Columbus and he still has siblings, aunts, uncles and other assorted family members living there. He is one of the few kids in his family who left MS so I guess that contributes to my viewpoint.

When I think of Mississippi I think of a hot place with polite people. Something that people might not fully understand is that even the racists are polite, so I guess that is something positive. I enjoyed the outdoors aspect of it because I like to camp and fish and what not. Most of my days were spent doing odd jobs with my cousins or fishing. There is a lot of poverty there and it is very different in appearance and lifestyle than the inner-city poverty that I have seen.

I thought it was fun that a lot of the black families in town seemed related to my family in one way or other and I spent my days running back and forth between houses.

To me, Mississippi makes me think of polite family oriented people, poverty, racism and a better understanding of the outdoors.

[ticker]

Drove through Mississippi on the way from Memphis to somewhere-else. Briefly stopped in Jackson where we met a nice* bunch wearing these t-shirts (http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff16/_freebee/Jackson-t-shirt.jpg).

Later on in Vicksburg we were invited to get drunk with a car full of guys claiming to be true red-necks - I don't think they were exaggerating.

All in all the little I experienced of the state did little to dispel any stereotyped preconceptions.



*nice because they handed out free bottles of water which we accepted before we saw the shirts. I assumed this was holy water so used it to baptize my nephews!

[Shagnasty]

Having lived in Natchez, MS my whole life, I have a fairly high regard for my home state. We do have nice scenery, nice people, good food and a bit of history. On the other hand, we are one of the poorest states. That's only because farmers aren't making 6 figures a year. As for obesity... well, fried food is not very healthy.

Probably my favorite weekend of my life was spent in Natchez. My wife's sorority sister was chosen Queen of the Confederate ball so the whole sorority got invitations. I believe her name was Katherine Tillman. That was quite the extravagant weekend. I can only imagine that a series of parties like that must be valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and take an ungodly amount of planning. One of the parties was at Stanton Hall which was gorgeous. We also went to see this Civil War themed play with period costumes that was really cool as well. I loved Natchez and I feel much more Southern just from attending all that.

***Feel free to correct any details above. I wrote it from memory and it was 14 years ago.

[DustyButt]

I used to live near the Gulf Coast in AL and my ex-wife and I would spend some of our free time in Biloxi. We were in a mixed marriage so we would constantly get the stares reserved for animals at the zoo. I vote for the thumbs down of MS.

The little airport just outside of Natchez was always good for refueling tho'! I've purchased many many gallons there.

[feppytweed]

Probably my favorite weekend of my life was spent in Natchez. My wife's sorority sister was chosen Queen of the Confederate ball so the whole sorority got invitations. I believe her name was Katherine Tillman. That was quite the extravagant weekend. I can only imagine that a series of parties like that must be valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and take an ungodly amount of planning. One of the parties was at Stanton Hall which was gorgeous. We also went to see this Civil War themed play with period costumes that was really cool as well. I loved Natchez and I feel much more Southern just from attending all that.

***Feel free to correct any details above. I wrote it from memory and it was 14 years ago.
You're pretty much spot on. Every Spring and Fall there is a Pilgrimage. This is when these big antebellum houses open their doors for tours and people dressed in period costumes show the houses. Huge for tourism.

As for the Confederate Pageant (yeah... i know) we have buses come in from all over filled with people who want to see the re-enactment of Mississippi's history, from the occupation by the French, etc, to the Civil War. (Fun little Civil War fact: The only reason the Antebellum houses are still extant is because Natchez put up the white flag the second that gunboats came to port.) The King and Queen of the pageant are children of people who own an antebellum house, or are either in VERY high standing with the Pilgrimage Garden Club.

The airport is a quaint little stop, for sure. I have a postcard of it at my desk. It's mostly used for private planes, single engine deals and the like, but it can cater to the needs of 747s and the like.

[elelle]

Hoo boy! I just got back from a trip to Oxford, MS, which was my home for 13 years.

I really loved living in Oxford, most of the time spent working for a blues magazine, Living Blues. I was immersed in documenting blues musicians, mostly older folks who are now passed on. They were amazing strong men and women, who had grown up in bad circumstances, and still managed to create great music, and rise above the crap handed to them socially. I learned a lot about how to live as a decent human being, even in poverty, and got an immense education in the complexity and nitty gritty of racial issues. It made me a much better person.

There was a lot of pain and anger, too, seeing how that system hurt people. There was a lot of alcoholism and messed up despair. Why did this or that great musician have to live out their elder years in poverty, and not get any medical care, when their riffs had been stolen by other musicians who got rich off it? I can say that I worked to alleviate that; helped get press and attention, drove musicians on tour, cooked meals for older people, worked with Music Maker Relief Foundation (http://www.musicmaker.org/) to get medical bills paid. But, it was great to do that, and as said, I learned a precious lot there, curing many of my middle class white preconceptions.

I love Mississippi for the complexity, for the contrasts, for all the great music and writing that came out of it. It's a poor state, but, for those who are driven to create there, really rich. This was the first time I had been back in five years. I could walk around the square of Oxford, and, in ten minutes, see folks I knew,by chance, and feel at home. The two-term mayor is also the owner of the very great bookstore there, Square Books. I'm living back in NC now, and there are plenty of great bookstores in Chapel Hill, but none matches the one in Oxford, for atmosphere, selection, readings, and the weekly radio show broadcast from there, with authors reading and musician guests.

And, well, the music, I miss it. People don't dance here like they do in Mississippi at concerts. I miss that groove.

After time away, now living in a very cosmopolitan Southern area, I left feeling that I could easily move back and live there happily. Count that as a high opinion of Am-Eye-Crooked Letter-Crooked Letter-Eye-Crooked Letter-Crooked Letter-Eye-Humpback-Humpback-Eye.

[carnivorousplant]

Why did this or that great musician have to live out their elder years in poverty, and not get any medical care, when their riffs had been stolen by other musicians who got rich off it?
I was musing over a Son House CD this afternoon and wondering what Robert Johnson's music would have been like if he had lived a longer life.
But I digress.
We attended some dog herding thing for Mrs. Plant in that fine state. Aside from seeing a small dog chased quite viciously by a duck, socially I couldn't tell if we were in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi or Louisiana.