As I watched my local Montgomery, Alabama news station this morning, I saw that question pop up on the screen. What’s holding Alabama back? Wait, what? What do you mean by “holding back?”
In the segment, the news station sent out a roving reporter on the streets of Montgomery to ask random citizens to tell him what they believe is “holding Alabama back.” The reporter got a brainstorm of an idea by creating an impromptu ballot box with “WHAT’S HOLDING ALABAMA BACK?” written on all sides. He placed the box on a table with some blank index cards and Sharpies, and allowed people to anonymously write their responses on the cards and drop them in the box.
According to the reporter, allowing people to remain anonymous would greatly improve the chances of people giving honest answers. However, it also simultaneously eliminated any possibility of checking for significant differences in responses according to gender, race, age, etc. I kind of would have liked to have known all that, which I think he finally figured out the hard way when he started tallying the results.
More @ The Abbeville Institute
"No matter where you’re really from, lie and tell them you’re from Alabama. Then, watch what happens. Watch as they immediately deduct 25 IQ points from their first impression of you. Watch the confusion spread on their faces as they try to figure out how you’re able to speak clearly. Watch their eyes divert down to your feet to ascertain if you’re wearing shoes. Time them to see how long it takes to ask about lynchings and police dog attacks."
ReplyDeleteI'm from Alabama, so I'm not lying when I tell them that. I have kinfolks from PA, so I know exactly what he's talking about. :)
"What’s holding Alabama back? If I had stopped at that table, I would have written “Yankees”.
I would have written "The Federal Government and it's lackeys".
Central Alabamaian
I would have written "The Federal Government and it's lackeys".
DeleteThat would work also.
When I was younger I always wondered why Television (news, sitcoms, etc.) portrayed Southrons in a negative light. As long as I recall Southrons are portrayed as villians and mocked from comedy shows such as "The Beverly Hillbillies", "The Andy Griffith Show", "Hee Haw", to more serious shows that cast Southerners as racist, inbred toothless, lazy, illiterate characters . This still happens today. The news and documentaries were constantly showing scenes of Bull Connor using German Shepherds and fire hoses on black protesters, mounted state troopers riding down marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, etc. Producers still find ways to weave those infamous clips into some segment at least weekly. It is usually when some "civil rights" leader passes or a new monument pertaining to that struggle is unveiled, etc. The truth is the vast majority of blacks and whites get along just fine in the South. There are many older black folks who will tell you their quality of life was better before forced integration and desegregation. I am not saying we should return to those days as there were injustices, but in the pre-LBJ days most children (black and white) grew up in two parent households where at least one got up and went to work every day, and there was order and discipline. I didn't mean to go off chasing rabbits, but personally, I don't think anything is holding Alabamians back except for the state and federal government. They are impeding growth and entrepreneurship by using unnecessary taxes, fines, fee, and regulations. This is evident in mining, logging, industry, and small business. As far as why Southrons are cast in the bumpkin light, I really don't have an answer, but I think the author of the article hit one aspect that is true. He used the term "Yankees", do describe those who want to feel better about themselves by belittling others, but I will used the term progressives (this includes communist, socialist, liberals, academic elitist, etc.). Progressives think they know what is better for someone even more than the person or persons they perceive as to pitiful or ignorant to take care of their own-selves. I also believe, even today, that the South is a group of people who for the most part think alike, worship the same Jesus (of course there are numerous denominations, but one Jesus), and still believe in family, morals and manners. North America cannot be totally dominated until the vestiges of Southern Heritage along with the positive attributes that are attached to this culture of the South are obliterated. So, in classic progressive fashion, the enemies of freedom and liberty patiently chip away at the things we hold dear and continue to divide along racial lines a the part of world they view as presently unconquerable.
ReplyDeletethe vast majority of blacks and whites get along just fine in the South.
DeleteAbsolutely and and some excellent points made. Thanks.
I have to share this: I was working at my first career (Before I moved to NC for the Second)and a supervisor of mine said she thought customer's would "not think you are not very intelligent with that "twangy drawl" of yours" this was in Northern Virginia, and the lady was from New Jersey. I told her more customers would be pissed off listening to ANYTHING she said because their first impression would be "She's an Asshole from New Jersey" due to her nasally whine. They moved me to a much better job the next day. I gotta go with "YANKEES" in the ol' box too.
ReplyDelete:) Good story and The New Jersey accent is indeed irritating to me. My nephew went there to work one summer while in school, then called his Mother saying the people were rude among other complaints and ended with "worst of all they don't know how to cook!" :)
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