[Tom]

Movies and even the media portray Southern men as potentially dangerous. Images of evil sheriffs, corrupt politicians and psychopathic swamp dwellers come to mind for this skinney white guy whenever I'm anywhere south of Peoria. My experience with Southern males has always been positive, but the stereotype is definitely out there. I have some ideas of why this is, but would love to hear from some Southerners about it.

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Name : Tom, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 42, City : Wheaton, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Maintenance Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Neal28343]

As a white Southern male born in Tennessee and currently living in Georgia, I would definitely agree that Southern men are often stereotyped as dumb, racist, violent, crazy or all of those together. Of course, it's not like we have more of these kinds of males than most other places, but the Southern version has its own distinctive "flavor" that has been imortalized in literature, film and on stage since at least the time of Mark Twain and "The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn." However, these characters were usually based on real-life counterparts who could be found in abundance at different times in history, so it wasn't all made up. Of course, if Southern white guys are going to be stereotyped, I wish we got stereotyped as the "Southern gentleman" type more often. It's hard being the only one.

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Name : Neal28343, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 24, City : Savannah, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : illustrator, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Sheila]

In general, when people hear a Southern accent, the person's IQ drops 50 points in their estimation. For example, I worked for a small, discreet state agency that did all the long-term investments for the state. This was no small deal. One of the investment interests - the teachers retirement fund - was at $80 billion market value when I left years ago and was one of the top 10 institutional investors in the world. When the state agency was shopping around for a new master custody bank, we met with high-level people from major investment groups (i.e. people who should know better). We repeatedly ran into the stereotype that we were all a bunch of ignorant yahoos because we had accents and preferred a warmer, more congenial approach. (Yes, I have a huge accent; my IQ is also 152). To make a long story short, if you need a villain (especially if you are playing to an audience outside the South), why not pick someone who likes doing things a little slower, speaks funny and has different cultural sensitivities? It plays into the old fear that if someone is different, they are wrong and potentially evil. This usually gets laid on Southern men because Southern women already have a reputation of being 'steel magnolias'. Southerners tend to appreciate the difference between men and women. Women are encouraged to be 'dainty flowers,' and men are encouraged to be 'brave protectors'. What also feeds the stereotype is that there is an ounce of truth to it. They are few and far between, but there are small cities where some blustery crackpot rules the roost.

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Name : Sheila, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Southern Baptist, Age : 39, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Manager, Treasury Operations, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Rhonda25882]

Anyone old enough to vividly remember the images of the Civil Rights Movement in this country knows that the film and media images are not far off in their portrayal of Southern men as evil and dangerous. I remember photographic images of white men - huge crowds of them - crowded around the corpses of black men who had been lynched. They traveled for miles to attend lynchings, even bringing their wives and children. They took "souvenirs" - digits, an ear, even male sexual organs. The men you see spraying black men, women and children with firehoses are Southern white men. The men you see dressed in their cowardly KKK costumes, who lynched black men, raped and sexually assaulted black women and girls, burned down homes, bombed churches and created fear in the hearts of my people were white Southern men. The pictures and television images of little black children, some as young as six, who were jeered at, cursed at, had objects thrown at them and had to be protected by the National Guard - the majority of the people commiting such shameful, hateful acts were Southern white men. So it would appear to me that the image of the 'evil, dangerous' Southern white man was an image that was rightfully earned. If you don't believe me, read the book "Black Like Me," written by a white man who took drugs to darken his skin so that he could pass as a black man and experience for himself just what it felt like to be a black man living in the deep South. I believe that even today, the majority are evil and dangerous, because I think that kind of hate does not die out in one or two generations.

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Name : Rhonda25882, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 43, City : Laurelton, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[ACC28340]

Truth is, the South has long been one of the most dangerous, if not THE most dangerous, parts of the country for anyone who isn't white. My experience living in the South might be considered typical. I've been in the Midwest, the Northeast, California and the Rockies, but nowhere did I have more drunken, brain-dead idiots threaten me as much as in the South. I avoided certain kinds of bars and nightclubs down there. Even a hint of country music or a place without anyone else non-white was enough to make me get up and leave. And I knew damned well what I was doing since I grew up in a small Texas town. If white Southerners want to change their image, they better change the reality of life down here, plain and simple. They have no one to blame but themselves for this image. No one made country singers sing 'working like a ni**er all day long' or about how proud they are to be rednecks. No one makes them worship a symbol of hatred of blacks and defense of slavery, the Confederate flag, and then bizarrely turn around and claim it stands for Southern pride. Until your average white Southerner is more like Jimmy Carter and less like Zell Miller, I'll be thankful I live in a part of what's technically the South that's nothing like the rest of it.

