Why do many people hate the South?

It's surprising where far-right politics crop up, really. A lot of Greeks are threatening to turn to the Golden Dawn if Tsipras' government doesn't work out. I hope they're kidding because I've heard that Golden Dawn are kind of nuts.

Europe really isn't a bed of roses. There are countries there that are doing alright, but there are issues that still need to be resolved. Hate isn't going to fix any of them.

 

I haven't been to the south much, but I do feel sort of negatively towards southern states based on what I know and have heard. Like you said, it's basically just the racism stuff/homophobia that is more prevalent down there (not that there aren't people like that up north too).
Also, I think it has a bit to do with our history. Since many southern states wanted to secede from the Union so they could make their own laws, I know many people view it as "well we want to keep having slaves so we don't want to be ruled by your government." I know there's a lot more to it, but I think that mentality has led a lot of people to view the south as rebellious and stubborn and cruel (because of slavery).
I know it's probably a great place to live and not as bad as people make it out to be, it's just a mindset people have developed because of historical and political differences.

 

Nobody retires and moves up North.
God Bless the South

 

I hated so many things about living in the South. However, one thing that I sorely miss was how, as a whole, the people were genuine and friendly. I think I need to move back.

 

Ever heard of Northern Hospitality?

Didn't think so.

 

Mind you, I do like Massachusetts. Pennsylvania, though, strikes me as a basically pointless state. They can be like southern rednecks only more combative driving habits and worse manners. Folks from Wisconsin strike me as eccentric and sweet.

 

Pennsylvania is a rubbish state (I live there). Simply awful. What you have a place with super-long winters, no spring, hot/humid summers for weather. Way too many pointless laws. And the people are mean and legalistic. Plus you have, as Christiaan mentioned - what I like to call the "yankee yahoos" which are like rednecks on steroids + worse manners. And what's got to be one of the worst accents.

I'm leaving PA as soon as possible. Though I won't return South, probably move to the Pacific coast as it strikes me as a nice region.

 

Well, to me, certain parts of Massachusetts seem to be what many folks THINK the "South" is. You get around places like Adams, for instance, it's such a beautiful hillbilly area with people who are just easy to get along with. I have never had any negative experiences with that state, although the folks in Boston really ought to consider stopping to...just breathe. Just...breathe. But I love them anyway.

I love certain Yankee states, expecially Massachusetts and Wisconsin, but I'm glad it's not just my imagination that PA is a loo. Oh, and I was left with an impression of Cleveland, Ohio that they're coke-addicts because I made a transfer at a bus station there, and the driver was fundamentally wacky to the point where people on the bus were crying, praying, calling the cops, and generally panicking. It was hilarious. I know that's not a way to judge a whole state, but it's fun to recount that story anyhow.

 

Alot of stereotypes and ignorance.

 

I've lived in it for my whole life.... and it makes vacations out of it feel like heaven.

The heat is intense, bugs are bad, people are close-minded... and everyone wants to shove their love of religion and sports down your throat.
There's nothing in town for a nerd like me to do. I like snow, and convention centers, arcades etc... personal problem, I know. People like me are so out of place here.
Anyone who shares anything in common with me in the south ends up an "outcast". It's sad, but that's how I know someone is "cool" most of the time.

The only good thing about it in my opinion is the chicken.

 

Actually, crime tends, in general, to be worse in rural areas. Rural areas are freakin' scary.

http://science.time.com/2013/07/23/...ut-that-cities-are-the-safest-places-to-live/

Has that been my experience? You betcha.

 

Considering the fact that you believe that having "too many feminists" is negative, I highly doubt that we will be able to agree on many social or ideological issues.

The Confederacy, however, was not the patron for states rights. The North and the South have both historically opposed the federal government implementing and enforcing legislation without the approval of all states and territories. Slavery was not the first. Slavery was not the last. If the rise of the Confederacy was truly about the states feeling as though their right to govern themselves was being violated, then we would have erupted into war numerous decades before and the opposition would still be alive and well today.

You can be proud of your southern heritage without trying to convince yourself that the history of all of its symbols is pure.

 

One more time, we don't take umbrage over your views regarding that damn flag, but what is aggravating is that you are ignorant. You assume that people around Atlanta, GA use the "Confederate flag" in the same way as white supremacists in California, who have it hanging up next to a symbol of a Nazi swastika.

Granted, the people here who DO use the Confederate flag are largely aggravating people, their reasons for using it are entirely different. They are still kind of stupid reasons, but they are entirely different.

It is not that we who are trying to correct you are so wedded to the flag, but your ignorance--as well as your propensity for seeming to proudly advertise it--makes some of us want to leap up and strangle you, because you are ignorant. I don't even like the damn flag. I don't like the people who are attached to it, and neither did my partner, who was a Confederate sympathizer. It is ugly, and its use in the "stainless banner," which was conceived specifically as a white supremacist symbol, made its history ugly. However, if you advertise your ignorance in public, then we are going to tell you that you are ignorant.

You assume that people here use it in the same way as people in your part of the country. It makes you look very stupid. Here, it's not used for racist reasons, just for very dumb reasons. There is a difference.

Look, they see it as the "flag of Dixie," which they have a lot of stupid romantic illusions about and see as being much more ideologically unified than it actually is. There IS no Dixie. We are a highly diverse part of the country. Nevertheless, these people see the "South" as their home, and they want to have a little flag for it. I disagree with it, but it's not racism.

 

Honestly... I love the south, I can't help it, it's home to me.... Despite all the red necks and republicans...

I don't know why but I think this video is appropriate... Lauren Zuniga is a fellow Okie so I really identify a lot with what she says in it...

[YOUTUBE]WcsuyMWmRRU[/YOUTUBE]

 

Look, there are even black artists who use it. Lil Wayne and the Eastside Boyz used it on one of their albums. That's not because they're trying to make a statement, but it is so ingrained, in some people's consciousness, that it's just the flag that represents this part of the country, it just comes across as, "yeah, southern rappers lol." They really don't get your interpretation of it. They do not understand your interpretation of it. They can never see the flag in the same way as you, from California, see the flag. They are as ignorant of your culture's interpretation of it as you are of theirs.

 

First, do not assume that my views are based in a Californian perspective. I have lived in the South and frequent many states.

Secondly, quote the section of my post where I claimed to speak on how anyone viewed that flag. I challenged the posted that I quoted to recognize the origin and history behind a symbol that they claimed was based in innocent views on proper governance. I spoke nothing about the people who fly it or their motivations in doing so.

It is ironic that, despite the fact that you claimed that I was generalizing those who identify with the flag as supporting it for its racist history, you choose to generalize that none of them do. You have no authority to speak on how all of those within the south view that flag. To act as though none in the south use that flag also view it as a symbol of white supremacy is the finest example of ignorance that I have heard in a long time.

What ignorance exactly? Please, quote a statement that I made that was logically or historically inaccurate.

I feel privileged that you have taken the time to tell the rest of the people in this thread how all members of the South view the Confederate flag. I was no aware that the fact that it represents for many "the good old days" could not possibly remind them of the slavery or segregation that they both socially and economically benefited from as a result of. It is remarkable that there are no exceptions to this rule. I was not aware that all members of the South came together and decide to change the meaning of a symbol that represented slavery and segregation for ages into representing southern hospitality, happiness, and rainbows to all.