"...that would probably be typical white Georgian language in 1975. I knew a white guy from Louisiana in the early 90's, and he talked the same way, as if it was perfectly normal and everyone did it."
I have to point out that the South by no means has a monopoly on this sort of thing. Not to mention, there are plenty of good not-racist people in the South who in no way deserve this reputation. When I lived in GA, I very rarely encountered this sort of thing. But when I moved north I encountered quite a few people who were terribly racist and spoke to me in such a way as indicated that they thought I would be on the same page as them simply because I had just been living in the south. It left me with quite a resentment against this popular but not necessarily fair image of the south. I'm sure that the reality includes some decent people and some not so decent people in all areas of the country, but I never did come to like it in my new location and thankfully was able to move again at a later time.
Agreed. I wasn't trying to trash the South per se. In a way, they're only being honest while some northerners who don't talk such trash actually are(were) closet racists. Although the number of genuine racists I think is much less than when I was young.
I do have to say that the guy I knew from Louisiana who talked that way was probably not a "real" racist. His best friend growing up was a black neighbor kid. He took flying lessions from a black flight instructor (black pilots are relatively rare). He explained it that where he grew up, everybody just talked that way. Everybody. Blacks, whites, everybody.
He seemed like a decent guy. How would I really know what he thought inside?