Want to know why Obama is hated so much in the South? See 12 Years a Slave

[mnhtnbb]

This is the story:

In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty at the hands of a malevolent slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.


The story is based on a book written by Solomon Northup, published in 1853. He was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841.

This is NOT Gone With the Wind.

It is probably the most intense, riveting, and compelling movie I've seen in a very long time.

I'm a Yankee living in the south. Chapel Hill is bastion of liberalism, yet the movie is not playing here.
It can be seen in Durham, also liberal, but only on two screens and only at late (8:45 and 9:45) showings.
Hubby and I drove 30 minutes, passing many theaters, in order to see it this afternoon. It was well attended.

I came out of the theater saying to hubby, this is what is behind the hatred of President Obama: the southern white
attitude that blacks are lesser beings, should be treated as property, has never gone away. The Bible is part of this
belief system and always was used as a defense for the inhumane treatment of other human beings as slaves. Use
of guns--and their availability--was also necessary to enforce this system. And capitalism? Operating at its finest,
without regard to morality or dignity or consideration of the treatment of human capital.

The movie is definitely worth searching out.

[elfin]

1. I agree. Eom

[moondust]

2. Looking forward to seeing it.

The slave owner's mindset never ended; it found a comfortable home in the corporate boardroom.

K/R

[workinclasszero]

45. So true

Now the corporations work 24/7 to enslave us all.

They took a lesson from the nazis and use the big lie on their hate radio and fox to get the 99% to vote against our own self interests.

And it works as anyone trying to survive in USA Inc can testify.

Its sad as hell to see people condemning their own children to a terrible life because Rush and their Randian preacher at church told them its the right thing to do.

Draped in the flag with a Bible in one hand and an assault rifle in the other, Phil Robertson/Rush/teabaggers etc are leading us into a Brownbackistan utopian wonderland from hell.

[Bluegene]

102. This is a painful but phenomenal movie

all the actors are Oscar worthy, very well done. It does indeed capture all the ugly elements of slavery and the brave people who somehow survived it, many were not that lucky. When you are sold naked and considered animals things are not going to turn out so well. Especially with people who feel God is on their side. It was a great way for pedophiles to own their desires along with those men who felt because they were no better than animals they could use these people in any perverted way they felt fit. I become ill when ignorant people talk about how good the slaves had it. Oh really go to the South see what circumstances people were held and paid for and used and abused tortured and murdered, so very sad. They always act like they were benevolent souls. It is not surprising that so many of the Klan had black blood when they did DNA tests they ended taking them and claimed they were untrue.
Here is a rather humorous example: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/21/white-supremacist-dna-test-neo-nazi-north-dakota-town/3661791/

[one_voice]

3. I can't wait to see this...

from what I've read/heard it's very difficult to watch. That's why I'm waiting to watch at home.

[Cha]

4. Thanks for that, mnhtnbb.. they just can't understand how

a "lesser being" got into the White House as President of the United States of America.

Poor ignorant things.

[billh58]

5. In Confederacy-Speak:

Bless their hearts...

[CherokeeDem]

79. Confederate Speak?????

Seriously....

I grew up in Aiken, South Carolina. My parents were civil rights workers and I was raised to believe there are no differences in anyone regardless of race, gender, or any other label one chooses to place on someone.

My mother, my grandmothers, my aunts used the term 'bless their hearts...'

Confederate speak??? Only to those who love labeling people because of where they come from.

There is a broad brush on this site and most of the time it is aimed at people who do not deserve the labels.

Should I say all people from New Jersey are bullies?

Or everyone who lives in New York belongs to the mob?

Of course not... it would be just as ridiculous as this Confederate-speak drivel.

[NoGOPZone]

84. you shouldn't, but you could

People from NY and NJ are ambivalent about their states' reputations and wouldn't respond

[CherokeeDem]

93. LOL....

The feeling of superiority by non-Southerners never quits does it?????

[VanillaRhapsody]

106. I have lived extensively in both the South and North...

Southern Whites are very in your face with thier racism...in fact I was in Florence the day after Obama won the election...you could cut the tension with a knife...the Whites were completely freaked out!

