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The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

The Loaded “Southern” Question

A3I’m Alex and I’m from Alabama.

“What’s that like?”

It is a seemingly harmless, NSO-esque question that Northerners always ask whenever I reveal I’m from the South. But whenever someone tells me they’re from New Jersey, New York, or some other New England colony, I never think to ask: “What’s that like?”

“No, really, what’s it like down there?”

I immediately want to equalize myself: I grew up in suburbia like most people here, the prep school I went to rivals Andover and both my parents have graduate degrees. But that would just be me throwing my privilege in your face. Nonetheless, I feel the urge each time I am ignorantly asked this question. The question feigns interest but, to a Southern ear, is fraught with social stigmas.

More likely, unfortunately, is that when each Georgetown student simplifies the South to a loaded question, there is power and presumption at play of which I myself have only ever been on the receiving end.

The question immediately creates a divide because I’m not warranted the same inquiry. Growing up, the North seemed like a promised land of Ivy-clad institutions, seemingly more academic and enchanting than the South. The winners write history and thus my peers are exonerated from a similar question because it’s understood: the North is a progressive, liberal oasis. That’s what it’s like “up there.”

“But, did you like it?”

I say “y’all” but I hate country music; I miss sweet tea everyday, but I would never let hilltop voGUe feature camo. Needless to say, I cherry pick the aspects of my southern experience. More often, however, the question is much more leading than a litany of southern characteristics.

The question goes, “How could you like all the racism and ignorance and bigotry?!” You’re right. I don’t like any of the racism or the ignorance or the bigotry that happens in the South.

Yet, the simplification doesn’t spark intelligent conversation. It is a mere vehicle for the curious student to aggrandize and apotheosize the power of geographic diversity, and suddenly there exists startling breadth that makes it easy to assume, “Of course you love the North, free of racism and ignorance and bigotry!”

On the contrary, a lot of inequity takes place in the Northeast and all over the country for that matter. Indiana’s religious objections bill, Utah’s execution by firing squad and Connecticut’s failure to protect transgender workers are all backwards, antiquated and retroactive pieces of legislation. But, hey, at least they’re not the South.

Even more applicable, a lot of racism and ignorance and bigotry happens on Georgetown’s campus, not to mention sexism and homophobia and every other form of prejudice imaginable. I thought education was the great equalizer, but when a Georgetown student wears his geographic privilege like a Vineyard Vines sweater one size too small and scoffs at the Southern philistines, my Georgetown degree falls short.

“I would have never guessed you’re from Alabama!”

I know, I know. My hobbies and interests and even my clothing choices don’t necessarily scream “Southern gentleman.”

But I don’t see this as applause for being a Southern outlier; I see it more as a diminutive, as if I succeeded despite my “disadvantaged” Southern circumstances.
I once tweeted that telling someone I’m from Alabama elicits the same reaction as telling them I’m from (insert any developing country here). As if I weren’t afforded the same opportunities as my Northern counterparts, they are consistently shocked that someone from Alabama could be proficient in three languages or could, God forbid, consider himself a liberal democrat.

The surprise comes across as smug pity, as if I were a refugee that the North has saved from the oppression of the South. I have become the “Northern Man’s Burden;” a take on neoliberalism to enfranchise Southerners with agency to make the world a more progressive place.

Of course, there are probably people in the South who could benefit from this new school of thought. And so could the rest of the country. Those not from the South get away with passing as perfectly progressive individuals when, in reality, nobody is. A conversation that creates power dynamics and belittles the other is the paradox. And sometimes passive-aggressive questions hurt more than their forthright counterpart.

As prospective students arrive for GAAP weekend and OAs prepare for NSO, let’s engage in a conversation that erases the Mason-Dixon Line before assumptions gerrymander it. The energy it takes to simplify the South should be redirected to instead promote and learn from each other’s hometown glories.

Alex Ridley is a sophomore in the College.

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  • C

    COL' 2012Apr 9, 2015 at 3:54 pm

    Listen, you sound a little too sensitive.

    Why do people ask you “what it’s like?” It’s because they’ve never been there, and are less likely to have been there than other parts of the country because the South is less developed than the Northeast and there’s less of reason for anyone to go there.

    And why do they suggest that the South has issues with racism whatever… THE CIVIL WAR? It’s a historical thing that you happen to have a local’s perspective on. Not the war itself, but how Southern society has grown in light of said conflict.

    People from anywhere could make the same arguments as you, so buck up, and please lobby your local Senator to outlaw representations of the stars and bars. (oops!)

    Reply
  • K

    KerryApr 2, 2015 at 1:28 pm

    I like the overall message, but dude this article was so hard to follow. Simplify your writing. It super impresses ice that you can use big words, but good lord — “…aggrandize and apotheosize the power of geographic diversity, and suddenly there exists startling breadth…” Like what the hell is that?

    Reply
  • H

    Honduran-American in South KoreaMar 31, 2015 at 10:05 pm

    I am never surprised by loaded questions. I am from Miami, FL, USA, a place that is distinct in its own right. However, my appearance, dialect, and demeanor would always elicit: “Where are you really from?” I went to Georgetown (SFS ’12) and I can tell you that your article hit close to home because many prejudices are still pervasive within our community. I believe that it behooves us all to address these issues because they are a continuance of an ignorance that we hope to stamp out with our ‘world-class education.’

