Tacitly Sanctioned Hate Is Still Hate

It has always bothered me when otherwise intelligent people casually say they don't like "the South".  They look at me as if I know where they are coming from.  Oh, I do.  They think they are are sending a cultural message akin to the international sanctions on South Africa that the Southern regions of the US are full of racist red necks and bible belt weirdos.  The fact that many Black and Brown people live down there also plays a part, though they would say it was the racial tension they dislike, not that they were uncomfortable in the company of lots and lots of minorities.  Coincidentally, the preferable parts of the US to these people tend to be very White.

These sophisticated types much prefer to travel to the gentler post racial-cleansing parts of the world --  less racial tension, better wine, and no one will fault you for enjoying France.  They also venture with an open mind to the far flung regions of the world where they can soul-feast on bizarre rituals and traditions, like men shoving bamboo stakes through their cheeks.  It's a privilege to witness such sublimity, and one they feel separates them from the hicks in the South.  Sophisticates often enjoy traveling in the Third World.  Their quiveringly sensitive souls really feel for the inhabitants hustling to make a living all the while smiling and making crafts for them to display back at home.  Now they have seen the World in all its divine squalor and have become better people for it.

They can overlook any crime, any ignorance, any history, any current malfeasance in any other part of the world if they can bring home a souvenir and some stories.  They pride themselves on their ability to appreciate people with different cultural beliefs and ethical standards.  But for the South -- only disdain.

Saying one doesn't like the South should be considered as stupid as saying one doesn't like Mexico or France, wink wink.  Because there is always the "wink, wink" when one admits to not liking Mississippi.  You know, wink wink, because the clan I identify with demands that I unthinkingly assume the entire state is made up of ignorant racists with no culture or cuisine or geography that could possibly be of interest to someone as worldly as myself, wink wink. 

Texas comes in for a lot of the same disdain from the same set of people (you know, a bunch of gun-toting Bush-voting yokels live there, wink wink).

What bothers me is that the people who hate the South think of themselves as enlightened and intelligent.  Yet, they think themselves superior to the people in the South.  This makes them passive racists as far as I'm concerned.

Comments

[DH]

I equate this to those who say they don't like kids. It's one thing to admit to being too selfish to not want to have kids, but to say you don't like kids. Racist...plain and simple.

[MTheads]

Wow. Trying to make friends with that one? Too selfish to not to want to have kids?? So is having children a social mandate? No, it doesn't bother me if people say they don't like children. It does bother me if people think those of us with children are some kind of burden on society and on them. I suppose they don't understand where adults come from.