I am so glad that you seem to take an aversion to sterotypes and moved to the South with an open mind, even though as you say, you were uneducated to the ways of the South. But if I may,
1. Contrary to your writings, the sports/hunting section at Wal-Marts do NOT take up half the store and hunting clothing is not high fashion. I have never been hunting in my life, and while it is a big sport in the South, it is in other parts of the USA as well.
2. As in other sections of the country, not everyone drives a pickup.
3. Again, as in other areas of America, not everyone tells you their life history, has relatives with jail or prison records, or is unemployed.
4. I have lived in the South all my life and I have NEVER had a waitress sit at my table at any time.
Heaven knows the South is not perfect. But neither is any other part of the country. Certainly we have had our history of problems, especially racial ones. But those same problems have existed in all other parts of the country as well. Perhaps not to the degree as has been previously practiced in the South, but it has been there. And even in that same area, the South has made tremendous progress.
The point I am trying to make is that each part of the country has its own strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, success and failures. If I were to relocate to another part of the country, I would hope that I would attempt to recognize and accept the area for what it is and not try to play the "put down" game. After all, though the mountains divide and the oceans are wide, it's a small world after all.
Hey that might not be a bad idea for a song.
Than again, it might!
