# To all the ignorant people out there - stop making the South out to be some unique villain. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 2, 2015, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024 "2015-07-02T04:59:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/361 "2015-07-06T06:18:23Z")
[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_intelligence): [INDENT][INDENT]Social intelligence is the capacity to effectively negotiate complex social relationships and environments.[1] Social scientist Ross Honeywill believes social intelligence is an aggregated measure of self- and social-awareness, evolved social beliefs and attitudes, and a capacity and appetite to manage complex social change. Psychologist Nicholas Humphrey believes that it is social intelligence, rather than quantitative intelligence, that defines humans. [/INDENT][/INDENT] I’ve heard that Mensa style IQ tests don’t measure social intelligence very well, but rather symbolic manipulation. [INDENT][INDENT]See also ``` Emotional literacy Intelligence quotient Life skills People skills Social cognition Social skills Soft skills ``` [/INDENT][/INDENT] ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/362 "2015-07-06T06:31:46Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_intelligence): [INDENT][INDENT]Social intelligence is the capacity to effectively negotiate complex social relationships and environments.[1] Social scientist Ross Honeywill believes social intelligence is an aggregated measure of self- and social-awareness, evolved social beliefs and attitudes, and a capacity and appetite to manage complex social change. Psychologist Nicholas Humphrey believes that it is social intelligence, rather than quantitative intelligence, that defines humans. [/INDENT][/INDENT] I’ve heard that Mensa style IQ tests don’t measure social intelligence very well, but rather symbolic manipulation. [INDENT][INDENT]See also > > ``` > Emotional literacy > Intelligence quotient > Life skills > People skills > Social cognition > Social skills > Soft skills > > ``` > > [/INDENT][/INDENT] Oh no, you are not ever going to get me to take a social intelligence test. There is nothing to be gained from that. As noted previously, I am a real douchebag although I prefer the term ‘prick’ because that is what my mother calls me affectionately. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/363 "2015-07-06T06:51:19Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Meanwhile one of my black friends from rural Louisiana who trained me at my first job just posted on Facebook that he got his one birthday wish from his wife - the full Dukes of Hazzard series on DVD. He was worried that he wouldn’t get it because the prices have skyrocketed to over $600 because of protests from white liberals but she bought it early as a surprise. Social dynamics are not nearly as simple as many of our wannabee caretakers assume. Your “black friend”\* is a fucking moron, but then again, who else would want the complete _Dukes of Hazzard_ series? If you look beyond the first Amazon hit, each season can be had for around 20 bucks. It’s absolutely amazing, though. That show can only be found on physical disks, featuring unbreakable encryption. 600 bucks is nothing. If you can find it for $6000, pay it. That shit will be gold someday. \*I doubt anyone believed that remarkably convenient story. Don’t forget to post about your other black friend, the one with the " Dixie Forever" tattoo and the Stars and Bars flag on his garage. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/364 "2015-07-06T07:01:42Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Your “black friend”\* is a fucking moron, but then again, who else would want the complete _Dukes of Hazzard_ series? If you look beyond the first Amazon hit, each season can be had for around 20 bucks. It’s absolutely amazing, though. That show can only be found on physical disks, featuring unbreakable encryption. 600 bucks is nothing. If you can find it for $6000, pay it. That shit will be gold someday. > \*I doubt anyone believed that remarkably convenient story. Don’t forget to post about your other black friend, the one with the " Dixie Forever" tattoo and the Stars and Bars flag on his garage. It wasn’t a “convenient” story. It is from today and it is true. Here is the text of it: “A few weeks ago before all this flag controversy I asked my wife to purchase my favorite childhood show series for my birthday and it was less than $200, now look at the price! as soon as they took it off the air the price went up CRAZY! Hey friends please don’t use my post to discuss the flag issue thanks.” He isn’t a moron and his wife didn’t pay $600 for it. She bought it before the prices went up just out of chance (I said that earlier). My only point is that some people claiming good intentions only had the immediate effect of almost costing a really cool guy his birthday wish. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/365 "2015-07-06T08:55:34Z")
