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 Are Southern People Still Considered Dumb in Today's Society 
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After today's class and the information given on IQ testing and how Southern people were considered not as smart as others I ran into this quote:

"theres a southern accent
where i come from
the young'uns call it country
the yankees call it dumb
i got my own way of talkin'
but everything is done with
a southern accent
where i come from"
-johnny cash

Do you think that Southerners are still considered dumb today? or Do you think we are past that era in time?
I have mixed emotions about it. I would like to believe that there is not still a whole theory that Southerners are dumb because they talk slow.

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Alyse A. Bowden


Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:23 am
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I have mixed emotions about it as well. I have a southern accent and sometimes I wish I didn't just because of this. I catch myself trying not to sound as southern. It is sad but many people still think that those who have a southern accent are dumb.

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William Byrne


Wed Feb 21, 2007 5:29 pm
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I definitley think that this is a common assumption even today. I know that there are many many brilliant southerners, but I AM a southerner. When I studied abroad this summer it was obvious that the South was looked down upon. It wasn't explicitly mentioned, but in so many words it was obvious that the south was viewed as a place that was a little slower and a little different. My accent was "so cute and southern", and I was even told that I was saying "Appalachian" wrong. So I do believe that there are still many people who think that the south is filled with stupid and backward people.

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Sara G Marshall


Wed Feb 21, 2007 10:52 pm
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I was born in Florida but I moved to NC when I was three. The rest of my family lives in Florida so I guess my roots are still kind of there. But I consider NC my home. People say I talk some what southern but I typically gain my accent when I return to Florida. Sounds crazy. I somewhat have mixed emotions about southerns being more slow than northerners. But I cannot consider than "dumb". I just think that southerners tend to live in rural areas. They are surrounded by other southerners and therefore really cannot connect with a variety of people. Their jobs typcially revolve around agriculture and what not. But I do not think they are dumb. I just think they are at a little disadvantage location wise. I mean, look at NY, full of opportunities. But you know...Southerners typically like their country fields...I know I do!

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Jessie Carrigan


Thu Feb 22, 2007 12:44 am
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Having a southern accent does not mean that you are dumb. My gosh! It's just an accent! Just because we draw out vowels longer and whatnot. I have heard foreigners actually compare the southern accent to the "british" accent. They have the same vowels. But accents have nothing to do with IQ scores. Maybe people who live in the southern states are taught differently and don't have the same cirriculum. Who came up with IQ test and where were they from? That might have an advantage or disadvantage to certian people in different parts of the country

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Mary Alyse Mauney


Thu Feb 22, 2007 12:00 pm
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I think that the media has a lot to do with the stereotype of southerners. When you see a southerner in the movies or on tv they are usually portrayed as ditzy or slow or just out of the loop. They also over-exaggerate the southern accent to the extent of almost making fun of it. People that aren't exposed to southerners frequently have nothing to compare this media image to, and so the stereotype that southerners are not as intelligent just grows and grows.

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Elizabeth McPhail Dawson


Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:43 am
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I agree that media plays a big role in developing the stereotype that southerners are dumb. Some people don't get to travel down here and meet the people from the south, and get most of their information from the media. People from the north have stereotypes about them, and I know they are just stereotypes and not every northernor is that way. Most people are probably educated enough to know that not all southerners are dumb. It just may be fun to tease someone with a southern accent. The south is full of brillant people, and I am proud to be from here. It's sad that people are judged based on their accent.


Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:21 pm
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It's sad but it is true. A huge part of this is because the way you talk and how it's overplayed in the media. When my family was getting ready to move from Orange County, CA to Birmingham, AL we made fun of the south and the way people talked. I remember making fun of the way everyone said "ya'll". I guess I was doing this because this is what I had learned through the media and this is the way most of the country thinks. Another big part of it was that I had no southern friends to base my opinion on. So I was uneducated just like everyone else who believes that southerners are just a bunch of rednecks. Of course now I know that this is not the case!!!! I love the south and I will never leave.


Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:26 pm
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Honestly, I did have a negative idea about the South before I moved here. The only idea I had about Southerners was from movies and t.v. which portray them as idiots. I think that it goes beyond an accent to the entire lifestyle. Life in the south is actually a lot nicer in my opinion, but it is a lot slower. The northern pace is very quick. You don't stop to talk to people all the time or say "hey". I think that in the south people are more considerate towards each other but also more likely to chat on the side of the road for hours. I think it is just a lot more laid back here. So, I never really thought southerners were "dumb", but I definitely thought they were different and a little slower/redneckish. However, I love it here and have def adopted the mannerisms of the south. I just want to add though, that a lot of people in the south have a really negative view of the north as well. We are all supposedly rude and loud. And, I will never forget my first day of school in NC when I was called a "damn yankee". I think it is important to examine both sides of the issue.

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Erin Nevitt


Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:43 pm
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When my family moved down to North Carolina from Long Island, NY I remember my grandma making fun of the southern way of life before we left and I didn't understand. When we got to North Carolina everyone spoke slower and were so friendly, every person we passed would say hello and speak to my family and I. In New York we didn't speak to anyone in passing, unless we happended to know them. It was so different but I found myself loving the south. I know when my family visits they always have my friends say different words and laugh at their southern accents. I have even found myself speaking with a more southern drawl. Although some people did say things to me and my siblings about being Yankees most of our aquaintances were extremely nice and welcoming. I could not however imagine going from the south to the north...I think it might be harder!?


Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:56 pm
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I grew up in Raleigh and then moved to Buffalo, NY for high school and I remember how people loved my accent they would want me to talk forever just so they could hear it. I never got any slack for having the accent only praise, which I found weird because I guess I thought people up North were not friendly and would think I was not smart because I was from the south. I do think the media puts a negative connotation with a southern accent, but in reality I think to say that "Yankees" think that Southern accents consider someone stupid, that makes "Yankees" sound stupid.

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Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:17 pm
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I agree. I think the people making fun of Southerners dialects are the ones that really sound dumb. Media does play up the accents and the stupidity of Southerners. It does not play up aspects of the South that are genuine and true, for instance speaking to people on the street. Media tends to play up the stereotypes and does not serve as a good example to the rest of the country.

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Alyse A. Bowden


Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:45 pm
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I would say there is definitely the belief that Southerners are not as smart. This time last year I traveled to Washington DC with Teaching Fellows and immediately felt out of place. Although I don't have a southern accent some of the girls I explored DC with did and people definitely took notice. People were extremely pushy and rude. We ended up meeting two students from Argentina who took it upon themselves to mock Southern Accents and act as if they were eight years old. I definitely believe the media has played a major role in feeding this stereotype. Even in the film we watched about Social classes this stereotype of the poor, stupid southerner was reinforced.

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Chelsie Alfaro


Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:59 pm
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All's I have to say is that everyone has to recognize the fact that southerners do the same thing to people from other parts of the country. if you are not from the south than you are immediately considered a yankee no matter where you are from. It goes both ways. And lets face it, there are people from every region that reinforce the stereotypes associeated with them.

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Brandon J Fiedor


Mon Mar 05, 2007 6:17 pm
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I agree that Southerners do stereotype "yankees." I also agree that there are people from every region that fit the regional stereotypes. I think media and the way Southerners are stereotyped is completely different than how other regions are stereotyped. Media goes far beyond with the stereotypes for Southerners than any other region.

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Alyse A. Bowden


Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:18 pm
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