Who pissed in your grits..

Well it appears my last post has ruffled some country feathers. Below are 3 comments from obviously offended Mississippians.

Anonymous said...
I just happened to stumble across your blog and I have to say that I am sorry that you feel that way and quite frankly I'm offended. It's people like you who give the south a bad name...especially Mississippi. Maybe you should check out www.mississippibelieveit.com and maybe you would change your mind. I'm proud to be from Mississippi and yes, I have all my teeth and wear shoes too!
17/3/08 10:07 PM

Anonymous said...
I just happened upon your blog and boy that is very insulting to anyone from Mississippi. It's people like you that cause the ignorance to continue with regards to Southerners. What you should see is that Mississippians are very caring, giving, compassionate, loving, family-oriented people. Perhaps you are just too ungrateful to value the things that you were blessed with in your life.
17/3/08 10:18 PM

Randal Reeves said...
In regards to your insulting comments about all Southerners, which would include me, I will be removing you from my myspace friends list. You may need to seek out serious pyschological assistance for your obvious mental issues.
17/3/08 10:23 PM

I have to say I find it pretty funny. For several reasons.

1. I was born and for the most part raised IN Mississippi, which technically makes me a "Mississippian" and a "Southerner", the very things I lambasted in my post.
2. The blog these comments refer to was a blog about MY opinions, MY family and MY experience with living in the south. If your family is perfect then good for you. Please consider yourselves excused from any of the generalizations in that post. I was talking about those other Mississippi people
3. It's my flippin' blog and my flippin' opinions. You don't have to like them. I'm sure you have opinions that I may not like. That's what makes the world such an interesting place. People are DIFFERENT.

I won't apologize for not having a "southern" mentality. Yes the majority of the people in the south are very kind, giving, family oriented people. I've never said anything to the contrary. The problem with those kind, giving, family oriented people in Mississippi, is that they are stuck in the past living lives and following beliefs that degrade, even if unintentionally, and judge people who don't "fit" in with what their idea of right is.

Most of my family are some of the most friendly personable people you'll ever meet. Most of them are also alcoholics, drug users and convicts who are completely content to do the absolute minimum to survive, never striving for anything better and that's their decision. They are my family, and while I may not always like or agree with their lifestyles or choices, I do love them. I choose to live a different life. I don't think it makes me any better than them, contrary to popular opinion. I do however, know that it makes me DIFFERENT. I'm ok with different.

I lived in Mississippi until I was 25 years old and HATED every day of it. I hated the slow laid back mentality of it. I hated the racism and ignorance I was constantly surrounded by. I hated the "Bible Belt" mentality that gives people the idea that they have the right to tell someone else that how they live their own life is "wrong".

There is a reason Mississippi is one of the lowest paid states in the entire country. There is a reason they have one of the lowest education ratings in the country. For the 2006-2007 school year Mississippi ranked 48th out of 50 states on a Smartest State Ranking. They ranked LAST for percentage of people per state who complete high school and that's including people who got their GED.

On StateMaster.com they rank states in a variety of areas. Here are some of the categories Mississippi came in LAST in.

Last
Economy > Median Family Income
Economy > Nest Egg Index
Education > Assessments > % of Students Above Advanced > Grade 8 Math
Education > Percent of People Who Have Completed High School (Including Equivalency)
Health > Oral health > Visits to the dentist
Lifestyle > Best States to Live
Lifestyle > Children Ages 0-5 Who Are Read To Every Day, Percentage

Hello Miss "I have all my teeth and wear shoes too!", Guess what, I was born and mostly raised in MS and I have all my teeth too, and haven't had a cavity since I was 6yrs old, but see that up there. Mississippi ranked LAST in Oral Health/Visits to the dentist.

It's not people "like me" that give Mississippi or the South a bad name. It's all the people who stay there and continue to live in the past, refusing to adapt and move forward with the times. Granted sometimes new isn't always better but I mean damn.