I had a number of them tell me that they felt sorry for me supporting Obama "because he was never going to get White people to vote for him..."

I also had numerous conversations that ended in "oh well he will be assassinated in office if he does"

I was also in SC around a campfire when I mentioned GW Bush's escapade into Iraq was wrong....and got spit in my face!

So don't blow smoke about how nice the Southerners are....They still think the South WILL rise again.

I notice that Confederate flag still flies in front of the Capital of South Carolina....why is THAT you think?

Why do they celebrate "Confederate Memorial Day" as a response to Martin Luther King's Holiday? Because the Whites there were insulted by MLK day...

[VanillaRhapsody]

104. Yes I am from South Carolina...THAT IS Confederate speak.

I am from Florence...and OH yes they do...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. There is an absolute TERROR of "stirring up the,...er,...those folks" in the South.

[DrDan]

7. hated? Obama carried Florida twice

last time I checked, Florida is in the South

[Rozlee]

13. I was reading somewhere that most of the people that live in Florida came from somewhere else.

I don't know if that's true or not.

[mike dub]

24. That is a good point, Rozlee.

I used to live in north Florida (south of Alabama) and all of Florida's panhandle (Pensacola to Jacksonville) and just about all of Florida down the middle of the peninsula is culturally still part of the Deep South. A good many folks in this part of the state are native/born and raised in Florida. But the non panhandle coasts (both sides- Gulf South Florida, and Atlantic South Florida) are populated by many retirees and transplants from elsewhere. I think voters on the coasts/not native to Florida, mostly helped Florida go for President Obama.

Along these lines, there was a map during the 2012 GOP primaries that showed counties that went Romney (won the most votes) and counties that went Gingrich (won second-most votes).

What I describe as the Deep South counties of Florida, down to the county, went for Gingrich, while the coastal peninsula counties went Romney (more moderate, less rural Southern) ...though Gingrich isn't a native Southerner either, but he really knows how to dog whistle.

Many native Floridians / rural Southerners probably did Not vote for President Obama.

[giftedgirl77]

33. Ocala north in Florida is essentially the South,

I'm a Florida girl (South Florida), we live in SC now. We will not take any back roads in the rural south unless I have a clear destination & a full tank of gas, this is for our personal safety.

[Boom Sound 416]

64. Enjoy I-95

[giftedgirl77]

85. I grew up driving in Florida, my husband hates

how we drive.

[Boom Sound 416]

94. ...

[giftedgirl77]

97. Like I said in the response you originally responded

to, I live in SC now & will not travel any of the back roads anywhere down here in the South which includes Florida to about Ocala unless we have a full tank of gas and a clear destination mapped out. I would take I- 20 if going to Columbia first wasn't out of the way.

Is there a point you are trying to get across?

[Boom Sound 416]

98. First off. I don't know why you'd take 301

To go to "south Florida" unless you consider south of Tampa to be south Florida which is generally considered the greater Miami area.

[giftedgirl77]

99. Well there Professor possibly because my mother

& her wife life in St Pete, dad lives in Miami. Does that make it easier for you to understand why back roads in the south suck?

[Boom Sound 416]

100. Not really.

At least not why they suck because for some reason you think you're going to get lynched. 301 is a four lane divided highway. It's not exactly deliverance. But I guess you prefer I-75. Fine.

Happy trails.

[giftedgirl77]

114. 301 is not the backroads I was referring to.

Last edited Mon Jan 20, 2014, 12:28 PM - Edit history (1)

Once we get up into GA & SC we have to take single lane hwys for well over 100 miles, these roads are nothing but county & darkness, very rural, & very deliverance like in some areas. I'm not willing to take the chance in finding out which areas are the racist assholes & which aren't on an off chance that I get lost, a flat tire, or run out of gas.

As far as dealing with 301 why would I deal with a hwy where the maximum speed is 65 except where it slows down to 45 or slower when I get take 95 to 4 & not deal with any it?

But thanks for letting me know it's occupied by a bunch of elitist assholes so I can avoid getting pulled over because my tint is to dark or we just look out of place & just don't belong & have to be up to no good.

[Boom Sound 416]

101. Furthermore,

Ocala happens to be florida's horse country and has more money and elites from Ohio, Illinois and New York snow birds than any other portion of north Florida.

