Does the heat breed stupidity, excess, promiscuity, and baseness? I’m just asking the question. I remember when hip hop was primarily from New York and all the surrounding east coast cities. It was cerebral and pensive. It was thought-provoking and interesting. It was hopeful and educational. There were even LOVE songs to women, aka, a ‘boo.’ When you have to ride the subway and walk everywhere maybe you have more time to think. I’m totally idealizing. There were thugs and sex-obssessed artists, but everyone thought they were on the fringe and basically unacceptable. Okay, the South is just a cesspool. It has a history of human torture, intolerance and hatred. It’s present account for the highest rates of AIDS in the country. It’s future doesn’t bode well either if you believe the FBI statistics. I’m not sure where all this is coming from. I’ve always just loved everything East Coast. People here are constantly asking if I’m from Louisville, because, I would like to think, my personal aesthetic and mind-set is not southern. I was born and raised here and so where my parents, but if it didn’t cost so much to live on that certain coast I would move in a heartbeat. I love foreign foods, foreign films, cultural pride, different people, grimy & dark streets, and festivals of other cultures. I don’t balk at “fererners.” I don’t think Indian food is too spicy and smelly. I don’t think Mexicans are ruining America. I don’t think that people need forget their countries of origin. I don’t think the Confederate Flag is a symbol of pride. I don’t this is or was ever a Christian nation (not Catholic, just Christian). I could go on. This is just rambling rant at 1:42 am in the morning. Nobody feels me. Except ARN.
Shout-out to TGLO, KGLO, SGLO and the Future Mrs. SGLO. Ha, ha! You’re Mrs. SGLO II. Also, my love to all the people at the Snyder Villa in Shelbyville.
Coming soon my take feminism and how it effed up women’s sexual power over men.
BTW, I love this song.
4 comments:
I totally agree with your viewpoints. I look forward to your postings. However, I would be remiss if I didn't comment on the several spelling/grammatical errors in this latest post. It's is not possessive; it is short for it is. Were instead of where. I am sure at 2 am it is difficult to write anything without errors. The sad part about spell check is that the words are correct; just used incorrectly.
Thuggalicious is going in the same direction I am.
It is true that many of the whites in the south are decendants of Scott-Irish. This is predominatly seen in Appalacia(sp). I don't know if I agree with the conclusions...but it's interestin none-the-less. All this patrionism you see...that's a direct result of the people he's mentioning. We must recall this is the group that Washington had to prevent from rebelling soon after the revolutionary war in Pennsylvania...a little further north but the same group we find in Eastern Kentucky, Tennessess and western Virginia and Carolina. They don't play about their freedom!
Kentucky is the south and Louisville is in Kentucky. Indiana may be just across the river but historically the Ohio has been considered the official boundary between north and south. In actually, the South’s cultural is dominant compared to the Midwest. The cultural south has been theorized to extend around the river to southern parts of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois!
You mentioned the negatives of the South. This could lead a person with the impression that the South and East/North are polarized with the north being good versus the south being bad. There are plenty of things the south has going for it. We as Africans have historically called the South home. Kentucky’s proximity to the north is a reason why the state is now 7% African versus a historical high hovering between 25%-30%. Notwithstanding, I would like to see some scholarly research into the phenomenon of Africans leaving Kentucky and were we went, how, and why. The Great migration changed the demographic of most southern states dramatically, but not like Kentucky! There is a whole section of my family which migrated from Kentucky in the 40’s to Detroit. They came from Lebanon and largely bypassed Louisville. They number in over a thousand now, in Detroit (Six brothers and several sisters, catholic from Marion county…you do the math of how many of them there are…not withstanding they are now in their 5th generation of decendents!) Maybe there’ll be some information on this when our museum finally opens!
But, back to the topic at hand. I currently live in Georgia now. I think that with Louisville being so close to the North we sometime suffer from cultural/regional identification. Being in Georgia has helped me see this a little more clearly than I believe most people in Louisville do. Here in Georgia more that half the people are from somewhere else. The state has doubled in population in less than a decade. We know that wasn’t simply from Babies being born! I’ve met people from the north and the south. Most people in the south know and recognize Kentucky as a southern state. Many of the people I meet from the north know and recognize Kentucky as a southern state. However when it comes to Kentucky, that’s a different story. I and my late grandmother (who moved to Kentucky in the 40’s during the great migration) considered ourselves and the state southern. My mother and my sister considered themselves Midwest. Interestingly, my sister was willing to compromise. She said, she didn’t consider Kentucky southern till you got around Bowling Green. The rest was Midwest. Wow, that over half the state!
