I’ll start this with as much background info as possible. I am from the south, and I am a democrat. In fact, I can have very liberal stances on many issues. I am certainly far to the left of the democrats in the South. But this really pisses me off. I don’t know why the South is like it is, but treating us like this will never make things better. People from the North really piss me off when they give me shit from being from the South. I swear I have had to hear constant insults and jokes about being from the south or my accent (which I have learned to lose now thanks to such people). They think we are funny and I admit that we are. But if you want us to change you should certainly start with encouraging those of us that desire to be in the mainstream of western civilization rather than deriding us for those who don’t. Segregation ended about 40 years ago and we still can’t get past it. Its damn hard enough just fighting the ignorance of people around us who can’t get it past their damn skulls that things will indeed move on. However the constant “jokes” about lynching and KKK and such just aren’t funny. The Japanese never apologized for WWII and by the 80’s we were busom buddies.
I often try to understand why the South is so conservative. I honestly can’t tell. I honestly can’t tell you why a cantidate from the South does better than cantidates from the north do. If you try to hard to understand anything about the south it never comes down to logic. People here are very irrational at times, but you don’t score any points preaching to the choir. When talking to the rational ones who; understand that racism is wrong, understand that Christian fundementalism is bad, understand that lower classes supporting Politicians who make them poorer over social issues is wrong, please have a little respect and understand what its like for us. The last thing people who are trying to make the South better need is ridicule. So to Bill Maher I say, “FUCK YOU” You aren’t helping, and you can’t forget that the South is a part of the country that needs help too. If you meet an Islamic guy do you make fun of him for all of the fundementalists who are terrorists? No, you feel sorry for him for coming from such a backwards country. The South is backwards and needs help, ridicule isn’t the answer
This brings me to my main point. If we were to elect a cantidate like John Edwards, I think it would indeed be a good thing for the South along with the nation in general. If he were to actually do what he promises, it will begin the process of helping Americans and especially southerners to think about economic issues if they are poor. It is the main thing that is going to affect them, yet they don’t. If a non-southerner is elected the Dem nominee, he’ll probably ignore the south. Then Southerners won’t get to take part in the debate of what needs to change in America.
You are aware that the last three Democratic presidents have all been southerners? And that, if anything, the south (in general) has only gotten more conservative, and more Republican? The south (again in general) is fully involved in the debate, it’s just that the majority is not on the same side you are.
I think it would be a very realistic election strategy for the Dems to write off the south completely, except maybe Florida. It’s very possible for the election to be won without a single southern state, and it would save a lot of money and other resources for the states that are in play.
Sorry, I didn’t read the entire article (didn’t want to subscribe or sit through the Interminable Mandatory Ad), but this strikes me as eminently reasonable:
By Bill Maher
*"North Carolina Sen. John Edwards has a powerful argument in his bid to be the Democratic nominee when he says, “What I give people is a candidate who can win everywhere in America.”
Translation: “We Southerners ain’t gonna vote for no Yankee! You suckers up North will take our Clintons and Carters, but we just ain’t buyin’ Kerrys and Deans.”
And that’s a shame. Not just for Democrats but for democracy itself. And I feel bad for the millions of intelligent people who live in a region still dominated by so much prejudice that anyone who wants to be president better have a twang in his voice and pronounce all four E’s in the word “shit.”*
So why is it Nawtherners are accepting of leaders from the South, but we still have the implication from the likes of Edwards that Southerners won’t accept them durned Yankees?
Most people outside the South pass days, weeks and even months at a time not thinking up ways to laugh at or insult Southerners. The chip-on-the-shoulder attitude is getting really old.
Small hijack: is there any correlation between the use of certain letters-to-the-editor-type phrases and where someone is on the political spectrum? For some reason, it seems like most of the folks who use the phrase “of that ilk” are right-wingers. Also, when someone questions the legitimacy of a certain idea and says “I think not”, he’s usually slamming a liberal concept.
Is this a pissant complaint? I think not. (flounces off haughtily, nose in the air)
Huh, don’t know why I decided to use “of that ilk” I’m liberal, but i thought it was time for it in the rotation considering how I haven’t used it in quite some time
Honestly at the beginning I liked Howard Dean because I thought that maybe the Dems could have a guy who wasn’t from the south, but I really think Edwards isn’t so bad. I mainly like it because of the populism. A Southern populist is good for the south i think because it just might help people realize that they are getting screwed by the republicans.
Yeah but the Southern jokes are annoying, hence the reason I learned to talk with a neutral accent. Why the hell do I get made fun of because I managed to think for myself and understand what’s wrong? I do have a little chip on my shoulder, but not because of the Civil War or something like that. I wouldn’t say “Uppity Yankees” because I can probably be accused of being uppity myself, but I just think this tone is a little wrong. People should be more willing to reach out to the south. There is still hope, you know. Its not we are from Texas.
Another reason I hate GWB is because he has that annoying Texas twang. Edwards is much less annoying to me.
You realize that regions of the country are made fun of or ridiculed all the time. Just think about how us Californians are judged by others by what they see in the media. The Left Coast comes to mind. I think you should be proud of your roots and keep the accent, why try to sound nuetral? You don’t really hate someone because of their twang, Do You?
No I never got rid of the accent, trust me. I can turn it on when I need to. Mainly the reason I can talk with a neutral accent is that I have spent a lot of time with non-native speakers who don’t really understand southern English so well, so its just easier.
As far as being southern is concerned, I had a hard time growing up in the South and I still resent it in many ways, but you can’t really change who you are in some ways.
I don’t know guy. Your OP seems more about how you and the South are treated that about Maher. I kinda expected you to tell me you were so liberal that you even had colored folks over to your house for dinner.
Me, I’m from North Mississippi and I am proud of my Southern heritage and our culture. Sure there’s some not so good things that have gone on in the South but that’s true of any region.
I am a Southerner with a neutral accent. My elder siblings have the twang but the younger ones assumed cosmopolitan traits due to travels. When I was young I still had a bit of a twang learned from my father. In my experience I was accepted as a Southerner by Northerners much more readily than as a “Yankee” by fellow Southerners. Up North I was welcomed into people’s lives and homes. Down here I am likely to get strange stares or even be called a Yankee outright.
In a small Northern town it was “I like the way you say ‘pen’ (pee-un)”, in a small Southern town (at work) it was “I ain’t taking orders from no Yankee.”
I truly believe that this attitude is evident in politics as Maher states.
Oh well, that’s OK then.
Besides, the type of people I was thinking about rarely say “so-and-so of that ilk piss me off”. That humanizes it.
About the accent thing - I think it’s a common human perception that if a person has a really powerful regional accent he/she is less educated and fits into various unglamorous regional stereotypes. Full-bore New York or New England accents probably will inhibit you in certain ways if you live in Mississippi. This kind of thinking is of course dumb and I try to avoid it. For some reason I enjoy classic regional accents when heard in another part of the country, but they can be grating when overwhelming in their native habitat. Go figure.
[hijack II]By the way, there’s a mostly sports-oriented radio talk show host in Cincinnati who sports a pronounced New York accent. He seems to be well-accepted by the natives, despite being a dumbass. [/hijack II]