FYI

[giftedgirl77]

115. Maybe you should reread the post for like the 5th time

I was just giving the first person a generalization of where Florida starts to change from South to it's own world. Since you are so fuckin knowledgeable about the area you know that it's actually still south of there because it should include Lakeland, Plant City, & Sandford.

[Boom Sound 416]

117. Plant city is nice. Lots of gas stations

[giftedgirl77]

118. Yes, & great strawberry shortcake...

[DrDan]

40. I did - 31 years ago

[X_Digger]

16. More people voted for President Obama in FL, TX, VA, GA, and NC than in..

Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

11,696,091 in those five southern states compared to 4,342,364 in the eight northern states (plus DC).

[JI7]

20. that's because they have larger population and again they were mostly minority voters

[X_Digger]

31. Still, twice as many in FL or TX than in MD, WI, OR, CT, NH, HI..

Florida had the third largest number of Obama voters of all the states (Texas was fourth, above Illinois).

[DrDan]

41. exactly!

[glowing]

35. It's kind of redundant to bother unless there's a hot button local issue.

The blue states know they are going to go blue. I can't say my parents always rush off to the polls unless they have time. They know the voters are going Dem. where as the southern states are big on trying to keep people from voting all together... And the ad campaign is ferocious. This years gov campaign is going to be huge!!!

[VanillaRhapsody]

107. How about SC and Alabama and Mississippi?

how did they break down for ya?

Oh and what are the population counts for those states vs the others you mentioned...

[X_Digger]

110. Let's see.. SC? More than Maine, NH, HI, RI, DC, DE, VT..

AL? Same. MS? Same.

I know it hurts the cherished stereotype, but there were more Obama votes in many southern states than there were in many northern states.

[paleotn]

17. Geographically, yes....

...culturally, only north of Orlando. Miami might as well be the 6th borough of New York.

[mike dub]

28. Unless you get just south of Orlando, down the middle, all the way on down past Okeechobee...

Lakeland, Wachula, Sebring on south...very much the Deep South.

[DrDan]

42. I believe the OP related to geography, not culture

[JI7]

19. large due to black and hispanic vote and those who came from northeast in recent times

[mnhtnbb]

22. Well, he also carried NC once--where I live--but

I'm talking about the slave holding states of the "south". I'm talking about
a prevalent attitude---not the ONLY attitude nor the majority attitude.

[DrDan]

43. well, perhaps your subject line should read "slave holding states of the South" rather

than placing blame on the "South" in general

[Egalitarian Thug]

112. Check again. This time, look at the appropriate time frame. n/t

[Blue_Roses]

8. I haven't seen the movie yet, but

I read the book and it was a tough read. I usually breeze through a book, however, this one made me pause often. I had to put it down several times, especially when they took away her children. I literally sobbed.

I was born, raised and still live in the South. I see exactly what you are saying. My rwing brother-in-law told my sister he didn't want to see it, because he had heard that you leave the theater hating white people.

This is the problem. Denial will never change the fact that this atrocity happened.

Also, "Cane River", by Lalita Tademy is a good read based on a true story.

[LongTomH]

9. At least one pundit thinks the GOP is being run by the descendants of the old Southern slave owners.

Sara Robinson, posting at AlterNet makes a good case for the idea that the descendants of the Southern slave-holding aristocracy and explains how that affects their worldview and politics.

No! I'm not "bashing the South" in general, just the slave-owners and their descendants.

[kestrel91316]

18. Most my ancestors were Yankees, but a few were southerners and

in fact held slaves. I don't like it, but there's nothing I can do to change it at this late date.

Descendants of slave owners are not inherently bad. Only if they take PRIDE in that slave-holding.

[eShirl]

65. at the very least, their ideological descendants. n/t

[freshwest]

74. Good link and where it led is good. Rings true. n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. Those who deny their history are condemned to repeat it. nt

[TalkingDog]

11. BROOOOAAAAD BRRRRUUUSSSSH!!!!

the southern white attitude that blacks are lesser beings, should be treated as property, has never gone away. The Bible is part of this belief system and always was used as a defense for the inhumane treatment of other human beings as slaves. Use of guns--and their availability--was also necessary to enforce this system. And capitalism? Operating at its finest, without regard to morality or dignity or consideration of the treatment of human capital.

