Originally posted by Ironduke
View Post
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Is the American civil war really over??
Collapse
X
-
Originally posted by Julie View PostThat particular incident I experienced had me later in years wonder if it was a stereotype issue, or because the war that occurred between the North and the South. Have you ever heard of stereotyping between Easterners or Westerners? I haven't.
Might I suggest an alternative to the ACW as the root of attitudes to southerners, one that is a bit more universal. I'll leave it to the Americans hereabouts to tell me if I'm off the mark or not.
First, the issue of 'regional stereotyping' is a very real one all over the world, but look at how it tends to go. There is a tendency for areas that consider themselves more affluent, educated & 'modern' to look down their nose at areas that are not. Add a clear basis for identification (an accent, for example) and it is easy for the prejudice to go from something abstract to something direct & personal.
A clear example of this, & one I think relates directly to this issue, is the attitude of 'city folk' to 'hicks' from rural areas. In France I believe this is pretty much how Parisians view the rest of the country, and they are resented for it. In Sth Africa rural whites are often easily identified by their particularly thick accents & sometimes preference for afrikaans - the term 'yarpie' is not a compliment. England, with its complex class & regional relationships, the issue is even clearer. There is a long history of southerners & especially Londoners looking down on the poorer & 'coarser' North (these attitudes have more than once translated into violence at & around soccer matches). Further, the singsong accent of the West country would get you treated the same way as if your Georgia drawl in NJ. The English, of course, take it further. The 'working class' accents from parts of London were also a marker of lesser worth. I'm prepared to bet such distinctions crop up all over the world ('Ossies' in Germany, for instance). Few if any date from a war of any sort.
Back to America. In the century after the ACW the south retained a separate cultural identity (and accent). As others have pointed out, decisions made largely by southerners resulted in a region that was poorer, politically ossified (until the 40s & 50s anyway) and socially backward. Whatever anyone might say about the racism in the North (or the large northern cities at least), it was not in the same league as the south. Events such as lynchings, the 'Monkey Trial' & violent reactions to civil rights simply reinforced such perceptions. These obvious differences made it easy to see the south in much the same way that metopolises see country folk - backward hicks. As you well know, the reality was a great deal more complex, but the whole point about caricatures is that they distort reality. There is obviously a bit more to it than this, but I think this is closer to the truth than any lingering triumphalism on the part of northerners.Last edited by Bigfella; 14 Nov 09,, 08:49.sigpic
Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C
Comment
-
Originally posted by Julie View PostThat particular incident I experienced had me later in years wonder if it was a stereotype issue, or because the war that occurred between the North and the South. Have you ever heard of stereotyping between Easterners or Westerners? I haven't."Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."
Comment
-
I started this thread to continue the offtrack part of this thread. Could one of the mods please move some of these over??
Thanks
http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/anc...tml#post692254
Comment
-
Originally posted by 7thsfsniper View PostThe shooting has long since stopped, but how does it affect attitudes and cultural differences today.“He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”
Comment
-
Originally posted by Bigfella View PostTH,
7thSniper set this one up to take a discussion that sidetracked another thread. Any chance of using your Administrator/moderator voodoo & dragging some of those posts over here?“He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”
Comment
-
Originally posted by TopHatter View PostCan you point me in the direction of the posts in question? :)
I would nominate the following as the main ones: 8, 9, 11, 14, 17, 20, 24, 25, 27, 31, 32, 34 - end of thread. Is that too many? Hope not. Let the voodoo commence!!sigpic
Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C
Comment
-
Originally posted by TopHatter View PostJudging by the sheer number of utterly ignorant a--holes driving around with Confederate Naval Jacks hanging off their pick-up trucks and bragging/claiming that it's their "heritage"...I would say "No" the Civil War is not over (in their minds) but regardless, there is no way in hell or heaven that the South is going to "rise again".
I've got a question...what do confederate items represent now to different people. Top referred to it as "heritage?"
Could it be other representations, such as State pride, State standing? Maybe something else. Maybe that person had a generation of family that died fighting in that war.
I think depending upon what those representations reflect, depends upon if it is an insult to someone.Last edited by Julie; 15 Nov 09,, 16:40.
Comment
-
Mexicans wave their flag anyway.
Confederate items have a ''cool'' air about them,as symbols of rebellion from whatever you think is the ''opressor''.Those who know don't speak
He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36
Comment
-
Originally posted by Julie View PostI was at the County Fair here all weekend. There was a little hut set up containing confederate items for sale. Flags, car tags, key chains, etc. Is this what you are speaking of?
I've got a question...what do confederate items represent now to different people. Top referred to it as "heritage?"
Could it be other representations, such as State pride, State standing? Maybe something else. Maybe that person had a generation of family that died fighting in that war.
They fly the flag and think that it's the flag of the Confederacy, when in fact it's not. It's a bastardization of the Confederate Naval Jack, with one color (a deeper blue) thrown from one of the multitude of Confederate battle flags.
For many of them, especially the teenage and 20ish set, it's no different than the Guerrillero Heroico t-shirts depicting Ernesto "Che" Guevara: It's a fashion statement...because they sure as sh-t don't have a clue about the Civil War or the Confederate States of America. I talked to enough of them to know this is more-or-less the case.
They look at me funny when I briefly -and politely- explain the various flags of the CSA and their meaning, not to mention the meaning of the flag on their shirt, their bumper or hanging off their pickup truck.
Their glassy-eyed response is a vague "oh ok that's cool i guess"....the same kind of look given to a schoolteacher that's telling them about something they don't have a clue about, don't care about, will probably never care about and isn't it time for the lunch bell to ring because I'm really hungry.
I'll never forget the time I actually saw a neighbor girl with the 3rd and final CSA flag on her Dixie Outfitter's jacket. I asked her if she'd noticed the difference between the flag on her jacket and the ones all over the neighborhood. Nope. Hadn't noticed it but yes isn't that interesting.
"Heritage and Pride"? Sorry, I ain't buyin' it.“He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”
Comment
Comment