It is getting dark in the South. The sun is dropping towards the horizon line like a giant blazing peach. Of course, it will be seen by easygoing, hospitable folks by porchlight, as they sip mostly sugar sweet tea with a spoonful of water. Wrong Speak Publishing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
I think the stereotypes of Southerners, while there may be a kernel of truth in them, often veer towards the ludicrous Hollywood caricatures of your opening paragraph. I'm an Englishman who spent 14 years in Arkansas, and while I certainly met some obnoxious people there, the great majority were decent, good people, perhaps not always well educated, but that was hardly their fault. And while I probably won't return to the States to live either, if I did, it would certainly be in the South, because on the whole the people are more authentic there, more honest, friendlier, and the music's better and there's more sense of community. And to me there's nothing more 'deplorable' than a self-righteous Yankee like the one who so scornfully characterised a whole section of the country with that word.
every place has people like you describe. it isn't so much the place as it is human nature. I have met some of the most hateful, racist, and culturally ignorant people amongst the most ' educated' and 'cultured' in San Francisco and in Austin. They just have different accents and use slightly different words to convey their thoughts.
I think the stereotypes of Southerners, while there may be a kernel of truth in them, often veer towards the ludicrous Hollywood caricatures of your opening paragraph. I'm an Englishman who spent 14 years in Arkansas, and while I certainly met some obnoxious people there, the great majority were decent, good people, perhaps not always well educated, but that was hardly their fault. And while I probably won't return to the States to live either, if I did, it would certainly be in the South, because on the whole the people are more authentic there, more honest, friendlier, and the music's better and there's more sense of community. And to me there's nothing more 'deplorable' than a self-righteous Yankee like the one who so scornfully characterised a whole section of the country with that word.
14 years- not exactly a short visit. I am sure you know what you are talking about. What you say is true. That is exactly it.
I'd like to think I'm an honorary Arkansan. The other night I dreamed that I was a soldier in the Civil War--on the Confederate side.
People in Georgia have you on their mind too 😉
every place has people like you describe. it isn't so much the place as it is human nature. I have met some of the most hateful, racist, and culturally ignorant people amongst the most ' educated' and 'cultured' in San Francisco and in Austin. They just have different accents and use slightly different words to convey their thoughts.
That's true. Wherever a man goes, there he is.