Couldja stop lumping all of us together, please? If you had said some, a few, or hell even a majority. But me, and my cadre of very liberal friends who have attended numerous Moral Monday protests, have worked at a local level to ensure voting parity for minorities and etc, etc, ect, we don't fucking appreciate having to put up with this kind of slander EVERY FUCKING DAY.

[displacedtexan]

15. DU posters always assume you know that we're not talking about you, per se.

I grew up in Cowtown, and my father stopped the car on the side of a country road one day and made me pick cotton with poor black people so i would know what it's like to be treated with no dignity whatsoever for a dollar a bale. I don't mind a bit when posters bash Texas: the state government deserves bashing on a regular basis.

[paleotn]

21. Agreed..

...I'm sure the poster means well, but northerners do tend to forget the strength of the Klan in the midwest, the busing riots in Boston, etc. etc. etc. Racism knows no geographic boundaries.

[mnhtnbb]

29. I had a very wide awakening to the fact that Missouri is part of the south

when I lived there (1988-1994). Until I lived there, I would have thought
it had more in common with Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa...but no, it has more in common
with traditional southern states.

[Hosnon]

47. Or maybe all states just have racists.

And having racists doesn't make a state "more like the South".

[mnhtnbb]

49. When we moved to Missouri, I had forgotten about the Missouri Compromise

the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the consequence of the Dred Scott decision.

Yes, of course, all states have racists.


There is more to my post--and the movie--than the harsh reality of life as a slave.
There is a combination of attitudes, behaviors, religious beliefs, and
methods for exerting control, dominance, and subjugation of an entire group of
people based on their skin color that was primarily identified with the south.

My point--and if you haven't lived in the south or visited relatives in the south or spent
time in very rural areas of the south you may be at a disadvantage to believe this--is that although the struggles of the Civil
Rights era brought about more equal opportunities and an end to many overt
practices of discrimination, it did not end the contempt that many white southerners
have for African Americans. Oh, they may have learned to keep their opinions to themselves,
but many--especially older white southerners who have lived their entire lives in the south--
have never been disabused of the notion that they aren't "better" than their black neighbors.

The movie gives a window into that frame of mind.

[Art_from_Ark]

48. Yup, the Klan wasn't limited to the South

[mnhtnbb]

54. Ever been to a Klan meeting? Hubby observed one once, in Georgia

that was a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Klan, in 1965.

[mnhtnbb]

25. Hey. I never said all. I'm talking about an historic attitude that was responsible

for the secession...and is STILL alive and well in the south.

I may be a Yank, but hubby has relatives--in Georgia--that go way back...
back to the Revolution.

[paleotn]

86. Actually, the Brits think we're all yanks.

...those labels don't really mean much anymore. I consider myself a southerner, only because that is where I grew up. It's simply a matter of geography more than culture. My family is a hodge podge. I'm a mix of Scots Irish small farmers in North Carolina, middle to west Tennessee and western Kentucky, but also small farmers from Michigan and Indiana. On Dad's side, I'm only 3rd generation born in the US, so I suppose that makes me a transplanted Irishman with roots in Coleraine and Derry. My point being that most of us, both north and south, cannot be categorized by something that happened almost 150 years ago and to do that so blatently, quite frankly says more about you than the Raleigh - Durham - Chapel Hill area. Way too many generations have passed and most of us are an interesting mix by now. Thus, your argument is way off base, since I can find the same racism in Spokane, WA as Charleston, SC. The Michigan "militia" nuts are just as racist as a bunch of crackers running around the Georgia woods in bedsheets. And I bet you'd have just as much trouble finding a showing of 12 Years a Slave in Cleveland, OH as the NC Triangle.

My advice? Stop being so damn provincial yourself.

[7962]

36. AMEN!!! Like theres never a racist found in the north or west.

Southern whites are the last group that can safely be made fun of, it seems. Honey boo boo? Hollywood Hillbillies?
And as southern male whose ancestors didnt come here till the early 20th century, I'm also tired of being lumped in with former slave owners.

