Southerners have got to realize that Margaret Mitchell was a writer of fiction.

[kpete]

?1435202583


She did not chronicle the romance of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. She made it up. Of course, she was helped by historians like Edward A. Pollard, author of the 1866 whitewash of the war, The Lost Cause (The Standard Southern History of the War of the Confederates). She was also helped by the articles of Jubal Early, and the autobiography of Jefferson Davis, all of whom claimed that, in spite of all written evidence to the contrary, the Civil War was not fought over slavery. But it was always a fairy tale.

Southerners stole people. They robbed people of their freedom. And they did not just rob them of their liberty and their labor, they robbed them of their progeny. They robbed their descendants of a future. This is the heritage of the South. This is the infamous Lost Cause that many today still consider so noble that they have enshrined it into a veritable altar at which we are expected to pay homage. Or at the very least respect

.

I don't respect treason.

.............

This is the real Southern heritage. It is not found in Birth of a Nation or Gone With the Wind. It is found in a belief that for some reason white men and women are superior to all whose skin color is any different. There is no other separate Southern heritage except treason.

It is a heritage that should cause them to writhe in shame. It is a heritage of the kidnapping, subjugation, forced breeding and selling of a free people. It is a heritage of treason and treachery. And hate.

It is time they got over it.



MORE:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/28/1396273/--Gone-With-the-Wind-The-real-Southern-heritage?detail=hide

[AuntPatsy]

1. Kicking

[Wounded Bear]

2. So was Newt Gingrich...

with his "The South Won the War" series of books.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. And ironically, that ass was born and raised

in Harrisburg, PA, before his family hit the road due to his stepfather being in the military.

[kcr]

4. But they're Southern by the grace of Gawwwd!

This will ramp up the whining again. Oh, well. It needs to be said. This gets a rec from me.

[CherokeeDem]

6. Ramp up the whining????

The whining is coming from these types of OPs.

This just "ramps up" my belief that there are a large number of people on this board who like to spread their own brand of hate.

[kcr]

8. I know. Spreading the hate of bigotry. It's so annoying, isn't it?

[CherokeeDem]

10. You should know....

So many on here seem to be so experienced at spreading hate.

[kcr]

11. What is so bad about hating bigotry? n/t

[npk]

15. Only certain kinds of bigotry though right

[kcr]

19. Riiiight

Like the ones that lead to a woman getting arrested because she had to climb up a pole to remove a flag that symbolizes genocide because it was such a disgrace it was still up while funerals were happening for 9 people shot dead in that state by someone who supported that genocide.

Of course some insist we have to pretend that all states still sport those flags on their state houses. That this could have happened anywhere. It's the same everywhere. And if we don't, we're "regional bigots". Well, I don't pretend that. I refuse to do so. Sorry about that.

[npk]

21. At least your honest about it

I will give you that.

[kcr]

22. Well, yes. Yes, I am.

I'm like most people. I try to be honest.

[CherokeeDem]

26. I think what Bree did was heroic....

and I support her. The problem is what she did is against the law, but I hope she beats the rap. The flag shouldn't have been flown on the capitol grounds in the first place. Ever.

Who is insisting we have to pretend regarding the flags in other states that include the Confederate flag in their design? I want those flags changed.

This could happen anywhere.... some crazed racist could burst into a church, business, gathering anywhere in this country... and murder people. Is that what you think we're pretending couldn't happen? However, if one singles out the South in their comments, they are making this regional. Pretend all you wish that it isn't.

[TexasBushwhacker]

73. Worth noting that she didn't steal the flag

She simply took it down. I don't see how they can charge her with anything but trespassing. In any case, Michael Moore said he would pay her bail and legal fees.

[Enthusiast]

75. +1!

[CherokeeDem]

18. There is nothing wrong with hating bigotry....

unless you practice it. Or do you assume it's okay if you are utilizing the same tactic to spread your own version of hate?

[kcr]

20. Refusing to pretend that it's the same everywhere

is not the same as being a racist bigot.

[npk]

24. It's not even the same in the South

You are taking one or two states and equating that with an entire region of people. Not to mention obviously that a government of a state doesn't reflect the tone or belief of its people. You are using a small minority of people to generalize an entire region. The same thing you have been accusing other people of doing.

[kcr]

25. The government is its people

The fact that state houses in the south have confederate flags but states in the north don't means something.