    Reply
  • G

    GA HoyaMar 31, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    As a Georgian, I disagree with this article with all the passion of the Southern sun.

    I’d like to identify a distinction. The people asking are not PROJECTING a stereotyped version of the South upon the author; instead, the author is ASSUMING them. The author didn’t offer anything beyond the actual question–the “load” that was attached to it came from the author.

    The explanation for the prevalence of this question is that everyone and their mother seems to be from New Jersey/the Northeast. With that geographic concentration, of course there’s some interest in the birthplace of others.

    In an age of hypersensitivity, can I just ask: is it not possible for ANYONE (especially the ever cultural-savvy, international-minded Hoya) to ask a question without it being perceived as “ignorant” and “loaded?” Is it not possible for anyone to ask a question because they are generally curious about a fellow peer?

    This hypersensitivity stops the conversation, stops mutually beneficial cross-geographical interaction, stops the kind of learning that is suppose to happen at college, and represents a strain of thought that is harmful to society.

    I’m from Georgia, lived a rather privileged upbringing similar to the author, and I’d be pleased to tell you how life is down there!

    Reply
  • A

    Alabama HoyaMar 31, 2015 at 6:36 pm

    Great piece, Alex. As a graduate student from Alabama at GU, I have been asked the same question many times. People that ask these questions are much less civilized and worldly than they think. I realize the South has problems, but too many people in the North don’t realize some of the same problems exist there. If believe this is very dangerous since you must first know their is a problem before you can fix it. While I was exposed to some not-so-nice things (i.e. racism) in the South, I never encountered other forms of discrimination, such as anti-antisemitism, until I started meeting more Northerners. I will admit my own naivety by saying that I only thought anti-antisemitism existed in the Middle East prior to moving to Washington, DC.

    Fortunately, there is an upside to all of this. I have learned to use the constant stereotyping to my advantage. Since I am often underestimated, it is easy for me to exceed peoples’ expectations which has helped me impress people in the classroom and the office.

    Finally, I always remember than I am an ambassador of the South where ever I go. Like you, when people ask me about it, I try to equalize it – good school, good neighborhood, etc. I also recognize the troubled past while gently pointing out that it is not just the South with these problems. Then I tell people about the great food, music and football that can only be found in the South and try to convince them to visit and check it out for themselves.

    Reply
  • R

    RobMar 31, 2015 at 5:21 pm

    I’m from North Carolina, so I can see where this article is coming from, but overall I find it very misguided, especially the use of the phrase “Northern Man’s Burden”. Yes, there are still general stereotypes about the South and people who were raised there, but personally I do not find that they generate palpable social barriers the way that race, gender or sexual orientation do. I cannot move past the feeling that this article sees a barrier where one does not exist. Because of this, it does a disservice to those suffering from and working to mend tangible social obstacles.

    Reply
  • A

    AnonMar 31, 2015 at 5:11 pm

    It looks like sections and ideas of this article border on plagiarism from another similar article from the Harvard Crimson from a few weeks ago (https://www.thecrimson.com/column/the-happiness-here/article/2015/3/11/harvard-making-fun-south/)

    – they both use the phrase”power and presumption at play” and characterize the Northeast as the Promised Land
    – the structure of the three paragraphs from “Yet the simplification…” to “Even more applicable…” is nearly identical to the Crimson writer’s paragraphs “Growing up, there were people…” to “A lot of racist shit happens in the Northeast…”
    – they both use the image of the worn sweater/sweater vest for Northeastern prestige and privilege

    Intentional or unintentional, these are probably issues worth addressing.

    Reply
    • A

      AnonApr 3, 2015 at 6:04 am

      I also read the article in the Harvard Crimson before this one and had to search it out to see if the same author had simply published a revision here. We could add several items to the list of similarities above. Or maybe “apotheosize” was a popular high school vocabulary word in recent years.

      Alex ~ You need to do a little ‘fessing up here. This is unacceptable.

      Reply
  • S

    Southern HoyaMar 31, 2015 at 3:44 pm

    Hear, hear! I’m proud of my home, and I always feel somewhat insulted on behalf of my state when people are surprised to hear where I come from. Is it so shocking that the South produced someone who doesn’t have an accent and values their education?

    Reply
  • A

    AnonMar 31, 2015 at 2:56 pm

    As a Georgian by relocation, I have to thank you for this. Growing up, I was always somewhat embarrassed to live in the South; I didn’t have the accent and I hated all the camo and sweet tea trappings of my peers. Now that I’ve moved away and am often treated as though I’ve overcome some great difficulty to get to where I am (when really my parents just sent me to a comprehensive high school, where I studied hard), I’ve come to embrace this part of my identity. What you say here eloquently sums up a lot of what I’d like to say myself.

    Reply
  • J

    Josh from StewMar 31, 2015 at 2:14 pm

    Great read. As a fellow Alabamian who attended a Northeastern Liberal Arts school (and even remained here after graduation), I want to commend you for an eloquent , relatable piece on this interesting topic. Thanks

    Reply