[LittleBlue]

71. Agreed.

The generalizations must be frustrating to progressive southerners.

No different than bashing any other group.

[Politicalboi]

12. Try this site and watch it now

http://viooz.co/movies/23064-12-years-a-slave-2013.html


A couple of pop up screens come up, you can just x them out. I don't believe I had to download anything to use this site. Just click off the pop screens. I haven't seen it myself, sometimes this site has new movies with foreign language captions, or a logo.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. I strongly recommend that people go to a theater and let their support for this film

be known by paying for it and being counted as paying for it. This is an important film, and it's wonderful that there is such a thing as important art possible in our culture, it must be supported in the marketplace if we want to see more excellence in that marketplace.
That's what I think.

[theHandpuppet]

44. Totally agree

[RainDog]

58. agree!!!!! n/t

[Nevernose]

23. I'm literally in the theater right now

It's ok -- they're still sweeping -- but I'm
Looking forward to it.

[mnhtnbb]

26. It's intense. Very intense.

[riderinthestorm]

27. Eek! Be careful you don't piss off anyone! They might shoot you! nt

[mnhtnbb]

30. Believe me, we paid a lot of attention to the numerous screen requests for people to turn off

all their devices...more than usual, I thought, during all the endless commercials.

God, I hate going to the movies and being subjected to all those commercials
prior to the previews. And if you come late, to a popular movie, to avoid
the commercials? Forget about getting a decent seat.

[arely staircase]

32. best movie I am so far to squeamish to see

but based on what I know about it, and living and having grown up in the deep south, yeah. definitely.

[Bobcat]

34. GREAT Movie!

Saw it here in suburban Houston. It played here all hours of the day.

[tblue]

37. The book is great and in the public domain

Very good read. I loved the movie too

[Tallulah]

38. I live in the deep South

and it's playing here. 15 mins. from my house, 4 showings per day.

12 Years a Slave
?2hr 13min?? - Rated R?? - Drama? - Trailer - IMDb
?1:05? ?3:45? ?7:05? ?9:45pm?

Even deeper South

12 Years a Slave
Theatres at Canal Place
333 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA
?2:30? ?6:45? ?10:00pm?

I can honestly say the white bible thumpers I know don't hate President Obama. If they did I never heard them say it. Good manners and all. You keep those thoughts, if you have them, to yourself or inside your home. Not my business.

And I would never treat anyone disrespectfully. I do however own a gun. My bad. It was my father's gun.

[freshwest]

39. I've posted the Confederate plan in their President and VP's own words. They said after Lincoln

issued the Emancipation Proclamation, their intent was to kidnap every black person in reach and hold them and all their generations as slaves in perpetuity.

This is their philosophy. It's a lot more subtle since Nixon's campaigner Lee Atwaters' Southern Strategy began, but it comes from the same twisted thinking. Transpose this to the Tea Party and what they've done state by state, little change.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021801941#post30

[Hosnon]

46. For Christ's sake. Will DU EVER mature beyond its South-bashing? nt.

[mnhtnbb]

50. I dunno. Will DU EVER mature beyond dismissing a conversation

because of a distortion of what the OP suggests?

[Hosnon]

113. You're trying to claim that the movie isn't playing in the South because of racism.

For one, that's false. You saw it at a nearby theater and I'm farther south than you are and it's in theaters. Two, racists are everywhere, why single out the South? Is the movie not playing in racist parts of, say, Indiana? And finally, most Southerners I know/have known don't give any conscious thought to the Civil War. It's never a topic of conversation. There may be an obsession with the South and its slave roots but that obsession is NOT Southern.

If you want what you say to be taken only in one very specific way, you need to start by putting down the broad brush.

[cordelia]

51. Nope. Bigotry against a large number of DUers that's allowed.

Almost celebrated by some here.

[mnhtnbb]

52. Are you accusing my post of being bigoted against southern DU'ers?

Because if you are, I think you should go back and read the entire discussion.

[2ndAmForComputers]

78. He is. But I won't even bother alerting.

It's "indirect" enough to give jurors an excuse to leave alone.