[npk]

27. Wow ok file that away also

Let me just ask what state you live in and whether everything that states government does is a reflection of you and the rest of the people in that state. What about the Federal Government and President Obama. Do you agree with everything he does.

[kcr]

30. I lived in the south for 15 years

I don't anymore. I'm not making the argument that where I live now is perfect. But it isn't the same. The south still has a problem, and being in denial about it won't help. You think that governments do whatever they want and and get no input whatsoever from the people? That it doesn't matter who gets voted in? If you pay attention to politics there must be a reason.

[treestar]

46. this state does nothing to boast of its prior bigotry

It doesn't fly any flag other than the US and state flags. the state's flag goes back to its founding, well before the civil war.

It has some things to be ashamed of - Jim Crow laws and school segregation. Yet when the federal courts found those laws unconstitutional, nobody rioted or tried to prevent the demise of the Jim Crow laws or resisted school desegregation other than some racists who would have transferred their students to private schools. The national guard did not have to be sent in.

There is racism in all states but only a few have enough to hang onto a symbol of bygone racist eras.

[CherokeeDem]

28. My goodness...

you are so preceptive.

Duh.....

[kcr]

31. I must be, because at least I noticed that little detail n/t

[CherokeeDem]

36. LOL....

proud of yourself, aren't you?

[Fawke Em]

79. My Southern state doesn't.

You really need to stop painting with such a broad brush.

There are shit-tons of Southerners who understand the bigotry of that flag.

[Skittles]

78. southerners need to learn this lesson: YOU LOST - GET THE FUCK OVER IT

by the way, I have lived in the south for DECADES

[Fawke Em]

80. Not "Southerners."

You should say, "SOME Southerners."

Most of us rarely, if ever, even concern ourselves with the Rebel flag or the Civil War. Trust me, I discuss it on here with Northerners far more than I ever discuss it with my friends and neighbors. In fact, the only time we ever discuss it is when it's in the news.

[Skittles]

82. a LOT of southerners

like I said, I have lived here a long time

[Fawke Em]

83. I've lived here all my life and I still say it's, "some."

Granted, I live in a city and I know the more rural areas can be a bit logic-challenged, but I still contend that most of us aren't THAT backward.

On edit: BTW, I evoked your user name on my Facebook feed yesterday. I commented that my feed looked like a Skittles factory because there were so many rainbows (AND, most of my friends live near me, making them Southerners, too!).

[Skittles]

85. SKITTLES, COLORS OF THE RAINBOW

I love that my DU name honors both Trayvon Martin and the LGBT community

[CherokeeDem]

88. Thanks...

I rarely discuss this with anyone I know. It appears to me some Northerners are more fixated with the Civil War than anyone I know.

[Art_from_Ark]

91. The people I know in Arkansas are more fixated with

how they are going to pay their monthly bills, and what they're going to do if they're suddenly out of a job.

[Go Vols]

95. +1

[CherokeeDem]

5. Despite what you might think...

Southerners are not morons. We get that Gone with the Wind is fiction. What we don't get is why so many people choose to believe everyone who was born in the Southern US is guilty of the acts of our forebearers.

I m not writhing in shame about anything. I've fought for civil rights all my life... and I'm white and grew up in Aiken, South Carolina.

I am, however, ashamed of my fellow citizens who can not seem to separate their own hatred and bigotry regarding the South from reality and choose to demean an entire group of people when the majority are not guilty of the acts they are being accused of. Those who spread the word of white supremacy exists in other areas of the country as well. Or do you believe that is fiction?

My southern heritage is based on more than the War Between the States, it encompasses my ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, who worked hard to build bridges between blacks and whites... so many other things that some seem to never recognize regarding the South because it isn't convenient to the portrait they choose to paint about the Southern United States.

There is no question there are people in this country who resist equality of the races and have used the Confederate flag as their symbol. They chose the symbol they used, I didn't and the majority of Southerners didn't either.

