Are the christian "bible belt" states such friendly places if you are.......?

Question

...........gay, black, atheist, Mexican.........

Answer 1

At one time, they weren't.

I live in the heart of "Deliverance Country", down in South Carolina, and I can tell you that, historically, they are not too friendly to anyone that is not from here, or is different in any way. I even used to live in a town in Louisiana that was still segregated, and this was only in the 90's. When I got to that town, the first question I got asked when I went to a job interview was "Boy, Who's your Momma and Daddy? I don't recognize you..." It was unreal.

But, aside from the type of podunk place that is 50 miles from the next town, the southern states have came a long way in acceptance of other people. You mentioned "Black" and "Mexican". As races of people, I assume you meant hispanics, instead of mexicans in particular, since people from, say, Venezuela absolutely HATE being called mexican. At any rate, Blacks and Hispanics each far outweigh Whites in most southern states, so I don't see where there would be ANY problems with those groups of people here. As far as gay people and athiests go, there is not as much bashing on these groups of people as you might think, and certainly not as much as goes on up north against southerners or even evangelical christians. In addition, these lifestyle choices and beliefs are more prevalent here than you can even imagine. People have become a lot more tolerant in modern years. They may not approve of lifestyle choices that other people make, but then, they don't have to live with the consequences of those choices, either. A southern Christian may still believe that a person is going to hell, but will often not say something of that nature, instead, trying to 'love em into heaven'.

Hope this helps...

Answer 2

I actually moved from Mass to Texas to escape religious persecution. I am less bothered by people here than I was back home. The racism lines are much clearer here and obvious though and I can say that as a white man. Since I am also a white man I get a lot of racism from Mexicans/Central Americans here. No clue on the gay population since I don't have any gay friends here. Back in Mass they seem quite accepted.

Answer 3

In my experience, they aren't friendly period. I was born and raised in Iowa. Everyone here says hi to you. I moved to Kansas for graduate school, and if you say hi to people there, they look at you like you are trying to kill them. I couldn't wait to get out of that hateful, rude, mindless state.

There are actually a lot of Hispanics in Kansas and Oklahoma. And because a lot of Hispanics are religious, the folks in the Bible Belt tend not to have a problem with Hispanics. In my experiences anyway . . .

But they are NOT friendly to homosexuals or atheists. I taught English courses as a graduate student, and saying the word "atheist" in a room full of blond, white, Christian Kansans was like setting off a bomb. Wow.

Interestingly, I had one student in my time there who was a big black kid from Chicago. Everyone was fascinated by him. They couldn't figure out why he was in Kansas. He was extremely articulate and talented. I think they learned a lot from him despite them avoiding him for the first two or three weeks of class.

Of course, this is not the case in Lawrence, Kansas. That's a city full of stoners and hippies thanks to KU. (I'm joking!)

Answer 4

I'm not a gay black atheist Mexican, nor do I know any. I can't imagine they'd have a heck of a good time in the Bible belt, though.

Answer 5

What's the point of this question? It won't prove a thing. Still...

I think the Bible Belt states' racism is largely overplayed. Seriously, I live here, we're not that bad, and racism exists all over the world. But you can't just look at 'us' as a whole; there are so many dfferent people here. There are idiots, there are smart people. Some people will judge you for that stuff, others here won't.

Answer 6

No; I live in Augusta, Ga. where there are churches on every street corner and on the middle of every street. The Christians are the most intolerant people there. They say they dont want gays in the church, which is ridiculous because if you can accept a murderer, why not a homosexual? Mexicans are accepted very well. Blacks are accepted in some churches, but some blacks form their own churches and are not friendly to whites.

Answer 7

I live in NC, and I am an atheist. I am not sure if they are anti black or mexican....there are alot of minorities in the South as well....I know that being gay is very hard down here....anyone who is living against the Bible is terrible.

Answer 8

I am an atheist.

I also live in Florida. I keep my views secretive because I run into many people who peddle their religion on the street. I've been accused of being immoral and slated for hell. Not to mention the hostility to evolution.

If this crap continues, I might consider an extended stay in New York, California, or Europe.

Answer 9

Pretty much so. The public image of these states is grossly misrepresented. Christians really aren't such bad people.

Answer 10

First of all- nice is the wrong word. Christians are supposed to be nice and courteous to everyone. Secondly- there is nothing wrong with black or Mexican people. Ethnicity means nothing. Atheists- well- deserve common courtesy and are probably given it. You can't always tell what someone believes from the outside. And you can't always spot a homosexual from a mile away either.