Attitudes Toward the South

[Kalli]

I dunno about a turd, but I have to say, I've enjoyed xkcd a lot more since I've found that blog. He makes a large number of very valid criticisms more often than not.

Well, the criticisms may be correct more often than not, but at the end of the day, it's a friggin webcomic. How perfect does it really need to be to be entertaining?

Having said that, the unnecessarily harsh criticisms are pretty damn funny, but I hope the guy's just having a laugh, because if he's serious, then he's just a dick.

[BroomJockey]

Well, the criticisms may be correct more often than not, but at the end of the day, it's a friggin webcomic. How perfect does it really need to be to be entertaining?

Having said that, the unnecessarily harsh criticisms are pretty damn funny, but I hope the guy's just having a laugh, because if he's serious, then he's just a dick.

Well, he's a former fan of XKCD, who noted a marked decline in quality, and part of his problem is the large and unnecessary amounts of worship that Randall Munroe receives from both his forums and the general public. As for how seriously he takes it, double-check the blog, and read the tag-line. He started using that after a comment left on one of his posts.

[Flyndaran]

Or have sex with cows.

The relevant statistic is about one in five males that work with large animals have had vaginal intercourse with said beasts. Females in said situations are only about 2% likely to have such sex.

...
It's IMPORTANT! I wish someone would tell my husband this. Every time I talk about zombie preparation he looks at me like I'm nuts.

If I hadn't already won the love game, I would ask you to marry me.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

But I did refuse to even consider stopping for dinner for 20 miles on the grounds that I would still be within walking distance, and I did not want to meet He Who Walks Behind The Rows.


.

Dammit.

You don't think about Rule Number 1 around here....

We used to joke that our northern friends used to invite us to parties up in Jersey just so they could laugh at the way we talk.

People bust on the south for a couple reasons:

1. Some people in other places are stupid enough to believe that stereotypes are never inaccurate at all.
2. Some people down here are stupid enough to keep feeding the stereotypes.

I mean, really, the whole "dumb Southerner" thing is not accurate and it's not true. However, my fair state ends up in the national news way too often. And if all you're hearing about is the stupid stuff, but none of the great stuff, well, I guess you can hardly be blamed for having a one sided opinion on things.

And our accents, I have to think, don't help. It's a stereotype that people with twangy speech patterns are dumb. Usually, they aren't any dumber than anyone else, but there you go.

[Flyndaran]

... Usually, they aren't any dumber than anyone else, but there you go.

Ooh, so sad that you're ignorant of your own state's abysmal education history.... Just kidding... mostly.

[AdminAssistant]

Ooh, so sad that you're ignorant of your own state's abysmal education history.... Just kidding... mostly.

Smart folks can grow up in a terrible educational system; you just have to work harder at it. I mean, my home state's public education system is in the crapper (Thanks, Huck!), but Gov. Beebe is fixing it as fast as they can. But it doesn't help that education is funded by property tax dollars. Therefore, kids of Wal-Mart execs in Benton have access to top notch public schools. Kids of cotton or rice farmers in the Delta aren't so lucky. The disparity is just as prevalent in the higher education system - thus my hatred of the University of Arkansas. Well, that and the fact that enough people think we're all pig f*ckers without a cheer like "whoooooo PIG sooie!".

I was lucky to go to a half decent school and had some good teachers. But I also did a lot of reading outside of school. I mean, say what you want about President Clinton, but the man is very smart. It's possible, there are just more obstacles.

ETA: RK, my BIL is a walking redneck stereotype. He's a nice guy and makes my sister happy, but sometimes I just look at him and shake my head. And when I went to NYC on a trip, a lot of people would ask me to say various things, just to listen to me speak. It got real annoying, real quick.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Ooh, so sad that you're ignorant of your own state's abysmal education history.... Just kidding... mostly.

Being a product of a particularly shitty district of the South Carolina public school system, I can assure you that I am not ignorant of anything about it. Particularly since I did so saddled with a learning disability on top of it, during an era when dyscalculia was unheard of.

What is sad that you equate a crappy school system with the overall intellect of the people who are at the mercy of it. Intellect has nothing to do with someone's gpa. Many of us manage to shine in spite of the burdens our crappy school system has caused us.

I'm not saying we're smarter than anyone else...I'm just saying we aren't any less intelligent, either.

And I'm pretty sure you aren't "just kidding." People who say that never are.


Admin- I don't get it all that bad...my accent's not real heavy, usually. And I hang out with a Cajun and a woman from Eutawville. Talk about your heavy accents. I mean, even WE try to get Cajun guy to say "Egg." It's hilarious.

