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In reply to the discussion: Annoying millennial speech habits [View all]misanthrope
(7,462 posts)Once again, I'll recommend Colin Woodard's "American Nations" if you want to understand my experiences and the South's role in bringing our nation to this perilous condition.
Society/culture in the place I reside was modeled after the sugar kingdoms of the West Indies. Deep South slaveowners often threatened slaves with being sent to Cuba owing to the island's notoriously horrific conditions. My town of residence was noted for its longtime chumminess with Havana.
I was born in the Civil Rights Era. MLK was assassinated before I started grade school. I've seen integration of public institutions and spaces. I've watched white flight in action, in my own neighborhood and seen nearly a half century of its ramifications.
I've lived and gone to school in white flight suburbs, places where sports teams were named Rebels, fans waved Confederate flags and they all sang "Dixie" together. I've spent most of my life hearing what's said when many white folks think there are nothing but sympathetic ears gathered round. I've seen what transcends socio-economic class and what works to keep those lines in place.
While these things don't apply to 100 percent of Southern residents -- there are outliers and good people, sure -- regional cultural norms insisting "don't make waves" help bolster their perpetuation. Change comes much, much slower down here than elsewhere.
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