Love The One You're With

Someone commented recently on my blog. It was posted anonymously (I guess they weren't as proud of it as I am of my blog...but I digress) and the main gist of the comment was "If you hate the South so much, why don't you go back where you came from?" (Don't go looking for the comment, I never let it get published. comments like that don't get published.)

Obviously this person is misreading my posts or I need to be more broad with my humor. (I humbly suggest it's a bit of both!) But let's be sure: I love the South, ok? I love a lot about the South, which is why I try so hard in fitting in. You can't just move into the South and be considered a Southerner (Suthunah). The South is friendly, but it's also a close community. (The 'Good-ol-boy' network is alive and well!) The South is a place, but it's also a frame of mind. It's laid back and it's backward (in a good way). It embraces the new technology without losing it's roots in the past. What's not to love?

What I try to do in my little space on the net, is to draw attention to those few individuals and to those parts of the South that show us the difference between the South and the Rest of the world. The unique ability to look 'You can't do that' in the eye and prove them wrong...usually..mostly...ok, so at least they TRY. (Another of my jokes, did you all get that?) I poke fun at them because I love them. Sort of like the way you poke fun at a sibling, but in reality there's love there. Yes, I do love the South.

But there is also a lot to dislike in the South, or to change in the South. It's hot, humid and the bugs will eat you alive. Bigotry runs rampant even in the 21st Century. (And Bigotry runs both ways!) There's that constant memory of 19th century slavery which cannot (and should not) be forgotten along with a history of violence and a reputation for being backward (in a bad way). It's working for The State where the Governor considers spending $19 Million at his residence for an Underground Ballroom (nicknamed "The Bunker") and hasn't approved a raise for his state employees larger than 3% in the last TEN YEARS. That's not even keeping abreast of the cost of living! If you work for the State (and I do) then your income goes up but your buying power does NOT.

But rather than harp on that, it's much more interesting (and more fun) to see what marvels of invention, what incredible twisted thoughts and skewed foresight the South gives forth. No, I don't hate the South. I hate people who can't take a joke.