Is Alabama really that "bad"?
 

Hi

Last night I was watching the British TV show called TopGear where they focus on cars etc. It can be pretty funny and it is not just another program where they test new cars. Last nights episode was from the US where the guys had a task of picking up cars for less than 1000$ each and they went on a road trip to New Orleans. When they came into Alabama they each got a task of decorating the others car with...well, provocative text. You can see the whole thing on this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHj25zd1K_A

As you can see this was not tolerated in a very civil manner when they stopped at the local gas station. I'm just wondering...is it really that "bad" or was it just exaggerated for TV?

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

I'm afraid so.

What you don't understand is that not only is it that bad, they're proud that it is.

I lived in Alabama for 6 years - 10th grade of high school through college.

Watching that video made my heart race. I was part of an "alternative" crowd and was not a very welcome site at many of the places that I went. One afternoon I went to a local swimming hole with 3 guy friends, and we saw other teenagers there and figured we were okay to also swim and swing from the rope hanging above the water. Boy were we wrong. The other teenagers began shouting at us ("freaks!"), and we realized it was about to get ugly. We all piled back into my car, and the other teens grabbed baseball bats and surrounded my car. One guy stood in front of my car as to block us from leaving...but I honestly was afraid for our safety and hit the accelerator and he wisely jumped out of the way. I would have run over him rather than stay there and take a beating from some angry rednecks.

That's only one story...the others I have are more upsetting and racially charged. From my personal experience, I have no problem saying that Alabama is at least 50 years behind the rest of the country culturally. The guys on the video were lucky.

Of course, that could have happened on Long Island, in Orange County, in suburban Chicago. It's called editing people. How many kind people or people who just ignored them did they not film because they wanted to make a point.

Respectfully disagree that it could have happened those other places. For one thing, NASCAR and Hillary just don't have the same power to create a blind response there.

As soon as I saw the writing on the cars in the video, I was thinking "uh oh". That was playing with fire.

It is the only state capital in the US (that I am aware of) that is essentially 'boarded up'. Even stereotypes may be kinder than the truth.

Must be the reason Mercedes-Benz decided to build cars there. :D

May be the reason that BM has six cars on Consumer Reports least reliable list. :D

Things still haven't changed in the Deep South, I'm afraid.

Thank God that New Orleans, Austin, Cajun Country, and South Florida is there to keep the rest of the South in check, otherwise we might have another Civil War.

The bad thing is that those people that spew forth such hatred and anger like they did to those Brits actually call themselves "Christians".

I hope this serves to educate any "Yankees" or Californians thinking about moving South.

My advice is to stick to Austin and South Florida where you're safe.

Really, people, you'd get as bad or worse if a Philadelphia Flyer fan drives his car with his team flags flying into some areas of downtown Buffalo or to the hockey arena there! Stop picking on the South ... every area has it's "rednecks" and idiots! I'm sure there was some editing there to show the worst reactions; just like on Jay Leno, do you really think most Americans are as dumb as those he talks to on the street? Not where I live ... :)

<i>I hope this serves to educate any &quot;Yankees&quot; or Californians thinking about moving South.</i>

Yes, please tell them to STOP moving to Atlanta!! We're tired of them all moving here en masse, but they keep coming. :p

And someone above really thinks &quot;Cajun country&quot; is more enlightened than the rest of the South? Heh, that's a good one.

i Thank God that New Orleans, Austin, Cajun Country, and South Florida is there to keep the rest of the South in check, otherwise we might have another Civil War.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. With the exception of Austin, you mention some of the most backward, dysfunctional places in America. New Orleans rivals the Third World in its dyfunction and crime. Cajun Country makes Deliverance look like a Costume Drama. And South Florida makes Louisiana corruption look like child's play.

I was talking about tolerance of the people, not corruption. La is corrupt, but generally the reaction in Cajun Country would be civil. In general, Cajuns are a fun loving people and would invite those Brits to a fais-do-dos and they would all dance the night away.

New Orleans is one of the most tolerant places in America. If that car went through New Orleans, people would want to joy ride on it (or carjack it, but they would want to do that to a car that said NASCAR rules as well!) New Orleanians generally aren't bothered by that type of thing - 300 years of being a port town kinda does that.

If you don't believe New Orleans is tolerant, then visit during Southern Decadence. I rest my case.

South Florida gets visitors from around the world and is very Democratic - most people there would actually agree with voting for Hillary! Also, NASCAR is not as big.

&quot;New Orleans is one of the most tolerant places in America.&quot;

It may be the most libertine, but I doubt most people in the Ninth Ward would agree with how tolerant it is. New Orleans is one of the most racist cities I've ever been to. The level of racism is palatable.

&quot;South Florida gets visitors from around the world and is very Democratic - most people there would actually agree with voting for Hillary!&quot;

I'm a Democrat, but I can tell you being a Democratic place has little to do with how tolerant the area is. Again, I've heard more racist and bigoted comments in South Florida than most places I've been.

We spent several days in cajun country this past summer and had a great reception from people. We definitely found the people as bk describes.

MikeT,

So, would Fats Domino or Leah/Dooky Chase have gotten the same chances they got in New Orleans if they lived in Mobile or Montgomery? They both are from the 9th Ward and did fine for themselves.