[kpete]

12. That was one giant leap you took.....

What we don't get is why so many people choose to believe everyone who was born in the Southern US is guilty of the acts of our forebearers.

not all Southerners are morons
nor are all Humans
and some Northerners are morons


This article, as are my own complaints, is about some Southerners now & in the past who promote these ideas


geez

updated to include:

I lived in Alabama for 2 years, my son and my 2 grandchildren were born there.
I know that I could never LABEL all of the people I knew as being this or that.
But, I am still angry at myself for not confronting the 2 or 3 absolute bigots I knew there.



peace anyway,
kp

[CherokeeDem]

17. That is no leap...

since there are so many posters on this board who consistently demean the South.... you are simply one of the many. I recognize these were your comments, and they certainly convey your opinion of an entire region of this country.

If you lived in the south and recognize you couldn't label all people who live there this way, then why post this? You insinuate the South needs to recognize Margaret Mitchell's work is fiction, yet you say you couldn't label most Southerners this way. Which is it???

I love how now you attempt now to qualify your remarks... and to discredit mine.

Geez, indeed.

[kpete]

23. I did not write this. I insinuate nothing. I found the article thought-provoking. I shared it.

SUN JUN 28, 2015 AT 08:00 AM PDT
'Gone With the Wind': The real Southern heritage
by Susan Grigs
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/28/1396273/--Gone-With-the-Wind-The-real-Southern-heritage?detail=hide

The article continues, it is long and quite interesting. I am not much of a writer, I post things that interest me, move me and sometimes provoke me, even anger me. If I made you feel discredited, that would NEVER be my intention. My intention and my motivation here at DU is to share. When I share, I do not edit for comfort, smiles or mean-spiritedness, I share, because if I did not, I would have to KEEP it all in my own head.

I apologize if I disturbed your head.

peace, as always,
kp

[CherokeeDem]

33. You posted it....

If the comments were not yours, you should have said so. By not making a disclaimer that you were simply posting "an interesting article" you leave the impression you agree with the conclusions of the author.

Expect to be questioned when you post such articles. I find it interesting that you decide now to make this statement after the fact.

I'm not disturbed.... I'm angry. I m so sick of the bigotry on this board against Southerners. I am an American, a life-long Democrat, and proud of where I was born. Is everything good about the South? No... but everything is not good about this country. Why don't people help each other change what is wrong instead of spewing out hate where it doesn't belong?

When I grew up in South Carolina, the civil war was only part of the history of my state I learned in school. I ws never taught we were still fighting the war. It appears to me more people are fighting it outside of the Southern US. I'm just sick of the sanctimonious attitude that prevails against the south.

[kpete]

38. I posted the link in my original post

i tried to explain, i failed to reach you



peace anyway,
kp

[CherokeeDem]

45. Don't worry....

I read your original post....

I got it... you found it "interesting".... and I've yet to see you say you don't agree with the article. So... you reached me. I got the message.

[cherokeeprogressive]

34. What gets me is when they act like The South is the only place bigotry exists...

Two men I knew in the Navy used the N word like it was punctuation and they didn't care who was present or listening.

They were both from NYC.

[CherokeeDem]

40. Thank you....

I know. When I came to Lexington, KY for college, I saw more racism and bigotry than I ever saw in South Carolina.

I think it's very convenient to isolate bigotry to the South. It allows those who condemn us to feel superior. The problem is it makes them look like the bigots they are. Bigots not necessarily of race, but of the place of someone's birth, which is just as bad.

[txwhitedove]

51. And I thank you. One reason I'm rarely on DU is due to Texas and

South bashing and insults. We're all supposed to be Dems here.

[CherokeeDem]

53. I know...

I'm tired of it. I have many friends in Texas... and I'm sick of the bashing that goes on everywhere. I wonder how those in California would feel it they were accused of being bigots because some there hate those of Hispanic descent? I don't think they'd like being painted with such a broad brush. I know better... most of them aren't and neither are we.

We're supposed to be Dems here but sometimes I wonder.

[Skittles]

84. bigotry exists everywhere

but it is certainly more widely accepted in the south, no question

for example, Texas NEVER misses an opportunity to embarrass itself:
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/paxton-county-clerks-may-refuse-on-religious-grounds-to-issue-same-sex-marriage-licenses.html/

[NuclearDem]

42. Oh for God's sake, have some common sense.

Unless you're a racist, neo-Confederate piece of trash, chances are these discussions are not focused on you.

[treestar]

47. the will to be offended over this is strange

I went to college in the South by choice, so I'm obviously not thinking its a terrible place.

We do not always have to be entirely proud of our heritage. The Native Americans, that extends to all of us. And the history of slavery and racism in this country.