Did you know that you can still find water fountains in places in MS that are labeled "whites" & "colored"? I'm sure people will tell you, oh they just left it that way because it's a piece of history. So are nooses and burning crosses, but I'm sure as hell not going to have either in my yard. It's history that was WRONG and history that many, not all, but many people in Mississippi and the South still live by.

I mean seriously, I've lived in quite a few cities in Mississippi and every single one is racially divided. The "black people" live in one section of town and the "white people" live in another. Then there are the Asian & Hispanic population who are even more ostracized and separated. Sure there are those who are not held by their ancestors ignorance and have moved on to become educated successful people who truly believe EVERYONE is equal, but I wouldn't hesitate to put money on it that those people are the exception rather than the rule.

Some would say that I feel the way I do about the south and Mississippi in general because I moved away for several years and lived in a "big city". Some would be wrong. I've felt the wrongness of the ideals and ways of the state long before I ever left for Michigan. And I'm not for a second saying that only southern states are guilty of the things I've mentioned, but they do stand out more for their failure to advance, adapt and evolve along with the rest of the country.

I live in Alabama now and I have to say that while the general environment and atmosphere is better than that in Mississippi, Mobile isn't exempt from many of the things I dislike about Mississippi. My roommate just moved here from Oregon and she noticed immediately the difference in the culture and general attitude of people here. Black people look at her like she's crazy when she talks to them because well.. white people don't talk to black people much in the south. She and I have both been told that we shouldn't go to certain areas of town because they are "mostly black areas" and it's not safe. I mean seriously, are you kidding me? Did I slip into a coma and while I was asleep the US zipped through a time warp back to 1925?

I lived just outside of Detroit and didn't get told not to go to areas because they were "mostly black", because they were "mostly gang frequented" maybe, but not because a certain race lived there. Michigan has the largest Arab American population in the US and I didn't see as much racial profiling there during 9/11 as I have in Mississippi and Alabama. It's just ridiculous.

One of the comments said that I must not be thankful for the blessings in my life and they couldn't be more wrong. I'm exceedingly thankful that my mother taught me that EVERYONE deserves to be treated equally. The "n word" was not a word that was used in our house, and my brother, sister and I were taught that it was not acceptable for other people to use it either. I'm thankful that my mother realized what I was capable of at a very early age and pushed me to do the best I could in everything I attempted. Granted, I am now slightly obsessive compulsive as a result, and push myself entirely too hard to strive for perfection in everything I do as a result, but I sure as hell can't be accused of half ass'ing anything or lacking in determination. I'm thankful for many things in my life, but I can honestly say I don't think any of them have anything to do with the location I was brought up in.

Not everyone in the south is bad, and I never said "everyone" fit the characteristics I listed in my previous post, but sadly enough many do. I'm all for having pride in your history and representing where you came from, but only if it's done in a positive way that doesn't hurt, judge, ostracize or put anyone down. The south has produced some amazing talent over the years; incredible authors, singers, playwrights, athletes, artists and social activists and of those things I am proud of. The ignorance and hatred that is shown towards those of a race, gender, and/or sexual orientation that don't "fit", I'm not nor will I ever be proud of.

A "friend" of mine told me that I was very judgemental in my post. I wasn't making judgements about people who were born of live in the south. I was making an observation based on MY life and MY experiences. If people can't see the difference then that's not my problem. Guess what, it's a free country and I have the right to my opinions and beliefs, my own personal likes and dislikes.

I don't like the general mentality of the south. So move you say. I did. I moved to Michigan and loved most everything about living there. I was happier than I'd ever been in my life and if it weren't for my niece being born and wanting to be a part of her life I'd have never left. I left the one place I'd ever been happy living and moved back to the equivalent of hell for me to be near my family. So excuse me if I have an opinion that you don't agree with. No.. on second thought don't excuse me, excuse YOU, this is MY blog... if you don't like what you read.. take your cotton pickin' ass on. =)

"Johnny Earl.. Where's your teeth!?!"

my mom asked her brother from across the picnic table. "Since my gums done shrunk they keep wanting to just fall out, so I left 'em at home", he replied. My uncle is only 53. I think. 53 with no teeth, or I guess teeth at home in a cup on the night stand. Welcome to Mississippi.