One of the producers at Public TV was a sterotypical redneck...at least he looked like one. But he wan't one. Heavy accent, unshaven, big beer gut, billed cap, dirty jeans. Guy was great to work with, really knew his stuff and knew how to really work a control room. My heavily accented Cajun pal is just about one of the two smartest men I've ever met. Unbelievable mind on that guy. The other is my husband, from the upstate.

[AdminAssistant]

My heavily accented Cajun pal is just about one of the two smartest men I've ever met. Unbelievable mind on that guy.

The smartest people I know (grandparents, parents, etc.) never had more than a high school education. If it has an engine, my Dad can fix it. If it's metal, he can weld it. Mom is genius when it comes to cooking, sewing...and I swear that woman can get a stain out of anything. And my grandparents? Fuhgeddaboutit. Self-sustainers. Trips to the store were rare, and only to get staples like flour, sugar, cloth, etc. Most everything else came from the farm, from hunting trips, fishing trips, and so on. The sheer artistry in some of the quilts made by my grandmother and our neighbor is mind boggling. Our neighbor made all of her decisions based on farmer's almanacs and moon signs. She always had a thriving garden and accurately predicted when Big Sis and I would be born, that we would be girls, and told Mom when to wean us. That kind of learnin' you can't find in books.

[Greenday]

I will have to test this South Isn't Stupid theory when I go down to Kentucky/Tennessee next week and the week after. I will not count the troops or anyone on the base.

[MystyGlyttyr]

I've been told by my northern friends that listening to me and my drawl get off into discussing chemistry, physics, or meteorology is one of the funniest things they've ever heard. Particularly because I've actually taught myself to NOT use a particularly strong accent...except when I get agitated or excited, at which point I sound like a long-lost Duke cousin.

Random sudden hate: So what if I say nu-clear or nuke-u-lar, damnit. You know what I mean. "Correct" my pronunciation again and I'll show you the definition, fuckwad. YOU can't pronounce any of OUR words right either. I'm looking at you, Weather Channel.

[guywithashovel]

I will probably never live in the South for two primary reasons:

1. I don't like hot weather. Granted, we have some pretty hot days here in Ohio, but between September and May it's usually pretty comfortable for me here.

2. Religion. Nothing personal to anyone, but my religious views would certain make me an outcast down in the South. Unless I moved to a metropolitan area or found one of the "bubbles" I talked about in an earlier post in this thread, I might encounter some problems. And even if I did find a "bubble," I would still have to cope with the heat issue.

All in all, I would rather live here in this Midwestern city where the summers are usually fairly moderate, the springs and autumns are cool and crisp, the winters are cold, and people tyically mind their own business when it comes to personal matters.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

2. Religion. Nothing personal to anyone, but my religious views would certain make me an outcast down in the South. .....

.... and people tyically mind their own business when it comes to personal matters.

Well, can't help you with the heat, but people typically mind their business down here, too.

I know people of all stripe down here, from Jehovah's Witnesses to Catholics to Southern Baptists to Wiccans, and none of them are outcasts.

I mean, people look at you a little funny when they find out you aren't into football, but I guess there's no helping that.

I'm curious...all you folks who think we are all a bunch of stump riding Baptist church going klansmen, where exactly are you getting your info from? Personal experience or the media?

Interestingly, out of all the people I hang out with regularly only one of them is Baptist (the denomination we all are, supposedly) and she's not even hard core. I'm Episcopalean....and off the top of my head, that's pretty much it. Nobody else in my rather large circle of friends is particularly religious. Or, I guess I should say, nobody else is a regular church goer.

It ain't like we all go the Big Church Of Dixie down here.

[BroomJockey]

It ain't like we all go the Big Church Of Dixie down here.

You mean the Dukes of Hazzard LIED to me?!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

As God is my witness, I came this close to typing "Big Church Of Dukes Of Hazzard."

Pinky swear.

But yeah, seriously, I am willing to be even money most of the people who think they know how it is down here get their info from watching Boss Hogg or Deliverence.

Does insane, ass backward shit happen down here? Certainly. Does it happen everywhere else? Well, ya'll tell me. It seems so to me. But then, I don't live there.

[BroomJockey]

Does insane, ass backward shit happen down here? Certainly. Does it happen everywhere else? Well, ya'll tell me. It seems so to me. But then, I don't live there.

Well, I can't speak for anywhere else, but our crazy people don't make it on to TV unless they're a politician calling their ex-girlfriend a dog, choking a protester, or driving a jet ski to a press conference.