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[Matt25234]

The Birminghman Church bombing was in 1963 (possibly the year Rhonda was born). The Selma-to-Montgomery march (with the firehoses) was in 1965. Most lynchings happened between 1870 and 1930. The court-ordered integration of a Little Rock school was in 1957. The South Rhonda is describing has not existed for more than 30 years. I find it strange that a person who has obviously never experienced any of the events she describes could have such hatred of a whole race and region.

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Name : Matt25234, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 28, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Kim24263]

Rhonda also stated that she doesn't think that sort of hatred & bigotry dies out in one generation, & I agree.

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[Ann30824]

The KKK started in Illinois. If you want to see real racism in action, just go to the 'wrong' neighborhood in Chicago. Here's the interesting part: If you're black and go to the 'wrong' neighborhood, the residents might call the police. If you're white or Asian and go to the 'wrong' neighborhood, the residents will merely shoot you, if you're lucky. If not, they'll torture you for a while first, and gang rape you if you're female. It has been statistically proven that the biggest danger to blacks in this country isn't white southern males, it's other blacks.

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Name : Ann30824, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Animist, Age : 37, City : KC, State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : Administrative Assistant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Santana]

I don't think Rhonda is that far off. Sure, the bigoted, backwater stereotype isn't as prevalent as it was pre 1970, but you can still find them around. I have lived in the South all of my life and have been subjected to and witnessed racism. Early this year, two racist 'yahoos' beat up my fourteen year old cousin in her front yard while calling her a 'n****r b***h'. No, I don't think all Southern whites are racist, nor do I lump decent, open minded whites in with these two, but I do think it is naive to assume that things like this can't and don't still happen. The South has changed, but there is still a long way to go before we can say it isn't still racist.

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Name : Santana, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 20, City : Crowder, State : MS Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, 

[JD24815]

I don't see it as a Southern thing, but a rural thing. Rural people take care of their own problems and are more self-reliant than city people. They frequently use guns and knives as part of their daily lives. They hunt and fish and deal with animals more than city people. They are more dangerous.

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Name : JD24815, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Blind, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 62, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : retired math teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jesse]

Southerners are evil, Blacks in the city are often drug dealers, mexicans are illegal aliens, native americans are spiritual and the stereotypes go on and on. It's not to say the stereotypes don't hold in many instances. They often do, that's why they exist, because people can always point to someone as an example....And as far as the movies are concerned think about this. If you have a stereotype people can instantly identify then you don't have to worry about silly things like character development or plot. The plot writes itself. And you can crank these movies out in productionline fashion....and you make a mint...

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Name : Jesse, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 28, City : Huntington, State : WV Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Mara]

To me, it wasn't stupidity that the southern accent conveyed, it was laziness. After all, how much work does it take to add that 'g' on the end of 'going' (instead of 'goin') for example. You call it warmer, more congenial, etc. but to a lot of people, it sounds lazy, un-educated, and, well...hick. Of course, I was pretty young when I thought that and didn't realize that a relaxed style could hide a rapier wit. Didn't learn that until I moved to Atlanta and actually met some southern folks.

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Name : Mara, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 40, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : data entry, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Pam]

Southern men are often portrayed as rednecks, yet ironically, our last couple of presidents have been from the south. Now, with Floridas population surpassing New Yorks, the southerners are the majority in this country, and country music being so popular- I do believe the image of southern men is beginning to change.

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Name : Pam, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 43, City : middleburg, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : stay home mom, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[DannyH]

Stereotyping the southern white male as racist/stupid/ignorant or whatever is the last acceptable bigotry. And that's what it is, it's bigotry. I've found more racists in the North than the South. I've found more stupidity in the West than the South. In the end, it makes people in Hollywood and the big cities feel better to put Southerners down because then they have someone to point to and say, "At least I'm not as bad as them." However in the end, they're pointing toward a caricature of themselves. The South has moved forward, it's the rest of the country has lagged behind. And many of the people on this thread have proven my point. Life's a banquet and most poor bastards are starving to death!

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Name : DannyH, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Asatru, Age : 45, City : Buon, State : NA Country : South Korea, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dot]

Don't you think? Wealthier southerners are more often portrayed as eccentrics or politicians than rednecks. Poor folks in every part of the country seem game for ridicule. Do you really think everyone in the northern Midwest speaks like the characters in the move Fargo? No one on the coasts believes Bill Clinton, Al Gore or Ted Turner are racist rubes. But we do remember that the South just forty years ago was a place where volunteers from the North were murdered for having the nerve to try to register black voters. Try Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil to get a different filmic take on the South.

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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

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