# I pit the South **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 1, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725 "2020-03-01T00:05:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/41 "2020-03-02T21:24:44Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Not that this is exclusive to the south, but it is much more openly prevalent. > > [Outgoing Mississippi Governor Says state faces ‘1,000 years of Darkness’ if Black Man Elected](https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2020/02/24/outgoing-mississippi-governor-says-state-faces-1000-years-of-darkness-if-black-man-elected/) > This is why “The South” gets pitted. So fuck your “hate speech” when this is the shit that comes out of (thankfully) former elected officials. Yes, blaming whole populations for the activities or words of an individual would be labeled and sanctioned as hate speech on this board if directed at a pet class. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/42 "2020-03-02T21:27:36Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Yes, blaming whole populations for the activities or words of an individual would be labeled and sanctioned as hate speech on this board if directed at a pet class. This was an individual that the State elected to be it’s leader. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/43 "2020-03-02T21:31:30Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Yes, blaming whole populations for the activities or words of an individual would be labeled and sanctioned as hate speech on this board if directed at a pet class. Like when someone says something you disagree with and you accuse them and the entire board of being a hive mind? Claiming that a large group of people are unable to think for themselves is a pretty hateful thing to say, yet you are never warned about that. Strange ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/44 "2020-03-02T23:02:00Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Yes, blaming whole populations for the activities or words of an individual would be labeled and sanctioned as hate speech on this board if directed at a pet class. > [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > This was an individual that the State elected to be it’s leader. Exactly this, you brain-addled thrice-used condom. Phil Bryant was elected twice by a **majority** of the voting individuals. Not one fucking person, but you would need two working brain cells to have figured that out. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/45 "2020-03-02T23:41:43Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > Sometimes I wish the entire region, from West Virginia and the western half of Virginia, all the way down south, excluding Florida, would secede. Before the humorist Dave Barry semi-retired, he wrote frequent columns for the _Miami Herald_, many of which were about Florida politics. More recently he came out with a book, _Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland_ although I suspect the title is supposed to be ironic. The main thing I got out of it was the premise that **every single politician in Florida is either corrupt or completely insane, or both.** Perhaps a bit of hyperbole, but he certainly had a lot of stories to back it up. So I’d include Florida as The South, and certainly Texas. I don’t think the OP is particularly being a bigot and certainly not engaging in hate speech. He’s describing a culture that is particularly endemic to a particular geographic area. It is not more or less “bigoted” than the best-seller by J D Vance - _Hillbilly Elegy- A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis_ which describes growing up in that culture and defends some of the reasons for it. No one is singling out specific individuals on the basis of cultural generalizations, though some individuals who deserve it are being used as anecdotal examples of the culture. The late Molly Ivins, who deeply loved her home state of Texas, was relentless and incredibly funny in her criticisms of its often-ridiculous politics. I would take the OP in the same spirit. For those who still think the OP is bigoted, just think of it as a demographic thought experiment. Remove the referenced geography from a map of the US, and call what’s left the United States. What would the politics and policies of that hypothetical nation look like? Would it have universal health care, stronger social programs, better public education, less devotion to creationism and other religious claptrap, and perhaps better gun control? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/46 "2020-03-03T00:09:39Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Rest assured you have counterparts in a lot of places (including but not limited to numerous southern and western states) who think that the U.S. would be just wonderful without California and the Northeast. > > Diversity is evidently not for everyone. Ah yes, to love diversity one does indeed need to give proper weight and support to those who hate diversity. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/47 "2020-03-03T00:19:00Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > I wrote the OP after getting into an argument on a Facebook page about my hometown. I think we’ve discovered the root of your problem. ---
**Author:** ![wahsahzii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@wahsahzii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wahsahzii)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/48 "2020-03-03T00:40:09Z")
Well as a Missouri native living in a Red State One Party Rule kind of a place (think China), I’d have to say that the “South” has lots to admire. Even if the attention hogs giving it a bad name overshadows it. Try reading some of The Bitter Southerner ([https://bittersoutherner.com/](https://bittersoutherner.com/)) for a more complete picture. Texas Monthly would be another. There are asshats everywhere; after all it ain’t against the law to be one, and social media amplifies it. I am comfortable with the South. I just ignore the morons. ---
**Author:** ![drivekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@drivekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drivekiller)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/49 "2020-03-03T09:51:36Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Yep. Sweeping anti-southern bigotry is practically celebrated on this board, in a way that would earn a warning or possibly even a banning if the generalization was about practically any other group. (And mean _outside_ The Pit.) Having grown up in the very southeast, I don’t have a bigoted assessment of the place. I have _informed aversion_ . Fuck the south, let’s go to Koreatown for barbecue. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/50 "2020-03-03T12:03:36Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Exactly this, you brain-addled thrice-used condom. Phil Bryant was elected twice by a **majority** of the voting individuals. Not one fucking person, but you would need two working brain cells to have figured that out. Bryant got 544,851 votes in a state with a population of of nearly three million people. Less than one in five Mississippeans cast a vote for him. If you take the time to add one more word to your pit–instead of pitting Mississippi, pit Mississippi Republicans–your rant’s precision improves by like ten million percent. And it’s that group that’s (currently) the problem. The South is governed, by and large, by the descendants of slaveowners, and they’ve spent the last century and a half devising new ways to keep power for themselves and to deny power to people of color, the poor, and other groups they don’t like. They keep getting defeated, but keep coming up with new strategies, in classic comic-book-villain fashion. Today’s Southern Republicans will be just as reviled in history as yesterday’s Southern Democrats. But it helps nobody, indeed it hurts Southern activism, for assholes outside of the South to sneer at the South as a whole. It’s our terrible government and awful power structure that are the problem. