And you know what? They literally founded the southern baptist convention because the national triennial convention wasn’t pro-slavery or racist enough, they needed Christianity to be pro-slavery racist first and foremost because it was their only true core moral value, and I haven’t seen that change one whit.
Hitler wrote explicitly about Jim Crow in the south as a model and inspiration for the genetic policies Germany needed.
We have been too gentle for too long, if the south had shown any interest or intention in seeking redemption that would be one thing, they constantly double down in their pride and arrogance and demand others respect their perversion.
It’s gone too far. Georgia in 2020 was not something we can rely on to keep our secular democracy. If they had shown an ounce of contrition in 160 years, but they aren’t capable of that because they’re incapable of imagining ever being wrong about anything.
Southerner here. It’s this kind of carte blanche thinking that had left the liberals and progressives of the South fighting an uphill battle. When the major party most aligned with our values throws up their hands and withdraws all support, we are left only with our metropolitan counties trying to lead by example, however flawed we may be. I want to help my rural statesmen get the help they need so that they’re above water long enough to realize the true opponent, the 1% aka the new age plantation owners. But when we only have 2-3 counties per state trying to stem the tide while weathering the onerous rulings of a gerrymandered state legislator, it’s slow going. I almost left once, but that’s accepting defeat. I’m not leaving this country if we take a significant rightward turn, because I’ll lose any ability to right the ship. Same goes for the South.
From a Blueberry in a Raspberry pie, with love.
I don’t live in the Bible Belt part and I agree with your views but there are more good people in the South than you’d think. It’s not like any party wins 99% to 1%. In New Orleans, I consider us more Caribbean than Southern. South Florida too. Everywhere is complex.
I’ll give you those points, and there were many good people in the south.
But the people who rule the south are so unimaginably corrupt and use the evil to cover it. They’re using bigotry and hatred as a weapon for their economic purposes and that’s a big problem.
And one day we’ll have democracy in the South. I have no intention of defending the South. But get you a copy of an old Green Book or ask black people about Boston. There are racists everywhere. There were sundown towns in Oregon. Idaho is still like 30% white supremacists. C’oeur D’alene harassed Utah’s women’s basketball team last year.