I think Southern hospitality is a myth what about you?

Question

I live in the upper part of the south and I have to say I've met some of the meanest and rudest (and most closed minded) people in this part of the US. Grant it, I haven't been further south since I was a toddler but I've vistied some of the northern parts of the country (Philly and Lancaster County) and I find the people are no more rude or no more nice than the people in and around my state of Virginia.

And for starters when someone points out that you are being rude, they are usually rude and condescending themselves when doing it.

What's your take on Southern Hospitality?

P.S. I also have been to Denver Colorado and I have to say it's about the same in manners and ettiquette there.

Yeah I know we are taught basic manners such as saying Please and thank you but I've noticed that a lot of people around here, if you are open about disagreeing with them on various issues and other things they can be nasty.

Answer 1

It is the Communist-Wealth of Virginia. Need I say more? Go to the mountains of North Carolina and the attitude of the people is totally different. The people living in Carolina will go out of their way to be hospitable, for most part.

Answer 2

No I think southern hospitality is true. I have met people from New York and other Northern States that are amazed at how polite most people are. We say hello, thank you, as a rule if you need something and ask if we can help we will and if not we will try our best to get someone who can help. Now there are parts of the South that are not as friendly as others. I live in Lexington KY. Here there is a mix about 50/50 there are some rude and mean people here but there are some wonderful kind people here as well. For one example, one of my old professors went to Scotland once and was in a little shop looking around. He bought something and the lady that owned the Store said "Your from the South, from the States, right?" He said "yes, I am how did you know?" She said "because you are polite and have manners." So yes I think it does exist but I will say that there are areas where it is more common than others. =)

Answer 3

I live in Oklahoma. I was raised in a small town in Texas. In my younger years I thought I would be a truck driver. In the far north we would choose to turn the radio off because of the fighting, people giving wrong directions to dead end streets etc. Forget going to New York, out of the question for me.

In NW Arkansas, not too far from where I live there is a retirement town called Bella Vista full of Yankees who are ready to retire for some good ole southern hospitality. I say, come on and enjoy, have a great retirement.

Can't think of another place I would want to live, even if I was a rich man. I guess I'm just glad to be an American.

Answer 4

I once was in Texas earlier this year, and by god,people there will just give U the time of day,especially more true in the rural parts of the state. I didn't know that people like that could even exist! I was shocked. But places like the border states like Delaware,Maryland and even Virginia maybe more Yankee like these days since so many people in the Federal government now live in the suburbs of Washington D.C.

Answer 5

Nice thought, but I doubt there's any significant correlation between southern people and hospitable people in comparison to northern people. Just a stereotype.

Answer 6

After living in the south ... There are some people who make the idea of hospitality look like a joke, yet there are others who make it look like most people think. I worked with some of the kind hearted people, I also got to meet many more kind hearted people!

The kindness of many is over shadowed by those mean few!

Answer 7

Well...I live here in northern Louisiana. And, as with any town there are some drawback. But, mainly there is alot of Southern Hospitality here. Most of the people are nice and just some "good ol' southern folks."

Answer 8

I think it is very much real. From friendly waves, to opening doors for people, especially ladies and older folks...There are a lot of northerners "infiltrating" the south, that are probably weakening the level of hospitality here. Virginia is also a different place. Georgia and Alabama and Louisiana are very different from Virginia, WVA, Kentucky, even North Carolina. I think the hospitality level is proportional to the deepness of south...

Answer 9

I'm from TN (on the TN/Mississippi state line) and have lived in GA...have family in Mississippi and Texas, so have been to those places quite a bit, as well. Now I live in the Midwest--back and forth between Chicago and Michigan--and recently spent some time in Boston. I've definitely noticed some regional differences, and so has my sister, who now lives in Chicago after growing up in TN, Mississippi and Kentucky.

I think Southerners--which, I agree with someone else who said some of those more northern southern states, such as VA, are kind of different--generally do act, at least, friendlier. Key word is "act." But I do like and miss the way Southerners will just talk to anybody, even if they don't know them, and acknowledge people that they've never spoken to but see on a regular basis with at least a nod of the head--things like that. I've never heard a Southerner call someone out on being rude--that person, by southern standards, is not really being southern when they do that. What we do is talk about someone's rudeness behind their backs.

I've noticed--and until I left the South, agreed--that the South has this reputation for racial hostility and racism...which, is true in the sense of that every Southern state has cities or towns in them that black people from that state know *never* to go. We are also earning this reputation for being more homophobic. But what I've noticed since living in the Midwest is whites in the South will talk to *anybody*, for the most part. They will have all kinds of friends and be great towards everyone. Just don't bring up certain subjects. Then the real person comes out. Those subjects are 1) race 2) religion 3) homosexuality 4) politics. If you know those rules, Southerners, in my opinion, tend to be just great and will treat you like you're no different from anybody else.

It's not like this in the Midwest. Depending on what city you live in, you deal with a lot of self-congratulatory "liberals" who completely ignore everyone except people in their little circle and/or never see or interact with people of a different race (one guy at my law school said he grew up thinking blacks were like on ESPN and MTV/BET because he never knew any growing up). And unless you're one of their chosen buddies, they are rude as hell--anything from the way they drive to just not having common courtesy in things such as get out of the way rather than stand in the middle of sidewalks having conversations with a group of friends, holding doors open and just being loud in spaces that are supposed to be quiet.

Now, when I went to Boston, people were a little better about these things than in the Midwest...but it also depends on what part of the Boston area you're in. When I was downtown, I almost felt like I was back in the South, with as friendly as passerbys were and the lack of racial alienation I felt. In the Midwest, I feel racially alienated, for sure.

Answer 10

i've seen some really good Southern Hospitality from people, but i've also been racisized against (im not sure how to explain it other than they hated me because of my skin color). To me, there is not such thing. Like everywhere, there's good people and there's bad people.