Apropos of mostly nothing after looking up The Dukes of Hazzard on Amazon I came across some pretty bizarre books: [http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/141207178X/ref=mp\_s\_a\_1\_3?qid=1436172464&sr=8-3&pi=AC\_SY200\_QL40&keywords=confederate+flag&dpPl=1&dpID=414QcLDljwL&ref=plSrch](http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/141207178X/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1436172464&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=confederate+flag&dpPl=1&dpID=414QcLDljwL&ref=plSrch) Also if you think the Civil War was about slavery at all you are simply ignorant, take a gander at this book (hope you’re picking up my sarcasm): [http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0985363274/ref=pd\_aw\_sim\_14\_2?refRID=0NM5MAZAV27CRFG7RAVJ](http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0985363274/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_2?refRID=0NM5MAZAV27CRFG7RAVJ) ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/366 "2015-07-06T10:45:47Z")
No, no, explain again how ‘progressive’ a region with streets, schools and statuary all celebrating the glorious fight for the right to enslave others is. That one never goes out of style! After that, how about a second chorus of ‘we’re sooo misunderstood!’ And then a couple of more verses of ‘why do you persist in misjudging us this way?’. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/367 "2015-07-06T11:45:39Z")
Recurring problem in America (and not just the South): thinking that white people can get an accurate perspective of the history of race-relations, racism, and the black experience in America _without deferring almost entirely to black people’s reports, views, and experiences_. In the 1800s, black people, as a group, had an accurate and truthful understanding of how black people were actually treated in America, and white people generally did not. The same was true in the early and mid 1900s – black people, in general, knew what was going on (just with the treatment of black people – I’m not arguing that black people have any special insight into all truth and all topics), and many or most white people did not (and many of the white people that did thought it was appropriate). Sorry, **Tibby** , but it’s ludicrous to claim that black people and white people lived mostly “in harmony” in the South after slavery. Black people were continual victims of terrorism in the South – lynchings, beatings, rapes, and the like were consistent threats for just being in the wrong place, using the wrong bathroom, or other such “crimes”. Black people were mostly unable to vote in huge swaths of the South for nearly a century after slavery ended. The KKK or white citizens’ councils ruled many towns, organizing to determine how best to keep the black population in their place. You’d know all this stuff if most of your information came from black sources (meaning black writers from the time, black journalists, black people over a certain age [and not just one or two, but dozens or hundreds]). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/368 "2015-07-06T12:55:31Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > … For one thing, many towns and cities in the South are majority black and those that aren’t still have a significant presence of blacks and, increasingly, hispanics. A true racist would go out their mind the first day because there is no way to avoid interaction with different races. … It’s a relief to know that true racists have no safe havens in the South. I’m lead to the conclusion that all the racists in the South are fals ones – somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/369 "2015-07-06T13:12:59Z")
Let’s contrast what **Shagnasty** found in his ass with a more empirical look at segregation, via Nate Silver at 538. Since he’s focused so much on Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA, I’ve selectively pulled from the cities on Nate Silver’s list in order to demonstrate the number and nature of southern cities that are worse than Boston and San Francisco in terms of diversity. Note also that Silver’s analysis is not exhaustive of US cities. Additionally, there are of course many Northern cities that fare poorly on this list. I know that **Shagnasty** and **Tibby or not Tibby** and their ilk eschew empiricism, so this will just result in handwaving, but others may find it more compelling than an argument by butt-product. > **[The Most Diverse Cities Are Often The Most Segregated](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-most-diverse-cities-are-often-the-most-segregated/)** > > When I was a freshman at the University of Chicago in 1996, I heard the same thing again and again: Do not leave the boundaries of Hyde Park. Do not go north of… This list is organized from worst to best. [ul]Chicago, IL Atlanta, GA Philadelphia Baton Rouge New Orleans Memphis Birmingham, AL Greensboro, NC Boston, MA Norfolk, VA Nashville, TN Charlotte, NC Ft Worth, TX Winston-Salem, NC Raleigh, NC San Francisco, CA[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/370 "2015-07-06T13:23:56Z")
