Southern Folks

sun hatFor some reason, people get the impression folks from the South are unintelligent perhaps because of the Southern accent.  I get this a lot since I smile and laugh a lot and am always friendly.  I could talk to a fence post.  It’s always interesting to surprise people with a witty return when they think I’m not too sharp.

67 thoughts on “Southern Folks”

  2. When I moved from Charleston to Connecticut the first thing I had to do was kill my accent. I was teased and treated like an idiot. It took me about a year to lose the accent; after that I could say the same stupid things and be treated with respect.

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      • It may be a holdover from the Civil War–but I will never understand it–my Mother was from New York, and her family hated my Father.

        Conversely my Mother was despised in Charleston for being a damned Yankee.

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          • I like accents–Bobby is about to post something so the Southern accent will be in full bloom in a couple of days–I was thinking yesterday about this discussion about accents.

            I called my Sister who lives in North Carolina, and she has a rich Geechie accent.

            I think it’s probably obvious that I’m deeply conflicted about the region of my birth. There are people there that I loved and love very deeply.

            But I detest the needless violence and mindless hatred that I witnessed.

            The shootings in Charleston freaked me out because I had hoped that it was over–the racism and the clinging to a tradition that is essentially barbaric…

            I don’t understand it.

            I wish I could because because I think it would help my heart to feel lighter.

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              • I wish is wasn’t happening. There is so much about folks in the South to love…like one thing I loved about Charleston when I would go for a walk I said “hey” to at least three people per block…I used to go to the battery and hang out and write and then I’d visit my friends and we’d talk about life and people, and they wasn’t mean racists…they wasn’t dum…they didn’t think the Confederate flag represented them and they never thought of hurting someone for being different…when I was hungry their moms fed me cause they knew my mom didn’t…

                I want the world to know about those people that live there too…there are good folks in the South, and maybe the Southern accent can be an accent of friendship and a people that take time to care…

                does that make sense?

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                • You are right, Robert. I live in the South and I am not mean-spirited or racist. There are more and more of us. The times are changing. More and more people care and extend the hand of friendship to everyone. When my children were growing up, I fed every child who was there at suppertime. If they came to my table, or played in my yard, they were family. We fed two little boys who got themselves off to school, breakfast every morning for several years. They lived down from us and knocked on the door to ask for a ride to the school bus with Bud and the kids one cold frosty morning. They were on their own in the mornings since their mom was out of the picture and their dad left before they got up. They climbed up to the table and had pancakes, sausage, and milk with the kids. From that time forward, we fed them breakfast every morning and snacked them after school. The little guys were hungry. I’m glad they stopped for something to eat. Hope it made their life a little easier. Many times we sent them off with peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. Your question makes perfect sense. Lots of us don’t care about differences, just the same things we share.

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  5. One of the sharpest people I know is a friend who grew up not far from Nashville. She can outthink and outtalk anybody, and in her career, had Northern men double-foxed ’cause they double-under-estimated her: On accent and gender.

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  6. I love to talk to people with accents. I think it makes me listen more closely. Just had a lovely trip to GA this spring and have to say that the accent makes everyone sound so warm and welcoming. I seriously doubt that the way we sound is a good reflection of what we feel, what we know or how we think.

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  8. Though I was raised in the South as a child, and live in the South now, it always amazed me how many great people I met in my travels that were so willing to assist a stranger in need — turned out, most of them were from the South and visiting or living in other places.

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  11. Once on a trip to the US, one guy actually asked my sister how much would ‘so and so’ add up to be assuming like many, that Asians are wizards. Hah! My sister showed him alright! She passed math after the tutor realised she’s going to remain in his class forever until he lets her pass. That guy will now know better than to stereotype people after assuming he owes someone 4000 dollars instead of 40,000 thanks to my sister! I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing for us, but hey! Cheers to ruining stereotypes! 😉

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  13. I’m always surprised by the difference in accents and even dialects within a country, here in Australia it’s very hard to pick where people come from. It doesn’t mean there isn’t prejudice related to accents here they just don’t relate to different geographical regions. I’m sure you often show up people’s ignorance with a smart remark.

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  15. Married to a Southerner from Mississippi. He dreams of food without cilantro (we live in California). Grits, black-eyed peas, butter beans, and cornbread he speaks of with a sparkle in his eye. I have learned to make cornbread over the years (can’t stand the stuff myself) but I do it for him. His Mum sends Martha White’s from home (it’s funny a girl from Australia learning to make Southern cornbread). He tells me he is going to put a fence post in the backyard so I have someone to argue with (have never really figured out what that means). So, I love Southerners and their way of doing things!!!!!!

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  18. When I moved South from the NJ years ago I was immediately struck by how open and inviting people down here are. I seldom meet a stranger! I equate the accent with warmth rather than with any lack of intelligence. 🙂

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