[cordelia]

116. I did read it.

Read it again this morning.

You swing a very broad brush.

[Boom Sound 416]

53. And from this you indict the entire South

May I introduce you to Brooklyn?

[mnhtnbb]

55. I was born in Manhattan. I don't need an introduction to Brooklyn.

My post does NOT indict the entire South.

Show me, please, where I said ALL white Southerners hate Obama?

[Boom Sound 416]

56. Here

Want to know why Obama is hated so much in the South?


For starters.

Oh and that you had to drive to a theatre owned by the movie's distributor

[mnhtnbb]

60. What do the words "so much" mean to you?

To me, they mean a prevalence--and in this case--an attitude.

They do not mean all or everybody.

Instead of arguing semantics, why not try to understand what I'm saying?


No one has touched two of the issues that I think are part of this deep-seated
hatred for a man of so much intelligence, good humor, good heart and
motivation to improve the lives of everyone in this country...and that's the
connection to Scriptures and gun ownership that were part and parcel
of the 'rights' 18th and 19th century white men in this country felt they had to own people.

[Boom Sound 416]

63. Perhaps because the man says one thing and does another

And perhaps as if his only critics live south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

And perhaps if you wrote your OP like you did above, rather than indict the south as so many have done because you couldn't dive to the most convient theatre of your choice.

I bet folks who live next to the theatre where you watched the movie might agree with you had you not asserted the preminse based on your gps.

[westerebus]

108. Grammar, not semantics.

"so much" is a modifier of "hated" not of "in the south".

I'm from NJ and have lived in Virginia for twenty years.

All I can say is from my experience, you have judged many good people harshly.

The case is true that some people only see the man's skin color.

It really has nothing to do with geography.

Those slave owning white men of the 18th century in the south included gun owners and bible owners George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

History has many strange bedfellows.

And they have slept just about everywhere.

[aikoaiko]

57. Do you have a theory as to why they hated Bill Clinton?

Perhaps even more?

[WilliamPitt]

61. ^^^ Thread Win ^^^

[mnhtnbb]

67. Really? Want to argue the meaning of the Electoral College results?

[mnhtnbb]

66. I wouldn't agree that "they" hated Bill Clinton--even more. See Electoral College results below.

1992






1996




2008



2012

%3FmaxX%3D620

[aikoaiko]

68. those electoral results have a hard time explaining the plain states.

OK, snark aside I think you are oversimplifying the hatred for our President.

Yes, there are racists who have a little extra hatred for him because of his racial appearance. They would still hate him if he were white.

Its a little disheartening to see so many DUers discount the hatred of our President due to his policies and rhetoric. Bottom line, that is why they hate him.

[mnhtnbb]

70. We're not talking about the plains states.

Have you seen the movie?

If not, see the movie.

[theHandpuppet]

59. The Council of Conservative Citizens

For those who don't know about them, I've provided some links. Oh yes, they've morphed the name over the years and since Obama became President they've had to go underground in DC, but they're still around, occasionally popping up their nasty heads on the state level. Follow the links. Yes, this wasn't a hundred years ago that political leaders were doing photo ops and keynote speeches with this group. The evil is still there.

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2013/06/24/another-racist-leader-revealed-in-south-carolina-gop/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Conservative_Citizens
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/council-of-conservative-citizens
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/10/29/barbour_campaign_shows_gops_racist_side/
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2004/fall/communing-with-the-council
http://archive.adl.org/learn/ext_us/cccitizens.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/council-of-conservative-citizens
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/daily/march99/lott29.htm
http://nbclatino.com/2013/06/01/opinion-racism-and-the-gop/
http://www.alternet.org/story/41085/photo_posed_with_racist_group_haunts_george_allen

[mstinamotorcity2]

62. Its a little deeper than that.

but your perception is very close to reality.

[ohheckyeah]

69. What a news flash....

NOT.

Seriously, this crap again?

The attitude that blacks are lesser beings isn't limited to the south. It's alive and well all over the country - actually the world.

[mnhtnbb]

72. Go see the movie.

[Blue_Adept]

73. For what it's worth...

I'm a Yankee living in the south. Chapel Hill is bastion of liberalism, yet the movie is not playing here.
It can be seen in Durham, also liberal, but only on two screens and only at late (8:45 and 9:45) showings.
Hubby and I drove 30 minutes, passing many theaters, in order to see it this afternoon. It was well attended.

