Is it always racism?

[downbeatplumb]

As a counterpoint, if you don't mind sharing.  Did you ever notice in your experience of the southern culture that those who've rejected racism -as- southerners -in- the south are more certain in their convictions, which cost them more with their peers, than the offhanded "no, ofc not's" of yankees who would prefer to turn away from their own regions history as though it never happened, and in fact, wasn't still happening?

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to veer into lost cause mythology...but southerners of today can very often be victims of the victors writing history - and there's no disputing that the north wrote history and made the south pay for it.  We used to be the center and source of american culture (arguably still are, lol)...and could be again.

In my experience having lived all over...obviously anecdotal...southerners are simply more open with their racism, as southerners are generally more open about everything - which is an endearing cultural difference in almost any other context.  Paula Deen territory.  If she just stuck to making biscuits everybody would still love her.

From what I can tell from across the pond, US southerners are more open with racism because they don't see it as being wrong. Its not endearing, its terrifying that otherwise charming people turn out to have monstrous views so ingrained that they are genuinely surprised that people not from their locality don't share them.