But why would it hurt a Southerner and have them feel the target of "anti-south" bigotry to acknowledge they live among people who still support flying that flag is majority numbers?

[CherokeeDem]

52. I don't think anyone

has failed to acknowledge there are people in the South who support flying the Confederate flag at the capitol. Their motivations likely run the gambit from not wanting to be told what to do by outsiders to out and out despicable racism.

I'm not "hurt" by this.... I am angry at those who insist anyone from the South has to be a Civil War fighting, the South will rise again racist. There are many on DU who believe this and I'm tired of it.

Let me make this clear.... There are bigots and racists in the South. There does that make you happy??? Now, go look in your own area, they are there as well.

My father, who marched with Civil Rights advocates in the 60s... once told me there was at least one good thing about Southern bigots. You always knew who they were. In the north, they are much better at hiding their racism.

[treestar]

55. Nobody does insist anyone from the South is that

We know there are liberals there. But they are outnumbered. Thus the states are very red and a couple of them even fly a flag that symbolizes slavery and racism, into the 21st century, over their government buildings.

[CherokeeDem]

60. Liberals are outnumbered in lots of states....

that's not much of an argument.

You are missing the point... the fact that these symbols exist does not mean that everyone in that state or any other state is proud of it or agrees wth it.

What I am angry about is those who post here claiming Southerners all believe the way these racists do. Bashing the South seems to be a favorite sport on DU and I'm damn tired of it. We're supposedly all Democrats on DU and those who live in the South deserve more respect from the other members. Rail against bigotry if you wish, I do... but don't include everyone who is from the South in the rhetoric. It is uncalled for and unfair.

[LanternWaste]

97. Don't invest so much emotion into a bug on your windshield.

"What I am angry about is those who post here claiming Southerners all believe the way these racists do..."

It's an opinion merely a small handful hold. Not many... merely the under-educated or sub-literate ones. And if they are indeed, sub-literate or under-educated, why invest any emotion at all into their premise?

I was born in the south. I live in the south. Have my entire life. Those types of statements get the "bless your little heart-- you're a special kind of stupid" from me and little else. The "the whole south stinks" meme should receive no more of attention than it warrants-- none. Don't invest so much emotion into a bug on your windshield.

[CherokeeDem]

56. When someone decides to....

label an entire group of people in one region with the same broad and ludicrous accusations, I do take it personally. No, it isn't about me, it's about the people I grew up with, my relatives and friends, the people I love and I'll be damned if I'm going to let a group of narrow-minded, holier than thou jerks make these statements and let them go unanswered.

In my common sense opinion, this statement... "a racist, neo-Confederate piece of trash" tells me where you stand,

[AnnetteJacobs]

61. ...

[NuclearDem]

63. Nobody is bashing all southerners.

Just like nobody was bashing all of my fellow Hoosiers during the RFRA debacle. Someone without a victim complex and with an ounce of common sense would know nobody is bashing all southerners.

In my common sense opinion, this statement... "a racist, neo-Confederate piece of trash" tells me where you stand,

That I despise racist pieces of neo-Confederate trash. Not all southerners are racist pieces of neo-Confederate trash, and not all racist pieces of neo-Confederate trash are southerners.

But Indiana doesn't fly the Confederate flag, nor has it in its own state flag.

[CherokeeDem]

65. No they aren't....

but there have been many posts on DU that have included all Southerners are cut from the same mold... the racist mold. This is what I have a very strong issue with.

Of course, the Confederate flag would not be flown at the Indiana state house.... it was not a confederate state. The fact is, it shouldn't be on any flag or flown anywhere.

Thank you for not saying all Southerners are racist, neo-Confederate piece of trash. There are enough people on DU who do.

[DashOneBravo]

71. + 1

That's perfect

[treestar]

43. So where do you stand on flying the Confederate Flag?

Is that an important enough part of your heritage that the state house should fly it?

There have been polls that majorities in Alabama and SC want it flown.

Is it not the most negative part of your heritage?

I'm from the middle Atlantic states, and we have no separate heritage of the kind. For us it is all American. No other region claims this kind of separate heritage.

[CherokeeDem]

50. If you read through these posts....

you would know the answer to your question.