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/51 "2020-03-03T12:09:03Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Deep South Arkansas. > There are many problems in the south. You named a few of them. > I’m a firm believer in my right to bear arms. > I agree, assault weapons have no place in a home. > The south offers some good things. No need to secede. > Education is what’s needed. Lots and lots of education. > And, leaders who don’t fan the flames. > That would help alot. Also, less fucking racism. We lived in Camden a few years when I was a child, and my oldest sister stayed. I can’t have a relationship with her kids because they are so DEEPLY fucking racist, and they think all white people are . . .just as a city liberal, I won’t admit what I know is true, or I am too naive to see what’s obvious. The racism is so pervasive. It completely runs their worldview, and, near as I can tell, is utterly normal in every part of their lives . .work, school, church. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/52 "2020-03-03T12:17:31Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Bryant got 544,851 votes in a state with a population of of nearly three million people. Less than one in five Mississippeans cast a vote for him. If you take the time to add one more word to your pit–instead of pitting Mississippi, pit Mississippi Republicans–your rant’s precision improves by like ten million percent. > > And it’s that group that’s (currently) the problem. The South is governed, by and large, by the descendants of slaveowners, and they’ve spent the last century and a half devising new ways to keep power for themselves and to deny power to people of color, the poor, and other groups they don’t like. They keep getting defeated, but keep coming up with new strategies, in classic comic-book-villain fashion. Today’s Southern Republicans will be just as reviled in history as yesterday’s Southern Democrats. > > But it helps nobody, indeed it hurts Southern activism, for assholes outside of the South to sneer at the South as a whole. It’s our terrible government and awful power structure that are the problem. I remember one time on the board we were talking about slavery and someone was like “no one in the south opposed slavery” and someone else was like “well, not no one” and it took several rounds for the first person to figure out the point . . .that slaves counted as people, with opinions. It really caused me to reevaluate my own language and realize how often I did that sort of thing, too: I still assumed the story of the south was the story of white people. Thanks for reminding me of that in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/53 "2020-03-03T13:43:16Z")
Yup, just like Randy Newman said, we’re rednecks, we don’t know our ass from a hole in the ground, but we’re keeping the n\*ggers down. Stereotypical brushes apply to all members of a demographic group, no exceptions. Keep up the good work of keeping this country divided. That will insure four more years of Trump, and who knows. Maybe he’ll appoint enough judges to keep him in the White House for a lot longer. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/54 "2020-03-03T15:43:03Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Bryant got 544,851 votes in a state with a population of of nearly three million people. Less than one in five Mississippeans cast a vote for him. If you take the time to add one more word to your pit–instead of pitting Mississippi, pit Mississippi Republicans–your rant’s precision improves by like ten million percent. Do you mean one word, like the majority of the **voting** individuals. The whole country would be far better off if eligible voters educated themselves, didn’t treat political parties like sports teams, and most importantly, showed up at the polls. So I can pit all of Mississippi, including all those who don’t turn up at the polling places. But that’s not just Mississippi, and it is not just the South. Too many people would rather just sit at home to gripe and complain than make the most simple effort to show up at the polling place and vote a couple of times per year (primaries and general elections, and maybe a special election now and then). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/55 "2020-03-03T16:30:28Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > So I can pit all of Mississippi, including all those who don’t turn up at the polling places. By doing so, based on one asshole’s words, you’re pitting: -Him -The half-a- million people who voted for him -The 400,000 or so people who voted for his opponent -The 900,000 or so people under the age of 18 at the time of his election -The 300,000 or so people who are disenfranchised because of a felony conviction -The unnamed people who aren’t disenfranchised because of a conviction but mistakenly believe that they are. -The people who chose not to vote even though they could. The first two groups and the final group? Pit them, by all means. But there’s about half the state’s population who voted against him, or weren’t allowed to vote. That’s really fucking imprecise. Sure, you can pit all Mississippi. But it’s a bad move. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/56 "2020-03-03T16:55:19Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Funny how certain forms of so-called hate speech are celebrated on this forum. Do you ever do anything besides bitch? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/57 "2020-03-03T19:45:10Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Yes, blaming whole populations for the activities or words of an individual would be labeled and sanctioned as hate speech on this board if directed at a pet class. So, you think a post about how… oh, let’s say everyone in California is a goddless commie who hates America would be moderated as hate speech? Is that the double standard about which you are concerned? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/58 "2020-03-03T22:52:21Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So, you think a post about how… oh, let’s say everyone in California is a goddless commie who hates America would be moderated as hate speech? Is that the double standard about which you are concerned? If you substitute California for a foreign nation and word the insult a little more strongly it would rightfully be considered xenophobic. Now whether or not such xenophobia is so-called hate speech is far beyond my pay grade. All I know is that collectively assigning blame or credit to immutable characteristics or very hard to change characteristics is quite often and accurately labeled as bigotry. It is true that some bigotry is sanctioned and some is tolerated if not condoned. Now answering what should be sanctioned and what shouldn’t be? I can’t answer that for this board. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/59 "2020-03-03T23:58:59Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > All I know is that collectively assigning blame or credit to immutable characteristics or very hard to change characteristics is quite often and accurately labeled as bigotry. It is true that some bigotry is sanctioned and some is tolerated if not condoned. Oh, you mean stuff like calling the members of the board a hivemind. Yeah, that’s pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725/60 "2020-03-04T00:24:31Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Oh, you mean stuff like calling the members of the board a hivemind. Yeah, that’s pretty bad. Calling the hive what it is is orders of magnitude nicer than how the hive behaves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-south/848725.md?page=4)