Would you be afraid to drive through rural Mississippi?

[Dr. Phil Seuss]

And yet white conservatives clearly run that state. They only changed their state flag to not look like the confederate flag 4 years ago.

Oh no, white conservatives are in charge. They probably still string up the colored just for looking at whitey.

Some of you clowns have absolutely no clue what the rest of the country is like. I’ve lived in the south for nearly 20 years and the most racist place I’ve ever been is Iowa.

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

I moved to a Texas in 1978 and I was struck by how much the Civil War was still on people’s minds down there. I naively thought the whole country had been over it for decades. I was also struck by how many people would refer to me as a “Yankee” unironically, and with genuine disdain. I had absolutely no idea.

Is it possible that you were discussing politics?

 

[artradley]

Is it possible that you were discussing politics?

No. This shit just came up out of the blue in casual conversation. Constantly. Few people talked politics in those days. This was not liberal versus conservative, this was north versus south. I was flabbergasted.

 

[seminole97]

I'm not sure why anyone would be afraid to drive through rural Mississippi. Is there some reason to be afraid?

I remember my parents getting AAA maps of trip from Niceville to Poplar Bluff, MO, where they’re both from and a bunch of family lives. The whole route through MS was stamped with speed warnings for out of state drivers.

 

[Uniformed_ReRe]

No. This shit just came up out of the blue in casual conversation. Constantly. Few people talked politics in those days. This was not liberal versus conservative, this was north versus south. I was flabbergasted.

What part of Texas?

 

[Uniformed_ReRe]

If you were black? Mississippi has the largest black population in the US. Why should they be afraid? It's not the 50s or 60s anymore. If you were gay? This is a liberal attitude/belief that really needs to be corrected.

The fact that states like Mississippi and Alabama are ruby red, despite large black populations, just underscores how intensely conservative the white people are in these states.

 

[Colonoscopy]

No. This shit just came up out of the blue in casual conversation. Constantly. Few people talked politics in those days. This was not liberal versus conservative, this was north versus south. I was flabbergasted.

I've always wondered if the south didn't double down on some of their racist positions merely because the Yankees tried to make them change. (Not that I disagree with taking action, just perhaps an unfortunate side effect)

 

[HawkinK.C.1]

Stayed in Poplarville for about a year after Katrina. Super nice people. Southern hospitality is a thing.

 

[ICWestfan]

I drove from Savannah, GA to Augusta, GA this spring. Maps took us on every damn back country highway the whole way, talking 2 lane with no markings. Stopped to get a coffee and gas in some dink GA town, they didn't have any made.

CSB

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Oh no, white conservatives are in charge. They probably still string up the colored just for looking at whitey.

Some of you clowns have absolutely no clue what the rest of the country is like. I’ve lived in the south for nearly 20 years and the most racist place I’ve ever been is Iowa.

I won't defend Iowa, I don't live there. But isn't it Mississippi that fought to keep a congressional map that lower courts ruled to be a racial gerrymander?

Racism is alive and well in the south, they just tamp down on the rhetoric a bit.

 

[thewop]

City people are always afraid of small towns.

Small towns with low literacy rates are even scarier.

 

[Finance85]

I won't defend Iowa, I don't live there. But isn't it Mississippi that fought to keep a congressional map that lower courts ruled to be a racial gerrymander?

Racism is alive and well in the south, they just tamp down on the rhetoric a bit.

Racism isn't any worse in the south than anywhere else. You think whatever you want since it makes you feel better about yourself and where you live.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Hmmmmmmm....seems as though you would need a significant amount of black votes to maintain a conservative hold on the state.

2/3rds of the state is white. They don't need any black votes.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Racism isn't any worse in the south than anywhere else. You think whatever you want since it makes you feel better about yourself and where you live.

Oh there is plenty everywhere including in parts of my state. However it has more power in the south. Always has.

Remember the people who are in charge now in the south are the children of the people who beat or cheered the beating of MLK's marchers.

Do you really think those views went away?

 

[HawkinK.C.1]

Racism isn't any worse in the south than anywhere else. You think whatever you want since it makes you feel better about yourself and where you live.

This has not been my experience.

 

[Ree4]

We are 99.9% white boys here. Why would we be afraid of rural Mississippi?

I think I'd feel right at home, hell they are probably all cousins

 

[ConvenientParking]

I'd try to avoid it. I'm afraid they would have the things I don't like about rural Iowa turned up to 11 (like believing America has a role in Christian prophecy). Maybe that's silly but there's plenty of people who think that around Iowa.

 

[Finance85]

This has not been my experience.

Where do you live?

 

[IACub]

Yes, I've seen Deliverance.

I'm clean cut, have all my teeth, and I don't drive a shitty pickup truck with MAGA stickers on it. I'd stick out like a sore thumb.