We're in the back yard at my sister's house in Gulfport, MS. Some great uncles & aunts that we haven't seen in umpteen years (translation - a lot) or so are visiting from out of town and we're having a family get together slash BBQ.

My uncle, Johnny... Earl, most all of my aunts and uncles have uhh southern names, (that's nice-speak for hillbilly) has apparently left his teeth at home. Fine, I confess. It's not just the aunts and uncles. Hi, I'm Mollie Jo, nice to meet you.. or I guess I should say nassta meechya. I was named after my grandmother, who also is Mollie Jo, though my mom says the Jo part is after my uncle Joseph, who goes by Joe Joe. I suppose I should just be thankful she spelled it without the e.

Sitting at the picnic table are me, my mom, a few of my cousins, and an assortment of aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles and grandparents. There are a couple cousins in attendance who were lucky enough to have lived in more northern locations for most of their childhood and have therefore escaped the curse of being reared in the deep south. Upon hearing the question my mom posed to our uncle we looked at each other, looked at our uncle, looked back at each other and simply smiled. My cousin Mandy says to me, "Oh I can't WAIT to read your blog after this".

She was lucky enough to have escaped the curse, mostly.

What curse you ask? Well.. inbreeding, the inability to speak complete grammatically correct sentences, hell complete sentences period, grammatically correct is just asking too much, going barefoot in public places ie. Britney Spears, teeth, or lack thereof.

Ok, Ok.. I'm exaggerating.. a little. Maybe about the inbreeding part. Although one of my aunts did find out after doing some genealogy research that her husband was in fact her 5th cousin so maybe I'm not kidding so much after all. Then there was my 1st cousin who was telling me about this really hot guy she had hooked up with. I asked what his name was... then had the immense joy of being able to watch her face as I informed her that he was our 3rd cousin. She was mortified. True Story.

She's also going to read this and will probably threaten to kick my a** for telling that story lol. Hey I didn't use your name, you're secret is still safe!!

Sadly she was one of the few who'd been brought up away from MS, which only goes to show that even if you've lived the majority of your life among the literate, educated and socially adept, if you come back to the south the curse WILL get you. The thing about living or rather having your family come from MS is that you tend to be related to about 40% of the population in the tri-city area. There's a running joke among our family that if you're going to date someone that was born on or near the coast you have to ask what their, their parent's and grandparent's last names are. (Don't assume all the last names will be the same. You'd be wrong) You think I'm kidding. Here I'll show you.

If you live on or near the MS Gulf coast and your last name is,

• Ladner
• Spiers
• Saucier
• Cuevas
• Favre (yes as in Brett)
• Warren

Then we're probably cousins, and those are all by blood. That doesn't even begin to cover those related by marriage. Thankfully the guys I've been uhh involved with were mostly military and from states far across the country! No little Sloths for me (Goonie's reference).

So aside from Uncle Johnny & his missing teeth..

Pause - I just text one of my cousin's because I wasn't sure if my uncle's name was spelled with a y or an ie. She doesn't know either. We're such horrible relatives.

ok back on - so there were missing teeth, my favorite aunt, who I won't clown on too badly because she is my favorite, hitting up every female there trying to sell these little leather purses she makes, (I don't carry a purse or I'd probably have gotten her to make one for me, they really were quite cute), and some hillbilly picnic tables, courtesy of my dad, the likes of which I have never before seen.

Picture this.. take the legs off of a couple of end tables. Nail those to a 1x3 piece of plywood. Use little wood triangles as braces to hold the legs to the plywood. Then take two bi-folding closet doors, knob intact and screw one set of hillbilly engineered legs to each end. Then Flip.

Viola. Redneck picnic table. Thankfully my sister is well versed in the art of decoration and crafting so she threw some purdy white table cloths on top and no one was any the wiser.

