Mississippi

There are worse places in the world. I like it there, but then I've never lived there. Only visited relatives/friends.

A friend of mine went to grad school at Southern Miss (maybe?) and adored her time there.

It gets hot in the summer though [/crazyMontanagirl]

 

Very true, LJB.

http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/

 

I've lived here for the better part of a decade. First thing you need to do is take everything you saw in "Mississippi Burning" and accept that the attitudes that were prevalent in the 1960s, are not as prevalent now.
Done? Good.
We've had a generation or two to tone things down. Sure, there's some racism and such (especially in the smaller towns) but there aren't weekly lynchings after church on Sunday.
Speaking of church, it's a big thing down here. As much for the gossip as for religion. I've known plenty of people who are afraid to buy alcohol or cigarettes in their own town because of who might see them and make a big stink about it.
And yet one of the state's biggest industries is gambling (third-largest in the nation in gambling revenue after Nevada and New Jersey). Go figure.

As for what's here? Well, not a whole hell of a lot if you're used to big-city accoutrements. Some places have them (Tupelo, Jackson) but many don't. Maybe that's why we measure distance in time ("It's a 30-minute drive to Jackson," instead of "It's 30 miles to Jackson"). But it is a very pretty, very rural state (roughly the same size as Pennsylvania, but with 1/10 its population), which is where the gun-totin' redneck aspect comes in. By golly, wes do loves us some huntin' and fishin' down here. The start of deer season is pretty much a state holiday. So many people take off from work and school that some schools schedule fall break around it.

And, like Ledbetter said, there are some beautiful parts of the state (Oxford, Vicksburg, Natchez) and some places that are absolute shitholes (most of Jackson, Meridian). Jackson's mayor is either a lunatic or a crime-fighting super hero, depending on if he's ripped your crack house apart with sledgehammers lately.
The Delta (northwest part of the state) can be very depressing with its poverty, but the natural beauty is great. Driving down Hwy. 61 and seeing the cotton fields this time of year is bliss.
Other than that, it's pretty much the same as any other state. The sun rises and sets here every day, it rains occasionally and there are a fair number of both geniuses and dumbasses. Unfortunately, our reputation is that we have far more dumbasses. Who do they think we are, Arkansas?

 

Well played, sir.

 

Batman summed up my feelings very well in his post.
I spent 5+ years in Mississippi and I liked it there. Of course, I spent much of that time on the Coast, which is very different from the rest of the state. Some sociologist needs to write a paper about how Interstate 10 is a dividing line in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Because it's a different world south of I-10 than in the other parts of those states. Those areas are more tolerant, there's a lot more Catholicism, the food is different and Jimmy Buffett is a god.
I could very easily see myself going back to the Coast. I've still got friends there and I have a lot of respect for my old bosses. On the other hand, I wouldn't work in Jackson unless I was getting paid ARod type money or I was p-whipped by a wife/girlfriend. However, The Clarion-Ledger is a decent paper and they have very good people working there.

 

They'd like their towels back.

 

Mississippi gets a bad rap from far too many.

It has some of the nicest, friendliest, most courteous people in the U.S. I love it.

 

C'mon Mizzou, chime in on this bad boy. We all want to hear of your undying devotion to the south.

I've never been to Mississippi, but I'd like to cover a game in Oxford sometime.

 

Do they still have football there?

 

Arkansas state motto: Thank God for Mississippi.

Mississippi state motto: Thank God for Arkansas.

Alabama state motto: We're better than Arkansas and Mississippi put together.

 

A lot of history, good and bad.
A lot of music, all good.
Parchman's the weirdest looking place I've ever seen.
Sign seen in Vicksburg: "Sell your car for cash!" on the road to the Tunica casinos, which are really depressing.
Love Corner Books in Oxford.
Over and out.

 

Good solid depiction Fenian.