It is in our nature as a species to become defensive when attacked, especially when we are attacked at a relentless pace. Granted, I have a biased opinion about that which I am going to pen this blog/op-ed, but I implore you to hear me out before drawing a conclusion on the topic. And one other caveat to add: I have lived and traveled enough to draw my conclusions based upon observations, as well as historical fact.
I am a Gen X'r, or a person born into a family of Baby Boomers. Generation X is a largely forgotten one for reasons I cannot explain, except to say we were the beginning of smaller families after the raucous birthing after World War II. Our formative years were the 1980's--a decade of American prosperity, a Cold War, and an end of the Soviet Empire. We were also the first generation removed from the second largest, most disgusting stain in American history: racial segregation.
For those of us living in a post-racially divided southern state, schools educating blacks and whites in the same classroom was normal. As elementary school children, we knew nothing of racial segregation. In fact, anyone living through segregation would have confused someone from my generation by talking about removing one of our friends from a class because he/she was black.
Now, my generation has grown up and we have given birth to the next group--Millennials. This generation, no matter your opinion of them, have taken the "all people are human" to a whole new level of complexity, but whether or not you understand their approach is irrelevant to this topic. Although I will say, I can at least appreciate the love and generosity they try to instill on others (I will leave it at that).
The point of my previous paragraphs has lead up to the topic of this entry. Like many people, I enjoy picking and choosing Biblical scripture to quote. I really do not care what your personal religious preference is, but it is difficult to deny much of the wisdom contained inside its hold covers. One such quote is this, "Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin." (Deuteronomy 24:16).
Since 1865 the southern United States, or more specifically the former Confederacy, has been punished and ridiculed by its northern counterparts on a regular basis. Despite President Lincoln's proclamation that the north would not do those exact things, the opposite has been true. How this has manifested itself is also noteworthy.
There is no doubt that blacks were not allowed employment in white owned companies in the south. This was a self-inflicted wound shot into the thigh of an already limping southern area. Rather than bringing labor into its workforce, many southern owned companies refused to hire blacks resulting in a poorer demographic overall. I shall not gloss over that fact!
Large corporations and manufacturing based companies refused to move facilities to the south, so as to avoid the stigmatism that came along with doing so. The same holds true today, although the tides have begun shifting somewhat, because southerners are willing to work for a lower wage than their union counterparts in the north.
Because of the disparity in economic factors between north and south, those individuals seeking an education often could not do so. A direct result of this disparity was a sense of "going it alone" and being self-sufficient. As southerners, the decision to figure things out on our own and do it ourselves became a point of pride.
Our dialect (distinctly different in each region of the deep south, but noticeable to southerners with an ear for such things) quickly became a subject by which the north would also ridicule us. The southern accent was described as quaint, unintelligible, and something only the uneducated would utter. In fact, the growing bourgeoisie of the north looked down their noses at such reprehensible forms of speech.
Let us fast forward to 2017 (almost 2018) and take note of how we, as a collective southern folk, are seen by our northern brothers. Still, we are looked upon with disdain; a region where white men wear pointy white hats and burn crosses in large fields while invoking God to protect us all, although most of us have never seen a Klansman, or haven't seen one in decades. We are assailed for our lack of education, despite having some of the most educated people (see Huntsville, Alabama as an example).
Have you paid particular notice to how the media portrays southerners, no matter their skin color? Let a tornado devastate a community and watch how quickly they find a trailer park with a toothless guy wearing a wife-beater t-shirt to interview (and before anyone is triggered by this remark, I spent a significant portion of my life living in a trailer, but my teeth are intact and every interview I've ever given has been with sleeves of some sort).
Do you listen to how politicians from the north talk about their southern counterparts? You would think our election process requires us to find the lowest, dumbest, most ridiculous cretin on the planet then place him or her in D.C. Note: check yourself and your own elected officials before jumping on this bandwagon.
The south continues to be punished for our fathers' indiscretions. By large, racial tensions in the south are good. We break bread together, we ride on buses with one another, we grow up playing with each other, and we attend church together. Why, then, does the north continue their ridicule? I suspect the answer lies somewhere between self-loathing and some underlying psychological issue that resonates with them alone.
In closing, what I find most disparaging about the punishment and ridicule levied by the north is that many of my fellow southerners now feel obliged to agree with them. Pummeling someone into submission is a disgusting act, but in many cases it appears to be working. To this I say to my fellow southerner (black and white alike): Southern man don't need him around anyhow. We think critically and are capable of being our own people. Your acceptance is not required.
Be well, y'all.
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