However, let’s look at the good things about the south. The south has been influenced by our African culture more than many people are aware of or would like to admit. We know that the south is deeply religious and spiritual. This is a trait straight from Africa. Social studies have shown that Africans tend to be more committed to religion than their counter parts. This is in America and abroad. Most Africans believe that religion is an important and indispensable part of their life. We know that food is an important part of our culture. This is seen in the south and can also be attributed to the African influence. There is a reverence for the elders. This is a southern attitude attributed to Africa. We know how southern view women and especially mothers. This is an attitude from Africa. I know that you are thinking of the misogynistic actions you see popularly portrayed. I’m referring to the southern tradition of chivalry. I’m referring to the bond between mother and child, niece, nephew, grandchild. I’m sure you are familiar with the role Matriarchs play in African American families. This is from historic African and Indians in America.
In the south there is such a thing as feudal honor. You give respect to your clan/family or group. I’m not attributing this one simply to African influence.
In the south we welcome people. Everyone is familiar with the term southern hospitality. This is something that is African. We do it everyday so we aren’t even aware of it. However people from the north certainly are. Study the ritual of welcoming strangers and hospitality found in western Africa. You’ll be surprised. Study those of Middle Ages Europe and you’ll see that much of our hospitality comes from the enslaved Africans and not Europe. Of course there isn’t a direct translation from Europe or Africa to America…what we have is a hybrid...but you’ll see the connections.
In the south you won’t starve. That’s a blanket statement. This isn’t an absolute and absolute usually don’t exist. However, in Louisville during the winter, they have a system of trying to get all the homeless in doors. In Chicago and other cities I’m told, you routinely see people frozen on the streets! The city keeps marching and doesn’t miss a beat. In Louisville a frozen person on the street is news. In Chicago, Detroit it’s another day. In the south, you usually can count on being invited to someone’s house to eat after church. There is a culture of sharing what you have. Why do you think Louisville consistently ranks and one of the highest givers in the region when it comes to the numerous charities and initiatives? This is in spite of having a lower per capita income and other capital.
Seriously, reevaluate the comparison. In Louisville and the south in general you say thank you at the grocery store simply for receiving your goods that you paid for. Count the number of time the words please and thank you are used in cities like Chicago, Detroit or New York. Better yet, walk the streets of New York and attempt to start a conversation with a complete stranger…report back on your findings…
Kentucky is the South, has always been the South, and, so help me God, will always be the South. As Southern as Georgia, as someone said! I’m offended as a Kentuckian, as an historian, and as someone who has spent his entire life studying the history and culture of the South. Red-faced angry offended! There shouldn’t even be an argument, though, God help me, I know that there is. When someone can prove to me that the Ohio River has been moved south of Kentucky, as well as the Mason-Dixon line, I might entertain the argument. Until then, I am inclined to believe that anyone who would call Kentucky “Midwestern,” which is offensive to every fiber of my being (did I mention that?), is misinformed and doesn’t know much of what they speak. Truly, you don’t know the South if you don’t find it in Kentucky, and I don’t really care where you claim to be from or know. You can’t pigeon-hole the South! It’s much more than anything you might be inclined to believe. People want to judge every state in the South by the Deep South, I’ve come to believe. Well, the South exists in two (maybe, three) parts: The Deep South and the Upper South (some might add Mid-South, as I note a few of you have). The accents aren’t all identical, but the culture is--or is very well close.
Now, about Louisville. I do see why you’d think it has a Midwestern under-culture, but it is a major city. The same argument, I assure you, can be made of New Orleans, Atlanta, Charleston. Major cities have major immigration, and people from all over the country--and the world--make their homes there. Sad as it is, it has shown its effects on the cities, but I assure you, at Louisville’s core, is the South. It has even been said that during the darkest days of the war, Louisville had more “Johnny Rebs” and “Southern Belles” than the entire state of Mississippi. As an historian, I might be inclined to believe that. Having mentioned Southern Belles, you’d be well advised to note Sallie Ward was a Louisvillian. Her portrait is often named “The Southern Belle.” That is because she was THE Southern Belle in the ante-bellum days. More Scarlett O’Hara than Scarlett herself! Literally, she was considered THE belle of the South! None of that is even mentioning that, as someone else noted, Louisville is a river city, giving it all the more reason to intermingle cultures. Nonetheless, to the trained ear, one can hear the traces of Southern accents in downtown Louisville, and thick as molasses accents among some of the older residence. Step outside the city limits--you can no longer judge the South by its cities. Anyone who lives in a Southern city will note the changes over the years. They’ve become melting pots, good or bad! Oh, and what is Louisville’s nickname? You don’t know? Let me tell you, “Gateway to the South!” That’s a take on its old days as a river port, and its being a Southern city, noted for two great Southern pastimes, horseracing and bourbon!