The film came out last fall.

It's getting a limited re-release right now due to the Oscar nominations. I don't doubt that it got a limited run in the south to begin with, but it was not a film that went wide - it wasn't a 3000 screen film, which is what the blockbusters get. At its widest, it got 1500 screens;

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=twelveyearsaslave.htm

I was glad it showed up in my area here west of Boston since I got to take my 13 year old daughter to it and she definitely found it to be an engaging work. But she's a film buff like me.

[mnhtnbb]

75. It was never in local theaters around here last fall--at least to my knowledge.

Granted, we were out of the country for 3 weeks in November, but I kept watching for it to come
and never saw it listed at any of the many, many big multi-screen complexes where it should have been shown.

We have an Indy theater here in Chapel Hill. It's where we see movies like Nebraska, Philomena, etc., that don't get
wide releases.

On edit: OK, I looked up the distribution--from the review in the local paper--and it was VERY limited.
It did play here in Chapel Hill--must have been while we were out of the country--because it wasn't here when we returned.
We left Oct 28 and returned Nov. 20.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/31/3330383/12-years-a-tough-but-essential.html

[TorchTheWitch]

76. I think I cried through the entire film

It's a must see though.

[JustAnotherGen]

77. I disagree that it's the Southern White Mentality

It exists all over this country. I've experienced it in Western NY, NYC, Philly, Boston, Greenwich, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

It's better to be called it to your face than hidden in a sideways glance. But - I agree with you overall.

I honestly don't have the stomache to see this movie. Amistad was bad enough - I never need to see what ancestor endured again.

[mnhtnbb]

81. I'm a white Yankee. I never ran into in your face, obvious, racial discrimination

attitudes until I moved to Missouri. Born in NY, grew up in Jersey,
moved to California in 1965.

Oh, yeah. My parents wouldn't let me date the Tiger Woods of
our high school...and that was probably my first awareness of
bigotry against somebody's skin color... but I already knew they
were Republicans and more interested in money than anything else.
So I dismissed their bigotry.

[JustAnotherGen]

83. Eh?

Posted this the other day - came home from a trip to see my dad's folks in Talladega AL in 1978 to "Keep America Clean Kill The N" on our in the process of being built house garage wall.

I was five. And then there was the woman who said she wouldn't take a piece of candy after THAT child had"

Rochester NY - home of the North Star.

3rd Grade circa 81/82 my week wasn't complete unless C.B. called my mother a N Lover and I whooped his ass in retaliation. Again just outside of Rochester NY.

Ad as I told another DUer the other day - my father and his brothers escaped America - not the South.

Do you know where Malcolm X's father was murdered? Very interesting. We put the Civil Rights movement in the Southern landscape - but we do a disservice to he experiences of all black Americans if we leave the landscape of Malcolm's movement on the table.

[Sissyk]

109. +1000000

That's all I have to say.

[paleotn]

87. Bullshit! As some of my neighbors would say....

...if you don't like it here, I can show you exactly where the Raleigh -Durham international airport is. I'm sure any number of air carriers would be more than happy to take you elsewhere. Bubye!

[mnhtnbb]

88. I happen to love Chapel Hill. As a Yankee, I didn't think I could ever live in the south.

But, as everyone has seen in the last year, despite NC going for Obama in 2008,
we now have complete control of NC state government by Republicans--hasn't happened in 100 years. And they are mean
Republicans.

The changes to voting rights include getting rid of early voting on Sunday---a practice
particularly loved by the black Christian community.

If people don't think there is a resurgence of discrimination against blacks rising in the
south, they aren't paying attention.

[1StrongBlackMan]

80. I will not be watching ...

this movie ... well, maybe when it hits cable; but not in a theater. I do, however, plan to buy and read the book.

On a related note (and part of why I will not be watching the movie) ...

I a recent interview, Nick Cannon discussed a recent twitter thing, where he caught some flack for saying he was tired of this slavery thing. In explaining his thoughts, he stated, "we know that Black folks can play the slave ... what we need is Black folks portrayed as King and Queens, inventors and entrepenuers(sp?)."

