Dirty South

Do you know what I'm sick and tired of? I'm sick and tired of people ripping on the South.

I'm not talking about people who live here, or have lived here- by all means, those people have earned the right to talk all the smack they choose (I myself have done so on numerous occasions). What I'm talking about are the people who not only have never lived here, but have never even been here. I am sick and tired of the superiority complex, the snide remarks, the snickering. Because you know what? Yeah, down here we have some racist people, and we have some ignorant people, but guess what! There are racist, ignorant people all over the friggin' country, including the corner you live in. Yeah, that's right, I said it- jerks are everywhere. But guess what else the South has! We have thunderstorms, and lightning bugs, and both Southern Hospitality and Gentlemen. We have not just damn fine regional cooking, but also cuisine from all over the world and did I mention mint juleps? We have art museums and theaters and tiny indie venues and micro-brewing. We have cutting edge medicine and proud sports traditions (I may not be on board with said traditions, but it's my understanding that they're appreciated across the country). We have intelligent, articulate, talented people, in many different fields. So I'm pretty sure the cultural snobs need to shut the hell up.

Now if you'll pardon me I'm going to go cling to my air-conditioner.