Saturday, September 10, 2005

This week's homework: Southern Comfort

For this week's homework, Scalzi asks:

Tell us something you love about or from the American South. From sweet tea to Lynyrd Skynyrd, William Faulkner to the French Quarter, whatever makes you heart long for southern skies belongs right here.

Y'know, it's unfortunate.  All too often, when you say "the South," what instantly leaps to mind are things like entrenched racism and some dolt who still wants the Confederate flag to fly over the statehouse.

And because that's the sort of thing I immediately think of when you're talking about the South -- even though I know that the South has its own vibrant culture that has nothing to do with a history of hate -- the things that I most love that come out of the South are the things that counter that image.

Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

just watching your blogs a few days ago.  I really enjoy them.  You have personality and style...and humor that i love.  keep writting.
I lived in the south most of my younger life.  I have fond memories of the peoples warmth and "going barefoot almost 24/7"  LOL  I even loved the"hanging moss"  that made it unique.  (my husband almost did not beleive me about it "till he visited the south.
Keep writting.  I Love it!!!!!

Anonymous said...

In the Sudan, "To Kill A Mockingbird" is performed with a black town trying a white goat theft (rape, amazingly, isn't a crime in the Sudan- nor is killing a rapist. This unique setup allows the father/brother of the victim to gain more satisfying vengeance, and it doesn't tie up limited state resources. This is why there's a goat theft trial in Sudanese TKAM).

The were after Denzel to play Atticus, but he doesn't speak any Swahili.