With all due respect, Zoe, I think this is the kind of exaggerated outrage that face is talking about. Goldberg said nothing that should make you ask such questions. Saying something is found in the South does not mean that it is only found in the South, or that it’s everywhere in the South, or that all Southerners condone it.
There is a culture of violence in the South. Southerners are more likely to whip their children than Northerners, for instance. If Michael Vick was going to jail for beating his children, would you vehemently disagree with an explanation that attributed his Southern background? Not knowing how well-entrenched his Southern roots are, I wouldn’t blindly accept such an explanation (just like I wouldn’t blindly accept Goldberg’s). But I’m not going to shoot it down either just because I hail from the South and I personally don’t beat anyone’s children.
You’re a Southern belle, in the truest sense of the word. But does this mean you must defend the South no matter what’s being said? If it’s alright to say etiquette and family honor are facets of Southern culture, then isn’t it just as alright for me to say some bad things about the South too? It seems to me that you’re often reluctant to accept those bad things, while the good things readily come to mind.
It shouldn’t. I got it out of a gum ball machine for a nickel.
I’m not talking about your emotions in particular. But yes, I do believe anyone who is upset about Whoopie’s comments is lacking perspective and has fallen prey to recreational outrage. I’ve listened to her comments multiple times now, and even taken out of context, I just don’t see anything ire-inducing about them. Nothing at all. I just can’t sympathize with the emotional displays that I’m seeing. And no one in this thread has been able to convice me in a rational, logical way why she is deserving of a Pit thread.
This latest Whoopie-said-what! media showcase is consistent with a pattern that leads me to believe that the quest for ratings is why his tempest is being made. Without these periodic “controversies”, The View would easily fizzle into oblivion. Look what Rosie said! Look what Star did! And now it’s how can Whoopie say that! But I hear much crazier things coming out of the mouths of Pat Buchanan and others on MSNBC.
My feelings are just as valid as yours, though. My feelings tell me that the media is playing people like violins. Don’t take issue with my feelings if you can’t take me having an issue with yours.
monstro is right. You are taking this to extremes. Again I am reminded of the “Why do you hate America?” appeal that so many of us on the board lampoon on a daily basis.
You know what I do for a living, Zoe. So don’t even go there with the whole talking about animal rights thing. Because I will take any argument that you dare toss at me and fuck it up. And I won’t be nice about. Really.
If Whoopie had said that dog-fighting was indicative to certain segments of the black community rather than talking about the South, I have a feeling there’d be no complaints from the crowd that is accusing her of defending Vick right now. Even if she had said it in the same exact tone and evertyhing. In fact, I can easily see her getting praised, not villified, for saying such a thing.
Can anyone convince me I’m wrong in feeling this way? This is a honest question. I’m more than willing to revise my opinion if someone gives me a good reason to do so.
Well, I got the meth and ‘shine stuff hidden pretty good - - should keep the kids and dogs out but let my ol’ lady get to her stash when her cravins get bad - - and have time to jot a note before I head out to the cross burnin’.
Personally, I don’t have RO over what Whoopi said. Not much RO over Whoopi as a person either. I got into this thread to counter what I perceived to be incorrect information from other dopers about dog fighting being more likely to be conducted in the South than elsewhere in the US or that dogfighting “culture” (talk about an oxymoron) is centered in the South.
While that may have been true in the not-too-distant past (just as dogfighting originally was more prevalent in northern cities in the distant past) in my opinion, based on what I’ve read and what little research I’ve done, the practice has been embraced by some professional athletes and some rap and hip-hop musicians. As such, it’s less a regional subculture and more a socio-economic subculture, at least in Michael Vick’s case.
I cannot speak for Zoe (not that I’d hold a candle to her, even if I did) but while I’m embarrassed when regional statistics such as health and education show the South still has much progress to be made, I don’t object since criticism is accurate and fact-based. I do, occasionally, get frustrated when southerness is erroneously trotted out as a contributing factor to moral turpitude or other moral or societal shortcomings.
Zoe, thanks for the kind offer. I went to college just down the road from you in the Podunk town of Sewanee, and frequented Nashville a fair amount back in the day. You’re likewise welcome to come visit should you get down our way. Life is still challenging post-Katrina, but progress, although at a snail’s pace, is being made.