This NORTHERN Yankee ....

[Trajan]

Born and bred in North New Jersey, a mere 6 miles from the GW Bridge ...

THIS New Jersey boy KNOWS that it isnt the SOUTH that is the problem, but RIGHT WING THINKING that is the problem ....

We are blessed with a large number of SOUTHERN born and raised LIBERALS here in DU: We are VERY proud to be associated with them ...

I call them 'Brother' and 'Sister' ....

I dont HATE them ... I LOVE them .....

One Day: We will ALL journey to our nation's capital and celebrate the inauguration of a DEMOCRATIC President and Congress ... NOT because we rejected the 'south', but because we EMBRACED each other, and led with our heads and our hearts, instead of our arses ....

Ignorance is not a place or region: it is a state of mind ....

STOP the ignorant south-baiting ....

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

1. Thank you, Trajan!!!!!!!!!!!

PS. My dad grew up in CT, moved to VA, met my mom here, married her and raised a family. We're all Dems and we all continue to live (and vote Dem.!) in VA.

[dave502d]

2. Thank you,When b*. cheated,He cheated the country.

[freetobegay]

3. Very well said thanks.

Some people here should realize, If it wasn't for Liberal Southerners Bush would have a mandate!

[ruggerson]

4. I havent' seen any south bashing

What i've seen is northerners and new englanders finally standing up to the sneering Bush family mantra of "Massachussetts Liberal" and saying, ENOUGH, fuck you.

[Trajan]

7. Ive heard that 'mantra'

In the North as well ...

Baiting is baiting: you claim to 'not see it' ....

I swear you cant walk three inches in here without running into ANOTHER 'Hate The South' thread ...

It's pretty sick to see ....

We dont hate a 'place' ... we dislike the THINKING of our opponents ....

Places dont think .... and many times people dont either ...

[ruggerson]

12. The problem is not angry and upset liberals

the problem is the years of demonization by Bush and Co. They are anti-Northeast and anti-progressive and anti-nonfundamentalist bigoted horror shows.

The people who need to stand up for themselves are the folks the rightwingers have been bashing for 20 years. And you should revel in it, because we are finding our voice.

[Trajan]

14. Like I said: I was born and raised in North Jersey ....

from Brooklynite stock ...

I dont take much crap from anyone, for that matter ...

But I DO know this: Liberal Democrats in the South would defend YOUR right to be Liberal Democrats in the North .... and they wouldnt insult you in the process ...

You dont like the RW Propoganda about 'Northeastern Liberals' ? .. well neither do I .... attacking our 'southern' friends isnt going to make that stop ....

FIND your voice by defending liberalism EVERYWHERE .....

[kayell]

18. I hate to break it to you, but BushCo is FROM the NE. Try to recognize a

divide and conquer strategy when it smacks you in the nose.

And come to think of it, they're still there. Unless Kennebunkport was transported to TX while I wasn't looking.

[ruggerson]

23. yes, i'm well aware of that

they're from greenwich. which is why it's so transparent that their strategy is to play on regional and cultural ignorance and try to portray the north as some kind of elitist boogeyman who is behind all the problems the poor white southernor has ever had in his life.

[MuseRider]

5. YAY Southern state

democrats! You are doing a very difficult job. Keep it up. :hug:

[Syrinx]

6. thank you!

I find it hard to believe anyone could be more disappointed with the election than I am right here in the deep south.

[alwynsw]

8. Bravo!!!!! Author! Author!

[Kathy in Cambridge]

9. The Southern DUers are brave souls

it has to be difficult living in predominantly red states.

I see neanderthal thinking up here in MA too. My bumperstickers were ripped off at Logan Airport the day after the election. Ignorance is a state of mind, and a decade of right-wing filth spewing from the airwaves have lead weaker souls astray.

[Trajan]

10. Hear Hear ....

State of Mind is the issue ... not the PLACE where the mind is ....

[kayell]

11. Thank you to all of the sensible people who reject bigotry, no matter

what fancy clothes it dresses itself up in.

[MeanAndGreen]

13. Seconed

II

[rockydem]

15. The 'South' is where the right wing is based

I know there are good people in the South, but the South has some real problems. It never got over the civil war. It accuses everyone else of being morally bankrupt and elitist when it has a highest divorce rate. It has the highest murder rates, and is the least healthy (by any indicator). They pass of their moral failings onto others. I for one am fuckin' sick of the South. They are anti-intellectual and anti-science. They bash the very institutions of higher learning that created most of the medical cures (or those that discovered said cures) that they themselves now all want. Hypocrites! They are moochers off the federal dime. All of this is FACT.

Zell can go on a show and call MoDo a New York hussy and get away with it! What the fuck is up with that? If some northern man called a prominent Southern woman a 'Southern harlot' the whole South would be up in arms.

This is why I am sick of the South. I know there are good people from the South. My grandfather was from Tennessee. But it's the mindset that is ruling the South that must be opposed, mocked, and ridiculed, and if necessary, directly confronted.

I am sick of THEM and their fuckin' BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Trajan]

16. You really need to get a hold of yourself ...

and direct your anger more effectively ....

OPPOSE the mindset .... not the PLACE ....

