When I played golf I used to joke that other golfers should pay my greens fees. That way when someone muffed a shot badly he could point to me and say, “Well, at least I don’t suck like him!”
The stereotype of the South (no shoes, inbreeding, lynch mobs, etc.) exists for much the same reason. Despite being the home of Mitchell, Faulkner, Welty and MANY other notable authors, despite the racially motivated violence in L.A., Detroit, Watts, Howard Beach, Crown Heights, the busing riots in Boston and all the blood on the collective hands of the rest of this country, some people have to have someone else they can feel superior to. The South is homophobic, but where was Matthew Shepard pistol-whipped to death? The South is anti-Semitic, but where was Yankel Rosenbaum stabbed to death? The South is a cultural desert, but the International Ballet Competition is being held in Jackson, Ms. this week.
I could go on, but why bother? We in the South have long realized the rest of our countrymen have been indoctrinated to this pap, and nothing will change their low-information mentality. Yes, we’re evil, we shoot Bambi, we eat mudbugs, we all drive pick-up trucks, we juggle cats, whatever. You should stay away from us and move somewhere you’ll be happier. Try Detroit, I hear it’s a buyer’s market for retirees right now...
P.S. And despite Cleveland’s overblown fatuous claim, the South is the REAL home of rock ‘n roll!
“The South is a cultural desert”
Houston has five Opera companies. A great city for lovers of opera.