[at-l] kelly's and skeeter's posts about tennessee - kindaof a2001 hike...

[greyowl at rcn.com (greyowl@xxxxxxx)]

I think that if one cannot laugh at themselves then they can't laugh 
at anybody.  Most of the people making the jokes are from that 
area or have lived there for a period of time.  I went to school in 
Johnson City and married a 'Hill Billy'.  Her father was a Doctor.  
There are also school teachers, artist etc in the area.  Back in the 
60's when the president wanted to talk about the war on proverty 
they went to West Virginia, not New Jersey or Detriot which in 
many ways had worse proverty.  Many sourtherners are very kind 
and generous people a opposed to the people livinng in the New 
England states.  I should know because across the river is New 
Jersey and I have had the experience of driving in the New England 
States and meeting many of the people.  Give me a southern good 
ole boy or gal any day of the wee.  At least they know how to laugh 
at themselves.

Grey Owl

> 
> I'm Southern and I enjoy a good Southern joke but it's amazing how you
> guys and gals can manage to insult pretty near the whole population of
> a couple Southern states so blithely.  And Southerners too! 
> Apparently it hasn't occurred to you that there very well could be
> people who are native to the mountains of Tennessee who are
> subscribers or have visited this hiking list and who are not amused by
> your stereotyping of the peoples of the Southern Appalachians in such
> a distorted way.  Not that you can't find persons as you have
> described in the mountains of Tennessee, however, MOST of the people
> of that area are not as you describe.  You're blanket
> characterizations perpetuate the notion to those who have never been
> there that most are and reinforcing a negative self-image that some
> Southerners have about who they are.   If you repeat it enough, people
> come to believe it as true. It's like you went to the Africa Day
> Parade and wrote ONLY about the one guy you saw eating watermelon.  Or
> you went to the Gay Pride Parade and only mentioned the 10 or so guys
> there in a dress and not the other several hundred thousand who
> weren't.  You can't rehabilitate your Southerness by maligning a
> portion of it in so ungenerous, unkind and unimaginative ways.  This
> is a culturally biased view promulgated by media that originates on
> both Coasts and it's fairly tiresome as humor.  I can't help but think
> you guys might be watching a little too much television. Y'all ain't
> Bill Bryson in disguys er ya?   However, if you guys really want to
> roll around in the culture bashing muck then let's talk about New
> Jersey!!
> 
> BTW, I'm reading Bryson's new book,  "A Very Short History of Nearly
> Everything."   FANTASTIC!    Turn off this machine and go right now
> and read it.  That's an order!
> 
> 
> Lashing Balls
> 
> 
> 
>