As a crazy liberal, atheist, law degree type I can say that my current home of Charlotte is slightly less racist than upstate NY where I grew up and way less racist than Indiana, where I lived for a few years. Charlotte may not represent the south as a whole, but it’s certainly here. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/371 "2015-07-06T13:38:39Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > ETA to paraphrase Baby Jane Hudson: “but he was, Blanche. He was wearing a Confedetate flag!” Whatever happened to her, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/372 "2015-07-06T13:47:39Z")
Shagnasty is one of the biggest, stupidest, trolls on this board. I would be willing to bet nearly everything he says is a lie. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/373 "2015-07-06T13:51:25Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > As a crazy liberal, atheist, law degree type I can say that my current home of Charlotte is slightly less racist than upstate NY where I grew up and way less racist than Indiana, where I lived for a few years. > > Charlotte may not represent the south as a whole, but it’s certainly here. I grew up in St. Louis, which is pretty much a Southern city. It was super racist. My Facebook page tells me that it continues to be so. Pittsburgh is way less racist. It feels very segregated, although it did better on Nate Silver’'s list than I thought it would. It also suffers from problems with racism, as does the state as a whole. (Pennsylvania has been famously described aa Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in between.) Still, it’s way better than St. Louis. Of course, this exchange of anecdotes is about useless, but as is usually the way on the SDMB, people respond more to anecdote than to empiricism. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/374 "2015-07-06T13:53:49Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Meet me at the nearest testing center and bring money. I have $1000 I am willing to put for who scores higher. We can do it virtually too. You can pick the standardized test. Any of them will do. I pick [this one.](http://www.buzzfeed.com/amberhoffele/what-spongebob-character-are-you-based-on-your-zod-1kk97) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/375 "2015-07-06T13:59:37Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > Shagnasty is one of the biggest, stupidest, trolls on this board. I would be willing to bet nearly everything he says is a lie. Did you not see that see that he quoted an actual post that we can’t verify. If that isn’t proof, I don’t know what is! ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/376 "2015-07-06T14:08:55Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Of course, this exchange of anecdotes is about useless, but as is usually the way on the SDMB, people respond more to anecdote than to empiricism. Well, it makes some sense. People on a message board want to hear about what other people think - that’s kind of its essence. Just because anecdotal evidence isn’t scientific doesn’t mean it isn’t interesting or useful. I do think your anecdote is meaningful and not necessarily surprising. I also think it points out the fact that even though there may or may not be general trends, the situation is probably more nuanced than many people think. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/377 "2015-07-06T14:16:26Z")
Tangentially related… > **[Fire truck flies Confederate flag alongside U.S. flag in Albert Lea holiday...](https://m.startribune.com/aside-stars-and-stripes-firetruck-flies-confederate-flag-in-albert-lea-holiday-parade/311675081/)** > > Firefighter was suspended after flying flag in parade. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/378 "2015-07-06T14:17:02Z")
Maybe the OP should have started a thread to blast these ignorant, uh, yahoos for causing negative impressions of the South. [http://news.yahoo.com/nascar-fans-defend-display-confederate-flags-daytona-172016660--spt.html](http://news.yahoo.com/nascar-fans-defend-display-confederate-flags-daytona-172016660--spt.html) "Larry Reeves of Jacksonville Beach has a tattered Confederate flag on top of his motorhome. He initially thought NASCAR was banning the banner and didn’t display it this week. But once he saw some flying around him and asked a few questions, he realized it was voluntary and quickly sent his back up the pole. “It’s just a Southern pride thing,” the 66-year-old Reeves said. “It’s nothing racist or anything. I’ve been doing this for 30 years.” ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/379 "2015-07-06T14:25:08Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Meet me at the nearest testing center and bring money. I have $1000 I am willing to put for who scores higher. We can do it virtually too. You can pick the standardized test. Any of them will do. What about the “I got your nose” standardized test? See who falls for that. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024/380 "2015-07-06T14:49:57Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Tangentially related… > > [Star Tribune](http://m.startribune.com/local/311675081.html) Personally, I’ve decided as a Northerner to stop cowtowing to the PC police as well. I’m putting my Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice flag back up on my car tonight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-all-the-ignorant-people-out-there-stop-making-the-south-out-to-be-some-unique-villain/724024.md?page=20)