I don't want the Confederate flag flown on state property, or used as part of a state flag. I do not like it used as a symbol of hate or heritage or anything. I can not speak for the people who choose to fly it, but I do not agree with it.

Despite what you might think, the heritage of the United States includes the Civil War... soldiers from Maryland and other 'Northern' states fought, so it is part of your heritage. Most of the battles took place in the southern states, therefore there are more war memorials there and more direct history of the events of the war.

The most negative part of my heritage? Since I'm an American citizen, I suspect it's no different from yours. Personally, I find the Iraq war to be the thing I'm most ashamed of that this country, my country, has been involved in. The treatment of Native Americans is pretty high on my list as well.

Sorry, the Civil War has been over for most of us for a very long time. Racism and bigotry, unfortunately, have been with the peoples of this planet for a longer time... and includes not only the color of one's skin and religion but where someone was born. Don't you think it's about time for this to stop?

[treestar]

58. OK if it's my heritage

I still don't choose to fly the flag or to talk about the South rising again, and you have some people still doing that. Probably can't find any in the North. In the West they have nothing of this heritage and weren't even states then. The South does have people in it who still think of it as a region and a few who even want to secede yet. I don't think anyone outside the South still looks back like that - maybe you can find an occasional nutty New Englander who supports the South seceding. You do hear people wanting the South to secede to get rid of their red influence on our national law. But not in numbers enough to get the government to do something in acknowledgment like fly a flag.

In fact my state was a border state (slave state that did not secede), so it's possible the only reason it was not in the Confederacy is that it was north of Washington. So I'm not out of the woods on slavery and can acknowledge that and if others want to blame the state for that, I'm not going to deny it, claim that Yankee state was just as bad (though a non-slave state by 1860) or claim they are generalizing about me being a racist like others of this state have been.

It does seem there is a regional pride still existing there. Amazing after 160 years. Maybe it'll be gone some day.

[CherokeeDem]

64. It is your heritage....

because it's the heritage of the US. Deny it or not, I don't care.

What I do care about is this constant drumbeat that if the flag flies in the South then we must all condone it. We don't.

Once again... no one denies there are issues in the South... the use of the flag making it easily identifiable, but racism survives throughout this country, and throughout the world. What I'm angry with is the very condescending attitude of many on DU regarding the South. I'm really pleased that your state doesn't fly the flag and as you live in Maryland, a "border state," I suspect there are more progressive people there than many other states. But this doesn't make anyone or any state superior to those in the South.

South bashing will not disappear overnight, it's been going on since the end of the Civil War, which I suspect is part of the reason some still remember the conflict.

What I'm asking for is for those people to stop making these comprehensive statements that we're all the same. It's only serving to make the people who claim this appear foolish and uninformed.

[Fawke Em]

81. +1000

This should be a stand-alone post.

[CherokeeDem]

89. Thank you....

I appreciate your comment.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Some Southerners are perfectly aware that Mitchell did not know the South lost the war ...

... until she was well into her teens.

The veterans in her family told tales of how they had outfought the Yankees at this battle or that, but somehow never made clear that in the long run it was in vain. Growing up in an environment where "The Cause" was so thoroughly romanticized, it's no wonder that she wrote the sort of book that she did. But not everyone suffered the same affliction.

Personally, I never did get the appeal of "Gone With the Wind" (the movie -- never read the book). It's basically a soap opera about a selfish, manipulative woman, with the whole grand sweep of the worst war in America's history reduced to a backdrop. As the director announced at the start of filming, "we are here to film a melodrama". I guess the sets were pretty impressive, though.

[Retrograde]

66. The book is more complex than the movie, IMHO

The book is about a spoiled, shallow girl (Scarlett is 16 at the beginning) who over the course of the novel becomes an astute businesswoman and the main support of her extended family while retaining some character flaws - i.e., a belief in a romantic ideal. I could argue it as a proto-feminist statement, as the dominant characters are all strong women. The war plays a bigger role: it's not just a backdrop like in the movie - it permeates every aspect of the characters lives.

Then Hollywood made a blockbuster under the constraints of the Hayes Code and it became a gorgeously shot technicolor shadow of itself.

[MerryBlooms]

69. It's obvious a whole shitload of people have never read the book...

and have let a Hollywood movie do their thinking for them.