I completely agree.

[mnhtnbb]

82. I just ordered the book on Amazon. Looking forward to reading it.

I agree with you. I'd like to see women portrayed as artists, inventors, successful
for something other than soliciting sex or producing babies.

I think one of the things that struck me was that Solomon's obvious education and
literacy didn't raise a red flag for any of his owners. Black was black was subject
to ownership and property rights trumped everything for capitalism. Gee, if he could
figure out something to help the capitalist plantation, that was great, maybe give him a violin. But if he
couldn't pick enough cotton...well, too bad for him. And his freedom? Forget that.

Where is the discussion on this thread about capitalism? Where is the discussion
about the use of Scriptures to justify slavery? Is it possible that's a rationale
that is being used 150 years later to deny gays equal rights?

Where is the discussion about the rationale for militias in the Constitution--that were
necessary for the enforcement of slavery? Hello? Instead I'm being attacked for
the erroneous assumption that that I'm branding all southerners as bigots.

Eh. It's GD on DU. No wonder I stay mostly in the Lounge and Photography.

[JustAnotherGen]

91. I hope you don't feel attacked by my statement

Something we are struggling with at DU is our experiences in modern day America being accepted by the dominant culture.

I think the key thing is the US allowed the South to win the peace for 100 years.

Along comes LBJ.

12 years later Reagan is giving a speech in Mississippi. And he planted a seed in many American's minds that "those people" are taking something from you.

Then in 2008 the idea that anyone can grow up to become the President decimated their "win" again.

[mnhtnbb]

95. No, I don't feel attacked.

I remember when the first black family moved into our little township in northern
NJ in 1964. It was a very big deal.

I went to school at UCLA. I lived in a dorm my freshman year--1969. A protege of
Angela Davis happened to live in the room next door. The whole floor
was a twitter the evening when Angela Davis showed up to visit Cheryl,
the girl next door.

[JustAnotherGen]

111. Thanks

Because I understand what you are trying to bring to light. I live in Flemington now - trapped in Hunterdon county in get this . . . We bought Walter Foran's and previously Arthur Foran's house. Let's turn this red house blue!

[JustAnotherGen]

90. ITA

Except I already read the book. Read Douglas' immediately before and after.

Know what movie I love? The Words. I'm also loving this season of American Horror Story - the Producer is trying. Boardwalk Empire is another one. All show - we are just people. Like you. Capable of love, kindness, revenge, loyalty, cheating, crying, laughter. . .

[11 Bravo]

89. Got it. Now can you explain why he is so hated by some at "Democratic"Underground?

[mnhtnbb]

92. Yeah. I can. He's too centrist...too far right...too willing to cozy up to corporate masters.

But he's one man. He can't control Congress. He can only do what
the Executive Branch is allowed to do.

But my point is that he is an intelligent, good, kind, caring man who wants
to help the most people he can in this country. He happens to be bi-racial--
which in this country, means black. People in southern states who supported Bill Clinton would not support Obama.
Look at the electoral college results I posted up thread. Why? I used to tell hubby that I thought of
Obama as a white guy in a dark skin. He's not from the projects, he grew
up with white grandparents from Kansas for god's sake, and went to the best schools--
a well known private school in Hawaii and Columbia and Harvard Law.

I just want people to go see the movie. White people need to know that Gone With the Wind
was not the black perspective.

[JanT]

103. just bought it on amazon

can't wait to watch it. got to wait till the Seahawks get done playing today. LOL i did not know about it until your post. thank you.

[mnhtnbb]

119. Demographics of Presidential Exit Polls 2012

http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president/exit-polls


Not all states were polled for demographics.
Several southern states are included: Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Missouri.

While there was a definite preference among all white voters--all states-- for Romney, the disparity of votes
between Obama and Romney among white voters was most pronounced in the southern states
that were polled compared to all the other states which were polled. Among the other states, only
Arizona white voters reached a level of preference for Romney over Obama at a level greater than polled
in 2 of the 4 southern states (by 2 points).

Draw your own conclusions.

This is my last post in this thread.