I just hope Gaudere is getting hazard pay for this.
I was referring somewhat to the stereotyping… Those of us in urban areas tend to think of racists as a bunch of rednecks out in the boonies. I don’t, but I put in a lot of time doing research on this kind of thing- my bete noir right now is the “Christian Patriot” movement. I’m certainly not suggesting that those of you who live in the Deep South or aren’t wealthy, are automatically to be tarred with the racist brush. I’m not wealthy either, and I sorta live in the South.
I was pointing out that racists are in my area, just like everywhere else, not just in the places people like to think of them as pigeonholed.
Yeah, she got TWO coffee cups. And people ply her with liquor at Chidopes, as if that wouldn’t happen anyway with her in a bar or as if she needs our help. 
About the regional thing:
I’ve lived both in the deep south and the far north as well as regions in between. I think I saw more open racism in the south but it’s not exactly absent in the north. Rural North Dakota isn’t much different than rural Lousiana from what I’ve seen. I have a brother-in-law in ND who identifies himself as a “white separatist” and uses the N word in ordinary conversation. He really lives in the sticks and his attitudes are fairly prevalent there. They may be quieter about it but get a few beers in them and there are some pretty poisonous views under the surface.
In the bigger cities, both in the north and the south you hear a lot less of that stuff, either because people are more educated or just because they keep their mouths shut about it.
I will say that it’s a minority in both regions and that non-racist white folks in the south tend to be much quicker about slapping down the ignorant among them. I think that most white people in the south are sick of the being tarred by these assholes and will tell them to shut the fuck up in pretty short order. By contrast, a lot of people up here will just sort of stay quiet and avoid confrontation.
I have to say, the majority of white people who I’ve heard telling some racist moron to get fucked did so with a southern accent.
Now you see that is cw my stereotypes! I think of Southern types as being willing to say what they think about race and religion out loud. In the North they are just as racist but they keep it behind closed doors and just don’t offer jobs, etc. In the South you know where you stand. Including that you are thought of as a racist moron. I think you are right: a Northerner would more likely avoid confrontation.
You can’t just shut out people with different views, no matter how stupid or offensive they are. As usual what I have to say has been said better before, no-one better then John Stuart Mill:
(From On Liberty)
And that’s pretty much all that me and Johnny have to add to this discussion.
Oh… and greetings to our overlords, the Jews. Ani Ohev et Israel.
My wife’s former boss was, to all outward appearances, a fairly ordinary suburban/semirural woman. Lived in NYState, went to college in Missouri, worked occasionally in NYC at two of the company’s branch stores. But one day, while talking about a dinner she went to with the company’s owners, one of the other managers, and that manager’s boyfriend, she let my wife know that she didn’t approve of the manager and BF consorting together. “The races shouldn’t mix,” she said.
What made this all the more confusing is the fact that said manager is a gay man. (She was apparently enlightened about homosexuality.)
Those wacky racists.
This reminds me of Kent Brockman and the ‘hail ants’ flap.
My first use of the “reply to post” function!