[eppur_se_muova]

72. Well, the book did win a Pulitzer, and the movie a bunch of Oscars ...

... and is still regarded as one of the best movies ever made. But, personally, I just never saw that much to it. Oh, and I grew up in the South, but not as a descendant of rich plantation owners. Maybe that's the disconnect.

[1monster]

87. Hear! Hear! I read Gone With the Wind in the eighth grade

for a book report (in PA, by the way). I read all 1037 pages in three days. It was a fantastic book that did not glorify the South's actions. In fact, Rhett Butler's character derided the Confederacy right up until the burning of Atlanta.

One was not left with the impression that Mitchell saw the south and the war through rose colored lenses. She protrayed them more impulsive hot heads who didn't think things through. The book was not a defense of the Confederacy, slavery, or the KKK.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the end.

The movie, in comparison, was a shallow summary that barely skimmed the book.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

9. Northerners were involved in the slave trade.

Last edited Sun Jun 28, 2015, 02:59 PM - Edit history (1)

[Munificence]

32. Being a Northerner by birth

and living in the south now I will say: Racism is much more prevalent in the north. I have been to 17 different countries and all of The U.S besides for 2 of our states and the worse blatant racism comes from the north. I have lived in the south for 6 years now and have never seen a hint of racism, where as in the north I seen it nearly every day....especially on the east coast.

Southerners really don't give a fuck what one does but northerners have to stick their nose into everyone's business and have an opinion.

[Marr]

41. Bull. Shit.

I'm not going to say racism is hard to find anywhere, but saying it's worse in the north than the south is absurd.

[Munificence]

44. In 6 years

I have never seen a hint of racism in the south, not one occurrence. Toss me in NY and put me int with some Italians and it will take all of 10 mins.

[Marr]

48. I can't speak to your personal experiences.

Anecdotal evidence means nothing, which is why I won't offer my own.

[NuclearDem]

49. No racism at all! But lemme tell you about those Italians though...

[jtuck004]

54. I have a cartoon which shows someone from New York talking with someone from the West Coast..

The New Yorker says ""Screw You Asshole" While the bubble above his head is showing that he is thinking "Have a nice day"

The person from the West coast said "Have a nice day", while the balloon of his thoughts said "Screw you asshole".

I see what you mean, and agree with you that people who hide their racism can seem worse than those who tell you up front. I live 35 miles from the Whitopia of Coeur d'Alene Idaho, in the almost as White Spokane, and having lived the previous 50 years in the South, you are describing the difference accurately.

I don't pretend to say how things are for everyone, but I can damn sure tell you what my experience has been and is - ymmv.

In the South you pretty well know where you stand - you may not like it, but at least the people have the backbone to tell you to your face.

The people up North will let you go on believing, and then stab you in the back when you are not looking. Their morals are much more slippery. And because they hide so much, you simply can't trust them.

Look around. Where do you see black folks in power, and owning assets? We don't have confederate flags, and mostly don't have black business owners and property owners either.

The South is bad, but at least you know when there is a flag on the legislature you aren't welcome. Up here it's been my experience that they are mostly cowards when it comes to race, and let you go further and get you when your back is turned, so the press isn't nearly so bad, and people can pretend not to see it. Up here, I don't think they need a flag to tell someone they aren't welcome.

There is no better or worse. Racism is still racism.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

59. I've seen bigotry both in the North and in the South.

I grew up in New Jersey (with a lot of Italians), was educated in New Hampshire and Boston and come from a large New England family. I think racism may be more intense in Northern cities because they are so crowded and everyone is fighting over the same piece of turf. I think it's nicer in Southern cities because there is room to spread out so more people get a piece of the pie. I am mostly white and look completely white. I have taught in all African-American, very inner city schools in Houston and have been treated very well. In similar neighborhoods in New York and Boston, I would have feared for my life. Houston is a wonderful and often overlooked city. One of the unintended consequences of no zoning laws here is that different kinds and classes of people are mixed together. There are expensive MacMansions across the street from cheap apartments. The cities in Texas are open minded and Blue. The suburbs and rural areas are a different story. I tend to think we are all racist to some extent and that tribe runs deep. It's how you deal with it that matters.

[ann---]

76. OMG

You must be joking. On my first visit to Florida for vacation
I met a man from the south and we had dinner - he used the
"n" word in every other sentence and insulted and degraded our
black waiter. He said "everybody does it." I detested that - and him.

