[at-l] Walking in the South

Bryson had a very real phobia about the South. His description of Mrs Mull's mother, who had had a stoke, was unkind (and that's saying it nicely). It was cruel, it was like calling someone with Down Syndrome a 'retard' -- it was insensitive. His description of Hiawassee (straight out of Deliverance) was mean-spirited. His attitude about the South in general was, as we Southerners put it "tacky" -- if he had used similar words about blacks or homosexuals, there would have been hue and cry and lawsuits and boycotts. But because it was about Southerners and the attitudes that prevail about us, it was assumed that it was 'funny' and 'laughable' -- and I take umbridge at that -- you won't find more helpful people than in Hiawassee -- ask people who've been injured hiking down the rocks at Unicoi Gap, or people who've gotten hitches from there or from Dick's Creek Gap. Bryson was disrespectful of the South and things Southern -- he didn't understand our ways or take the time to learn about us before he made his acidic comments. JUST like he didn't take the time to learn from anyone who's hiked the AT about it and how to be a lightweight backpacker, etc. And Katz's total disregard of LNT was appalling, it was NOT funny. Ask the maintainers who have to pick up after the litter-likes if you want to know how we feel about people like him.