I keep trying to explain to people that Hillary can't win mainly because she's a New Yawkah to most people now (even to people in her native Illinois); and outside of the northeast, that's her biggest problem, not the fact that she's a female liberal. This video kind of says it.

&gt;South Florida gets visitors from around the world&lt;

Sure does, only problem, none of them go home.

&quot;I keep trying to explain to people that Hillary can't win mainly because she's a New Yawkah to most people now (even to people in her native Illinois); and outside of the northeast, that's her biggest problem, not the fact that she's a female liberal. This video kind of says it&quot;

Cassandra,

It all comes down to swing states. anyway. Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Virginia can be considered swing states

bkluvs -- thoroughly agree, although think you have to include Ohio. Notice that all of those states (maybe with the exception of Florida) have a population traditionally suspicious of Northeasterners (at least since JFK).

The rain is that bad, too.

Cassandra,

Yes, Ohio is a swing state as well, but I was listing Southern swing states only.

My opinion is that most of the North has had enough of the likes of George Bush and are ready for a change. The switching of the Senate and House in 2006 was mainly due to states like Virginia, Ohio, and PA that were tired of the war in Iraq, etc... I think those states will be favorable towards Clinton.

The main state in the South that Clinto will have to win will be Florida. She needs to devote most of her time and energy to their state. Her environmental views will appeal to most Floridians that don't want offshore oil drilling. She can run a campaign on that.

Whoever wins Florida probably wins the election. Now the question is whether Florida is more red or blue since last election. I would tend to think that more retirees for the Northeast have relocated there since 2004 so perhaps that would give the edge to Clinton? If you recall, there were only 500 or so votes that could turn the tables in that state from red to blue.

Time will tell I guess.

I'm not sure if the count can be legit when your brother is governor. I'm surprised by how the state went so red last election, wink, wink. The south is very interresting. We own property in northwestwern Florida, there are plenty of NY transplants but we spoke to someone (a white complected cuban) and he told us when he goes running people in trucks try to push him off the street and into the dirt to fall.

How does that Cuban vote? I think that's part of the problem.

Am I wrong in thinking that the majority of Cubans vote conservative?

Gard,

Sorry your post about Alabama got hijacked. There are rednecks and bigots in Every state, but they are in the minority.

Hey! He made it through alive - bullets and rain! What's the beef?

It would be interesting if TopGear did the same experiment in other states, including those we think of as more &quot;enlightened.&quot; I don't think he'd be shot at in most places, but he might be totally dead if he drove through Texas like that.

I can think of places where people would have bought them drinks.

Cassandra, True. But what would happen if someone drove through one of those towns in a car that said, &quot;Senator Kerry Voted to Allow this Painful Abortion Procedure&quot; &quot;Want Gay Marriage, Vote Democratic!&quot; Or &quot;I Luv Dubya.&quot; Personally, I'd want to tar and feather them. Of course I wouldn't do that because I don't have any tar and wouldn't want to ruin one of my good comforters. But if I had a shotgun with me, I could do a Dick Cheney.....

I just attended a concert here in Alabama where I met a lot of people who came down from Chicago, Ohio, California, Wash DC, and elsewhere to see this band.

On the band's website forum right now you will see tons of people saying how great it was in Birmingham, how warm the reception was, and how they can't wait to come back again.

Rednecks are everywhere. Yes, there are plenty in Alabama but this video was highly edited.

The TV show TopGear is full of typical British Humor ;)

They tend to exaggerate things just a 'little' bit.
They do that wherever they are and it's one of the funniest things about this show.
When the drive thru Germany expect to see the typical 'Heinz und Helga' driving thru Holland you always see 'Tulips and windmills'.

So what's Alabama famous for they asked themselves ;)

Please don't take it too serious...

Bert
The Netherlands
(Land of Tulips and Windmills) ;)

You can't really compare Birmingham to small town Alabama or even Montgomery. We used to drive the 88 miles to Birmingham just to feel like we were part of this century! Birmingham is very, very different than more rural Alabama.

I didn't know you could judge a person by how they vote simply by their looks, and to say they deserve abuse because of their looks is appalling. Again, I said this was a &quot;white looking&quot; cuban, obviously not white enough. I never would have guessed he was of cuban heritage had he not told me. Those comments prove what Gard was asking about sadly.

This is also a little humorous because it's so sick and 100% true, my sister in law has relatives in Alabama that she visited when she was in her teens, they wanted to look at the bottoms of her feet to make sure she didn't have any black in her. Bigotry exisits everywhere I agree, but some places are worse than others.

&quot;Am I wrong in thinking that the majority of Cubans vote conservative?&quot;

Yes you are Cassandra. My point was that the Cuban was doing a disfavor to himself by voting Republican, he just didn't realize it.

Don't know of any Cubans locally although presumably there is some such population -- just going by what I hear re: Miami population and some anecdotal stuff elsewhere (Boston, LA). Was genuinely asking the question.

Gard: This was a 'set up' IMO. I bet the lady that came rushing out was on the payroll. If not, she surely saw the cameras &amp; the situation &amp; wanted her 'moment of fame' - knowing they wanted to provoke a reaction for video.

It is a popular thing to bash the south. IMO, people who generalize that 'Alabama is bad' as a whole based on the actions of a few are doing the very thing they deplore - profiling in a sense.

It seems to be OK to bash fat people, Christians, &amp; people from the south. It's rather become a national sport.

There are good &amp; bad in every state, as in all the world.