The food was pretty typical, even for somewhere other than the south, well except maybe for the black-eyed peas smothered in whole ochre. Ochre, ochres, ochri?? Hell I don't know, it looks like slimy little trees and I don't eat it. There was potato salad, baked beans, green bean casserole complete with those little fried onion stick things on top, BBQ chicken, chicken & dumplings, corn bread and banana pudding. Yummy banana pudding. Oh, and beer, lots and lots and lots of beer.

People were playing horse shoes, frisbee, kids (and adults) were dancing in the yard to music piping out of a little pink radio. Just a good time and general fun was had by all.

I have to say I was very impressed with every one's behavior. It's unheard of for more than 3 people to get together at one time in my family and someone not break out in a fight or a drunken disturbance of some kind.

There were plenty of drunks, and plenty of loudness, but all were fairly well behaved. Keep in mind well-behaved is a relative term. Well-behaved in this case would probably not be considered well-behaved in say, um, well anywhere north of Tennessee maybe, east of Alabama and west of uhh Mississippi? Maybe Louisiana, I hear those Cajuns can get pretty wild and woolly.

I know there were several more side splitting moments that happened and Mandy will be disappointed they weren't listed, but I'm exhausted (thanks to the ^%@@%#$ neighbors upstairs and their $#@^%@#$%$ humping at 12:30AM!!) and my memory process is not fully functioning. It's taken me all day to pull this one post together, that's how tired I am. =(

So in the southern drawl of one of my favorite cartoons.. That's all Folks!

Factory Farms - Destroying the Heartland

Americans are increasingly aware of the health consequences
of eating animal flesh, dairy products, and eggs, but most of us don’t ever think about the risks associated with working on or living near a factory farm. Unfortunately, people in rural communities often experience, firsthand, the devastating effects of factory-farm pollution.

Factory farms pollute the air and the water for many miles in every direction, often spreading contamination and illness to the people who live and work nearby. A synopsis of a Senate Agricultural Committee report on farm pollution issued this warning about animal waste: “It’s untreated and unsanitary, bubbling with chemicals and diseased organisms. … It goes onto the soil and into the water that many people will, ultimately, bathe in and wash their clothes with and drink. It is poisoning rivers and killing fish and making people sick. … Catastrophic cases of pollution, sickness, and death are occurring in areas where livestock operations are concentrated.”

When factory farms move into communities, the pollution that they bring causes increased rates of neurological disorders, respiratory diseases, miscarriages, bacterial infections, diarrhea, and stomach ailments; sometimes, the contamination leaves people permanently disabled or even dead. An investigative report that recently appeared in The New York Times lists just a small sample of the suffering that follows the arrival of a factory farm: “Paul Isbell of Houston, Miss., began experiencing seizures after a hog farm moved in down the road. … Kevin Pearson of Meservey, Iowa, carried a towel in his car because he vomited five or six times a week on his way to work. Julie Jansen’s six children suffered flulike symptoms and diarrhea when farms moved into their neighborhood in Renville, Minn. One of Ms. Jansen’s daughters was found by Dr. Kilburn to have neurological damage.”

Karen Hudson of the Illinois-based grassroots group Families Against Rural Messes, summed up the problem of animal factories’ need to dispose of millions of tons of feces: “In order to get rid of it, they have to dump it. And who’s paying for it? It’s the communities—in water quality problems, air quality problems, and public-health problems.” In 2006, public-interest and environmental groups expressed shock and anger when the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new loophole that would make it even easier for giant animal factories to pollute the water and air without any oversight. Ed Hopkins, director of the Sierra Club’s Environmental Quality Program, said that the new loophole “essentially means that these facilities are going to be able to continue to use our streams and rivers as sewers.”

The government and the animal flesh and dairy industries are well aware of the health problems caused by factory farms—one recent government report by the California State Senate admits, “Studies have also shown that [animal waste] lagoons emit toxic airborne chemicals that can cause inflammatory, immune, irritation, and neurochemical problems in humans.” Yet, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that proves factory farms cause significant damage to Americans’ health, the federal government and state officials continue to do nothing while the animal flesh, egg, and dairy industries pollute our air and water.