it& #39;s weird how much more defensive i got of the south once i wasn& #39;t living in it anymore, but then again, there& #39;s a real different vibe when somebody living there makes fun of it vs somebody who& #39;d never even deign to visit south of the mason dixon

i actually intentionally started using "ain& #39;t" and significantly increased my "ya& #39;ll," because I find that intentionally marking myself as somebody from the south decreases how much shit they talk about it in my direct presence or to me

don& #39;t get me wrong, the south has massive structural inequalities that we must fix in this generation, grinding horrible poverty and acidic bigotry that consumes and destroys lives - but maybe y& #39;all need to work on the bigotry in yr cities right here before you look south, YK?

Cuz so does the fucking north.

And the east, and the west; the great lakes, the plains and praries and every other square mile of this misbegotten nightmare we live in. Wherever you live, I PROMISE there is enough work for you to spend the rest of your life fighting bigotry and inequality in your current zip.