Would never, ever want to go back down below the Mason-Dixon Line
ever again.

[Munificence]

94. I'd almost bet

he was not a southerner, but instead a transplant from the north.

[ann---]

98. No, he was

from Georgia. I said he was from the south - accent and all.

[treestar]

39. But they did not insist on hanging on to the institution

when it came time to do so. They did not practice slavery, and had not traded for decades by 1860. What they did do does not excuse hanging onto the confederate battle flag in the 21st century.

It seems a slight majority in the South want to do so. They are the ones who are targeted here, not all Southerners.

[AnnetteJacobs]

62. "Northerners were involved in the slave trade."

(Singing) "Molasses to rum to slaves..."

[ann---]

77. But the

south seceded from the union, started the Civil War and
killed their American brethren from the North - all because
they wanted slavery to remain legal.

And - the first abolitionist movement was started in Philadelphia
in 1775.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-american-abolition-society-founded-in-philadelphia

Why the south cannot own up to that part of history I don't know.
The North has accepted (and changed) their part in history. As
long as the KKK continues to exist - the hate will remain.

[npk]

13. Wow what absolute garbage

Sad really

[Dr. Xavier]

14. The Alamo wasn't your's to remember...

My father was born in Texas, his side of my family have been there for 400 years. All those great Texans that are celebrated today were thieves, rapists, and murderers; and those were the good ones. Texas was stolen from Mexico because Mexico had banned slavery and those good ol' boys wanted slaves. The Mexicans who remained in Texas were considered white Americans but they certainly weren't treated as such. And my wife, whose parents were from Missouri wonders why I hate Texas so much.

[edhopper]

68. Preach it brother

it takes Texans to treat an utter defeat of a small fort, with people fighting for slavery into their most glorious event.

[Rex]

16. But you have to understand, some here in the South live and die in delusions of grandeur.

They've been brought up on fiction presented to them as facts. Generations of brainwashing and hate will do that imo.

[happynewyear]

29. PBS film all about Margaret Mitchell

Was on PBS and is very interesting but is no longer available for viewing but,

>>Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was born on November 8, 1900, in Atlanta. Her great-great-great-grandfather Thomas Mitchell fought in the American Revolution (1775-83), and his son William Mitchell took part in the War of 1812. Her great-grandfather Isaac Green Mitchell was a circuit-riding Methodist minister who settled in Marthasville, which later was named Atlanta. Mitchell was thus a fourth-generation Atlantan. Her grandfather Russell Mitchell fought in the Civil War and suffered two bullet wounds to the head during the fighting at Antietam. Twice married, he had twelve children, the oldest of whom was Mitchell’s father, Eugene.

Mitchell’s mother’s family was Irish Catholic. Her great-grandfather Phillip Fitzgerald came to America from Ireland and eventually settled on a plantation near Jonesboro in Fayette County. (This portion of the county now lies in Clayton County.) The Fitzgeralds had seven daughters. Annie Fitzgerald, Mitchell’s grandmother, married John Stephens, who had emigrated from Ireland and settled in Atlanta. Stephens amassed large real-estate properties and helped found a trolley-car system in the city. The Stephenses had twelve children; Mary Isobel (May Belle), Mitchell’s mother, was the seventh. May Belle married Eugene Muse Mitchell on November 8, 1892. Eugene was a noted Atlanta attorney, and May Belle was a staunch supporter of woman suffrage. They had a son, Stephens, followed four years later by a daughter, Margaret Munnerlyn.

Mitchell began making up stories before she could write, dictating them to her mother. Later she made her own books with cardboard covers and filled them with adventure stories using her friends, relatives, and herself as characters. As she grew older she switched to copybooks, which her mother stored in inexpensive enamel bread boxes. A few of the hundreds of tales that she wrote have survived, including two Civil War tales. When the family moved to Peachtree Street, the young Mitchell attended the Tenth Street School and later Woodberry School, a private school. She branched out to writing, directing, and starring in plays, coercing the neighborhood children to take part.

