Why is Southern History so Romanticized?

[moriah]

33. Given that I utilize the fact I'm a "Southern belle" for work quite often....

... yeah, it is romanticized. There is something just awfully cute about a person being able to tell you how much of a jerk you are but in a tone and accent and word choice that it leaves you smiling.

Ever hear about the judge who tried Bundy? One of his favorite expressions was "Bless your heart" -- which usualy has an unspoken "God" before it and "because the rest of us want to throttle the shit out of you" at the end. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1951&dat=19790717&id=jh4qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CYgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1437,4527813 is an example of a quote from that judge.

There are a lot of good things about the South. "Southern hospitality", for one. But it cuts both ways -- it can be confusing for the poor Yankees who come here.... they invite me over and I'll confuse the hell out of them by not just flat-out asking if I can make myself something to drink... because I'm used to a host offering refreshment, and if they don't that there's a reason they're not (like, all they have is water and they're ashamed, or they really don't want me to stay that long but are too nice to say so). They're more used to people who are up-front and saying what they need. Or how I don't invite myself over to someone's house unless I *really* know them well -- it's just not polite! And then the poor Northerners think I'm stuck up or just don't want to see them... and that's not it at all. Their house might be a wreck and I don't want them to have to go to the effort of making it presentable just on my account, or they might just want to have a quiet night at home. The whole idea of "I don't want to impose...."

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In regards to romanticizing history, I think there's also a lot of people who always like to take the side of the underdog. I have a tendency to do it myself. Not about the history in my state, whether it's the Civil War and how many battles were fought here, or more recent history like the Little Rock desegregation crisis. Little Rock is still highly segregated when you look at the maps for residences.