Because the rest of the country picks on and insults us; we feel a need to stick together. This is true even in the forum, seen in all the jokes about abolishing or merging the SE with another region. This stems from the Civil War to a large degree, but includes the badmouthing and demeaning way Andrew Jackson was attacked as uncouth, the way HL Mencken attacked us during the Scopes Trials, the way we were stereotyped in the 1950/60s as television showed how SOME belligerent, evil people who lived in the South severely mistreated African Americans. The rest of the country, you did this to us, you made us feel the need to stick together and defend our honor. What John Rocker did to NYC (which was tacky, regrettable, and a minority opinion), YA'LL have been doing to us for 150 years. Stop stereotyping us in a demeaning way and we won't feel quite the need to stick together against you.
Exactly. People seem to hold conflicting opinions that they apply to all Southerners: on one hand, they're all moralistic bible thumpers, and on the other hand, they're racist incestuous hicks, so they go around calling us religious hypocritical hicks. Just because of these exaggerated stereotypes, the South (especially MS and AL) has become a laughing stock of the country.