<snip>

Possibly one of the reasons that Mitchell never wrote another novel was that she spent so much time working with her brother and her husband to protect the copyright of her book abroad. Up until the publication of Gone With the Wind, international copyright laws were ambiguous and varied from country to country. Correspondence also took much of her time. During the years following publication, she personally answered every letter she received about her book. With the outbreak of World War II (1941-45), she worked tirelessly for the American Red Cross, even outfitting a hospital ship. She also set up scholarships for black medical students.



http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/margaret-mitchell-american-rebel/biography-of-margaret-mitchell/2043/

[1monster]

90. From your link, it doesn't seem that Margret Mitchell supported racism at all.

During the years following publication, she personally answered every letter she received about her book. With the outbreak of World War II (1941-45), she worked tirelessly for the American Red Cross, even outfitting a hospital ship. She also set up scholarships for black medical students.

[bongo_x]

35. We really don’t need more group hatred.

The "I’m a good bigot, and I hate the right people" thing that goes on here is really sad and childish. It’s just another form of "I’m on the side of righteousness and I’m better than THOSE people" which is what every bigot everywhere thinks.

[treestar]

37. Exactly. They go on about their heritage but it was not a good one

It is a bad spot in history. It may be their history, but not one they should be wanting to flaunt. Especially when there are many black people still living in those states. How they can not realize it is offensive is beyond belief.

[TNNurse]

57. I have lived in the south all my life.

Have some of you never traveled in other states? There are racists everywhere. Sure the south has more than most, but I can show you Confederate battle flags in Indiana.

I spent the first 17 years of my life feeling guilty for slavery and the war. I do not have one of those flags and never have. Yes, I still know hard core racists (though some would deny it) but certainly you know they are not all in the south and that all in the south are not like them.

It is kind of bigoted to call all of us racist. Many of us are quite well educated and understand the concept of fiction. We do not all worship Gone With The Wind, but we understand why she wrote it.

[TeeYiYi]

86. Trust me...

...I've got my hands full, (mostly neighbors,) here in Utah. You're correct; racists are everywhere. (More so in rural Utah than urban.)

I'm hoping that it's generational, and that with the passage of time, so will go the generational racism.

Here's to holding out hope for the millennials and a future filled with equality, diversity and civil rights for all.

TYY

[SwankyXomb]

67. Haven't you heard? This is now Dixie Underground

No disapproval of heritage, nor history, nor the inevitable resurrection of the Confederacy and reversal of the intolerable result of The War of Northern Aggression will be countenanced under any circumstances.

[edhopper]

70. Any time some one tells me it's

their favorite movie (usually because they think it's romantic) I tell them it's nothing but pro-slavery propaganda.
Making the antebellum South some kind of paradise that is now Gone.
Bullshit it was the way it was because slaves did the work and white people profited.

[DonCoquixote]

74. everyone forgets she wanted to call it

"Mules in Horse's Harness" a much much more honest title, and a much more honest way to describe would be gentry.

[GaYellowDawg]

92. Lots of us do.

I hate Gone With The Wind. Absolutely detest it. I watched it one time, realized it for the absolute bullshit that it was, and refused to ever watch it again. I think it's done a lot of harm. I think every time it's shown in any venue or on TV, that it should be preceded by an announcement that says "This movie has absolutely zero truth to it. Belief in any of it will make you stupid."

There are plenty of people down here who think that, too. The vast majority of Southerners in this online community don't attach any importance to it, don't value the flag, realize that the Confederacy was all about slavery, and are just as liberal as you are. You don't need to smack us with your pronouncements about "Southerners." Just one word - SOME - preceding "Southerners" would be a greatly appreciated courtesy.

[1monster]

93. Read the book, GYD.... You might be surprised to learn that it differs greatly

from the movie. I didn't much care for the movie, but loved the book.

[logosoco]

96. I read GWTW as a teenager in the mid 70s.

I have read it several times since then.

My take on it: women, slaves and poor people were treated horribly in the South during this time. Pregnant women could not even be seen in public without shame! Some of the poor people then and now seemed to think that rich white men had something that no one else did, which ended up giving them more power. That is the lesson that those today who are standing behind the flag are still ignorant of. If there is any hate to be had, it sure shouldn't be toward black people. I wish they could see this and wake up and see what has really made life hard for them, then and now.

Scarlett herself was very self centered. She was also a good business woman, which was pretty hard at the time. I think in the end of the story she learned what friendship and love was really about, and it was not what she always thought.
The book is very different from the movie.

The houses back in those days were amazing. But when one looks at how they were built and maintained, it puts an ugliness to them that seems to overtake the architectural beauty.