The Ohio river is a true divider of North and South. Just imagine how it held in cultures before the days of advanced transportation!
I have no desire to get into specifics of “Civil War” loyalties, other than to say a few things, beginning with no state, country, or person, in my opinion, has been more egregiously misrepresented in history than has Kentucky. Kentucky was no more divided than was most of the South, and certainly no more divided than Tennessee and Virginia. History is recorded inaccurate folks. That’s one of the first things one learns as a historian. Part of “to the victor go the spoils” is writing the history, and there’s a very strong argument that Kentucky was a Confederate state, not only because it was considered the Confederacy by the Confederacy following a secession, but also because that secession was reported in Northern newspapers. As for Lexy’s solider numbers, I would greatly request more research being done than a website, as you’d be surprised just how inaccurate that is. If Kentucky had all the soldiers they claim, every man, woman, and child--maybe even horses and cattle--would have had to enlist in one cause of another. Historically, the South’s influences were so strong in Southern Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio than Lincoln feared he was going to have to fight them too. It was also a Kentuckian who defended Atlanta from Sherman!
I would agree also that Kentucky’s accent and culture are identical--as is the climate--to Tennessee. That’s been stated time and again by people who are far more qualified than I. The accent is considered predominantly “Mountain South,” moving westward into “Plantation South,” and often a “Delta South” accent along the Mississippi. That goes for both states, though Rand McNally, I believe, published a book of maps aimed at Middle School aged kids, where the states were broken into regions (Kentucky and Tennessee were South), and they called Tennessee the Southern state most similar to the North. By the way, if I were from Tennessee, that would offend me too.
Lastly, I want to thank those of you who have defended Kentucky. I do appreciate you efforts, and, without question, I feel I can speak for the whole of the commonwealth. I agree with Indy, in that I am insulted! Geographically, cultureally, historically,. Kentucky IS Southern. This argument would have gotten you shot 100 years ago
First off I have to completely discredit a lot of, but not all....of the last response to this topic. I visited Kentucky several weeks ago...the whole damn thing, and while Kentucky is not a Midwestern state, it is not entirely Southern. You do not immediately transition from Midwestern to Southern upon crosssing a single river...anyone who believes that the Mason-Dixon line is exactly where the South becomes the North is extremely premature in their assumptions. The Mason-Dixon line however, and areas roughly within about 60 miles of it where the Ohio River approximately is halfway between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico latitude-wise is a cultural crossroads. Kentucky is unique in the fact that it touches states of the Midwest and states of the South and of Appalachia. And this generally would lead the intelligent thinker to assume that the closer you get to the Ohio River, the less dominant the Southern traits are assuming you are northbound. The further south you go in Kentucky, the more Southern the values get. And believe it or not folks, that is exactly how it works. Lexington and Louisville definitely have a Midwestern feel to them climate-wise, landscape-wise...and they are both located at roughly the confluence of the Midwestern and Southern dialects. Louisville has the same industrial feel of the Midwestern cities, and it's speech patterns along with Lexington if you listen closely are clearly a cross between Midwest and Southern. However these cities also serve sweet tea in all of their restaurants, so that shoots down for me any claim of Louisville being purely Midwestern. Also, some areas of its downtown are in great shape...it definitely has experienced some of the Southern boom over the last twenty years. However, if you take the towns of London and Corbin and Berea, those are unquestionably Southern in speech patterns, culture, climate, and religion, and logically this makes sense because they are closer to the Tennessee border. Kentucky historically was a slave state, but one must keep in mind that being a slave state did not make a Southern state, and a border state clearly does not meet the definition of South...to even call it the Upper South is inaccurate...that definition is reserved for the states of Virginia and North Carolina. Kentucky's legislature was pro-Union...and Kentucky sent 40,000 more troops to the Union than to the Confederacy. This is behavior that no Confederate state exhibited save perhaps Virginia who hesitated more than the rest of the Confederacy but ultimately seceded. It is true that Confederates may have taken control of the state, but I have been to Kentucky several times...it is not quite Southern, but not quite Midwestern either. By the time you reach Lexington Kentucky begins to feel less like the South and more like Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, and Southern Ohio, but still somewhat Southern. If I had to choose between Southern and Midwestern for Kentucky as a whole, I'd say Southern, but the truth is the state's cultural identity as a whole is somewhat ambiguous. Same for West Virginia.
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