Further, the writer strangely ignores the truly fascinating intricacies of Southern accents and the cultural implications of the wide variety of accents. Up Country twangs with Appalachian underpinnings are a source of amusement to upper class Southerners who speak with the rich, melodic Bourbon accents of the Mississippi Delta and the Alabama Black Belt. Among African Americans, there are many variations in accents, usually more tied to class than region, but again, interpreted by Southern black people to place a person’s background. Both white and black Southerners are similiar to the British who judge a person’s class by his or her accent. On the whole, a disappointing lack of insight and gravitas here.

Then, inevitably, the conversation turns to all the “bad” things about the south. “Did you know your state ranks near the bottom in education?” “That was around the time George Wallace was governor, right?” Of course I know. I actually LIVE here. Oh, and George Wallace was never governor of Georgia.

Yet rarely is there a mention of all the good things to come out of the south. “My favorite writer of all time is Kurt Vonnegut…he wrote books, you know. Did you ever read any?” Then, amongst further probing, “Actually, I’ve never read Faulkner or Wolfe. I find it all too dense. Who really wants to read a book like that anyways?”