Why do others from the U.S. view "Southerners" as unintelligent?

Question

Why do people automatically assume that if you're from the Deep South that you have a low IQ? And also, why do people assume that you are stupid if you have a Southern accent? (I'm already prepared for the answers I'm going to get......)

Norman, you are stereotyping. And if you were a betting man, you would lose your ***. I am a registered nurse with a degree also in Business Education and a minor in Criminal Justice with a 3.5 average overall. I was raised in the South and live here still. There are ignorant people everywhere. And apparently they sometimes migrate from north to south as you did.

Answer 1

Most northerners (I'm one) don't believe that. Just a small percentage of morons. Morons are everywhere, you can't do anything about it. I know quite a few people from the South and they're all very cool, and not at all stupid.

Answer 2

Your credentials have no impact on whether or not the deep south as a whole is unintelligent.

Most reasons why people assume that southernes are not smart is because the south is the poorest region in America. Goes to reason that if you're poor, then you're not smart enough to make a better way for yourself in life.

This does not mean that all southerners are stupid.

Answer 3

I'm from the North and live in the South. You people ARE stupid. People in the South watch Hee Haw and Andy Griffith b/c they IDENTIFY with those 'stereotypes'.

Just look at the dropout rates, the teen pregnancy rates, divorce rates, post-secondary education rates, illegitimate birth rates, scholastic achievement, and poverty rates. ALL of the worst scores are in Southern (red) states, most notably, in the Deep South.

I'm not assuming YOU are stupid, but if I were a betting man...

Answer 4

Just being honest...people tend to associate the whole southern accent to uneducated people for one because the media usually shows them that way. Also because we're all taught English in school and we know we are not taught that the word "Can't" is pronounced "caint". Plus there are still a lot of back woodsy folks in the deep south who ride around in beat up pick ups acting like stereotypical rednecks.

Just like other people have stereotypes, we either better ourselves and lose it or we lower ourselves and become it.

Answer 5

Well if you look at the statistics southern states score lower on school standardized tests. We have less funding for schools also. I live in Texas, and I've noticed a big problem with the kids here is the fact that they went to bad schools. My boyfriend grew up 30 mins away from me, and he is 20 and still can't speak correctly. No one ever corrected him. I went to one of the best highschools in Texas, and I don't have that problem. My boyfriends parents are the same way...they can't talk right. If it weren't for me he would just have kids who were as uneducated as himself. People in southern states tend to grow up in one city and stay there their whole lives and create children who are just like themselves....it's a vicious circle.

Answer 6

Funny... In France, we also view southern people as complete jerks. They have a strong and ugly accent. They stink. They have sexual intercourses with their own brothers (or sisters, or both at the same time).
It's maybe because it reminds us the third world.

Answer 7

Because people make assumptions based on ignorance. It sounds like you're making an assumption too. Do you really think ALL people feel that way? Categorizing people, no matter which side you're on, is ignorant.

Answer 8

it's just a sad pathetic stereotype that a few people in the south fit to a "T". Don't worry about it.

Answer 9

I have'nt met anyone from the deep south, so I don't view any of them stupid. I view them as human, but not stupid.

Answer 10

I guess because they have never been there and have nothing to go off of. I am from the South and proud of it.