Actually, what I have to say is about one particular Southerner. It's clearly anecdotal -- and I may be biased, but these are facts about this woman.
Seems many DUers are eager to generalize about all Southerners, since most of them are among the country's 59M 2004 Assclowns. But for God's sake, South-loathing DUers: please realize that all Southerners cannot be categorized as inbred, backward, ignorant, brain-dead idiots.
Mrs. Venation is an Appalachian hillbilly, born and raised in Eastern Tennessee, well within the Bible Belt. Her parents and most of her large extended family are extremely devout Southern Baptists, and that's how she was raised. Mrs. V.'s parents' religion doesn't much influence their politics. They're Democrats and they voted Kerry/Edwards. When Mrs. V. came out to them, they told her it made no difference; that they would never love her any less for knowing she's gay.
Mrs. V. is a progressive liberal. She's more liberal than I am, and more outspoken (although more shy IRL). She has a logical mind, and knows how to keep her cool, making her very valuable in a debate.
Among the jobs Mrs. V. has held are coal miner, caregiver to the profoundly retarded, and escort and guard to women at a battered women's shelter (armed as necessary). Due to gender discrimination in the early 70s, she successfully sued the TVA. She has always been -- from an early age -- a fervent and outspoken defender of laborers, Americans struggling for equality, and a woman's right to choose. (Among the influential experiences my beloved has had was an incident the morning of the Birmingham church bombing. She was 12 years old. At church that morning, she and a few of her friends stood discussing the bombing and weeping. A deacon walked by and said, "Don't know what you all are so upset over. It was only four little nigger girls.")
Mrs. V. reads the Washington Post front to back every day, as well as most of her hometown newspaper on line. She is our family's political analyst. Right or wrong, I rely upon her for much of my news about Congress & the Administration. She devours it all -- as well as devouring local news, real estate news, book reviews, etc., etc.
I shared this general prejudice against Southerners until the first time I spoke to Mrs. V. on the phone. We had corresponded for months, and I'd come to know an intelligent, well-read, well-spoken, sophisticated woman. I knew she was from Tennessee, but didn't expect to hear that accent on the other end of the line! Just hearing the accent, my prejudice kicked in instantly. But since I knew this woman, it was gone within ten seconds. Gone forever.
Saying "I know all Southerners aren't like this, but
most are so
I'm right" is not acceptable.
Replace the word "Southerners" with "liberals" and imagine those words coming from the mouth of a neocon. Then the picture may begin to emerge.
(originally posted in
the Lounge. Figured there might be a more varied response here.)