Just watched Mississippi Burning - Is mississippi still full of red neck biggots?

Question

I was in America for 6 months 5 yrs ago and spent a week in Mississippi and ran in to some deep seated hatred. I know not everyone is like this but just how bad is it and where does this hatred come from and why is it so strong in the south?

Answer 1

the hatred comes from fear - as you would be aware the south lost the civil war and African Americans won their freedom. I can't imagine the resentment that would have fostered. Add to this the American media's resentless portrayal of Afican Americans as gun carrying, drug abusing rapists then add to the equation just how arrogant ignorant and biggoted these people are and you have your answer.

I believe America is getting better but it still has a long way to go - they are still fighting boogymen in Iraq..

Answer 2

A small percentage of people probably still feel that way but not the majority. Mississippi is still largely segregated but doesn't have near the hatred/violence that existed prior to the 70's.
The hatred comes partially from ignorance and false assumptions on both sides....and from outside the area.
Hollywood has painted us all with a pretty broad brush...we're often portrayed as ignorant inbred racist hicks....that shoe only fits a small portion of the population...just as in every other state in the Union.
Today's Mississippi if full of all sorts of folks....most still trying to recover/overcome the obstacles created by our ancestors.
Wish us luck...don't condemn us without having all the facts.

Answer 3

Hi Jason,
The movie you watched was about events in the early to mid 60's. Forty years later I can tell you that we have made some progress in our racial unity. What sort of "deep seated" hatred did you run into 5 years ago? I am from MS and the things that are said and done In MS Burning are not the same things said and done these days. As a matter of fact, I had the honor and the privilege of personally knowing Mr. Ben Chaney, the father of James Chaney. I knew him on a friendship level as well as the level of caring for him as his hospice nurse when he died. You see what you do in the media and in movies such as that one. You would be very surprised to know what Mr. Chaney had to say about Jame's murder and how he felt about things in general. The media doesn't try to portray us in any sort of positive light they want us to appear to be ignorant, racist, rednecks.

Answer 4

I grew up in California. While the area I grew up in didn't have a population of Black or Asian people, we did have a lot of Latinos and Native Americans. So much so that I never thought there was a difference between me (white) and them. My family has many Native Americans and Latinos too. Then I moved to South Carolina. What a difference. In SC, there isn't a large Latino or Native American population, but there is a large Black population. I found that the Whites and the Blacks did not mix. I lived in a rural area, and one side was all Whites, the other all Blacks. You never saw the two groups mixing in friendships. I even found several businesses that posted signs that, if I was black, I would be very offended. As a white person I was very offended. One place even had KKK material posted inside! But the weird thing was that I found the separation was ok for the Black population too. Neither one wanted to be with the other. I was very happy to move back to California. I love walking out my door and seeing people of every nationality and race. I love hearing dozens of languages. I love meeting people from all over the world/country, and cannot imagine limiting myself to one certain type of person. People may think that CA is the land of weirdos, and those tend to be the people who still think that other people need to be "kept in their place".

Answer 5

Disgusting, isn't it? I don't recommend you visiting Alabama if Mississippi left a bad taste in your mouth,,,,,,,,,,

PSSSSSSSSSST RODNEY....the word is "repercussion"
and the grammar in your answer is so horribly incorrect that you only validated the perception of stupidity and ignorance among southerners. Way to go!!

JASON & SCARLETT---the term is "deep-SEEDED", not "seated."

Answer 6

because you still have rednecks in the south and it stems from that .