[rockydem]

20. The problem is rooted in the place and in its history

Thanks to the mindset down there Jefferson (one of only two Founders who could be called Southern) couldn't even be elected president these days. He openly questioned the usefulness of organized religion, and he coined the phrase 'separation of church and state'. The South likes to lay claim to him but they wouldn't even vote for him today.

The South went wrong somewhere before the Civil War. They stuck up for slavery, and lost their minds.

[ruggerson]

17. I agree

There's a huge double standard. And it's going to stop.

[Trajan]

19. Your going to STOP 'regional hatred'

by perpetuating it ? ...

[ruggerson]

21. No, i said the double standard is going to stop

And we should be concentrating on confronting Zell Miller et al and their angry bigotry, which is the ROOT of what you are discussing.

Every time Joe Scarborough mentions the "liberal elite", he should be called on his not-so-disguised bigotry against the North.

Every time Zell Miller rails against the "liberals" who are "out of step" with what he considers the "mainstream" he should be called on his regional bias.

Every time this fucker in the White House says "Massachussetts Liberal", people should rise up in fury and tell him to fucking keep his ugly mouth shut.

[Trajan]

22. straightening out

Those who insult us is EXACTLY what you should do ...

BUT that doesnt include insulting all southerners ...

[GaYellowDawg]

24. Thank you...

This is my first post here, and I wanted it to be something positive.

I'm fortunate enough to live in Athens, GA. Since it's a university town, there were a lot more Kerry stickers around here than in other parts of Georgia. It's pretty much a liberal oasis in this red desert. I would be willing to bet, however, that I'm the only person in Athens whose car still has a Gore/Lieberman sticker!

These days, quite frankly, I feel ambivalent about being southern. I have family down here, so I'm not moving (and any Republican who dares suggest it is going to get singed). There are lots of things that I'm unhappy with, though, but I want to point out that I think that the South is emblematic of two major problems in politics today.

1. When the Fairness in Media doctrine was dismissed by the FCC under Reagan, it meant that the political party that made the most noise was the most likely to win. It starts with Hannity, Limbaugh, et al. They make noise about something. They complain about the "librul media" not talking about it. The media then gives it legitimacy by presenting "both sides" in fear of continuing to be labeled "liberal." Until the media learns that responsibility in reporting comes not from presenting all sides, but by being able to discern what's relevant or truthful and what's not, they will continually trivialize elections and thereby distort their results.

2. I say this next point as a Christian. When churches are handing out flyers and preachers are endorsing candidates from the pulpit, they have entered the political process, and should have their tax-exempt status revoked. I don't like the idea of any candidate in any church giving any kind of political speech during a service, either. Go to the county courthouse. The involvement of religion in politics has reached an entirely unacceptable degree. Christianity serves as a vehicle for power only when those using it for that purpose violate its most fundamental principles.

Media and the church are two important influences in the South. I think that Southerners can all too often fall prey to being influenced by others. Frankly, the presence and number of fundamentalist churches here are, I think, a major reason for this. A major characteristic of fundamentalism is a heteronomous state of mind; in other words, a willingness to allow others to dictate your thought. If you have that as an early childhood influence, it will be a tendency as an adult. I don't think there is a solution for this.

I do think, though, that many Southerners who aren't fundamentalist but are religious - and that's a lot - would give ample consideration to Democrats who could and would reasonably relate that social programs are entirely consistent with many New Testament admonitions about caring for the poor. Right now, there are many who don't make that connection.

Sorry for the length of this, but I'm pretty happy to finally start posting on DU. Who knows, perhaps I can even get Elizabeth Edwards to reply to one of my messages. :-)

[kayell]

26. Welcome to DU. Very nice first post. Athens IS a wonderful town,

[yardwork]

25. Thank you! But I think there is some good coming out of this....

I was born and raised in Ohio and I've lived in NC for the past 25 years.

For those who are still reading this, I think it is a GOOD thing that northerners are bashing the south. Liberal elites are fed up with being made fun of and taken for granted and we're fighting back. Good for us!

I wrote a similar rant the day after the election. I realized that I've been criticized all my life for being one of those mean old liberal elites, and I've tried to prove that I'm not by being really, really nice. Just like John Kerry and all the rest of us nice, educated, calm, quiet, polite liberals.

Well fuck it! I'm not being polite anymore.

[Rockholm]

27. Southerner by birth..Yankee by CHOICE........

Yes indeedy boys and girls. Born and raised in South Carolina, in the liberal bastion of Charleston.

One thing that came out of this election for me is that the "religious" vote/evangelicals/"morals voters" have the beautiful Northeast all wrong. See, demonize us all you want, but we have it damned good up here.

Regarding religion, WE DON'T WEAR IT ON OUR SLEEVES. Many folks I know ARE Catholic, Episcopalian, other Protestant, Jewish, etc. We in the Northeast don't care who you worship, where you worship, how you worship. Just keep it to yourselves. Don't witness, prostletize, shove it down our throats.

Keep religion private. Respect religion and the religious. Keep it private.

[VaYallaDawg]

28. Thanks Trajan!!!

Just because we "talk funny" doesn't mean we're ignorant, bigoted, chauvinistic, snake-worshiping, homophobic rednecks. Besides, everybody "talks funny" - it just depends on your perspective.