As a native southerner (born in Alabama, raised in Georgia) I can tell you why we gush southern hospitality up front, then elect hateful bastards behind the polling booth curtains. Those politicians are our aluminum siding and encyclopedias, the dreadful secrets that our smiles hide. Up north, yankees are up front about their feelings. They'll tell you before they even know your name that they don't like you. But down here, we're pleasant to everyone - at least to their face. But that pleasantry hides the seething hate and fear yankees don't mind - and even seem to enjoy - wearing on their sleeves.

But last time I checked, it wasn't just the South that put the current Lunatic In Chief in power. I don't remember Ohio as part of the Confederacy...

Hello:

I think that the "South" privileges the private and personal over the public. Hence power, honour and status thrump the merely civic.

yours

Frank

Yet another error committed by [the intern who wrote this article for] Garrison is to say that Texas is in the South.

I am a Southerner but am not overly friendly to strangers. I vote for progressives and consider myself a Christian, which means I follow Jesus' command to love my enemies rather than kill them. So I do not fit Garrison's warmongering stereotype.

And I will never consider Texas part of the South, nor do the rest of us down here. A Texas accent is not a Southern accent (and yes, there is a difference). Texas has its culture, music, food, and pastimes that are completely distince from ours. Most importantly, the current occupant of the White House is not a Southerner. Bless your heart for trying, but spare us the guilt by association, darlin'.

NB: "Bless your heart" is Southern for "I'm sure you're a wonderful person but you've got it all wrong and let me tell you the real story."

Hello:

That should be Civitas.

yours

Frank

As a current Atlantan, raised in Florida, good Lord I wish I knew the answer to this question. I've tried not to be so cynical as to call these Southern pleasantries "phoniness," but I have (while helping to acclimate newly-arrived international students in a job I had long ago.)

My best guess is that all politics are local, and you can't really get more local than 3 feet in front of you. It's easy to be nice to that person in front of you, and even easier to not have to think about geo-political ramifications of choosing a short-sighted president. Or maybe it's just as simple and shallow as selecting "that nice man," without ever delving any deeper into the issues at hand. Those sren't adequate explanations, but they're all I've got.

P.S. Garrison, your appearance at Chastain is still quite the talk of the town and, on behalf of uncouth Atlantans everywhere, I apologize profusely. (And had you had the chance to ask, I would've been able to tell you that Chastain is a lousy venue. You're much better served by the Fox Theater.)

Garrison - you can be happy to know that the person calling you "Sunshine" in Austin might actually vote for the other guy, not the war mongering red state usual suspects. Travis county (which Austin is the major city) actually did NOT vote predominently Bush. We also voted majority against the state ammendment to define marriage as between a man and woman only. I am proud to be an Austinite. A piece of blue in a sea of red.

At least that's what my Alabama grandmother taught all us grandkids.

I see many letters here that term friendliness and politness as "scary" and "phony" and other unpleasant adjectives. One letter writer even indicates that he prefers a "fuck you" in New York more than a "hi hon!" in the South. That's deemed "more honest."

It's also damn rude and usually completely unnecessary. It's offensive and shows a complete lack of regard for not only the person you're addressing but also the people standing around who have to hear it.

And people wonder why Southerners are wary of outsiders?

I'll tell you why. Because too many arrive here in Alabama (or Alanta or Jacksonville) completely and smugly convinced of their own ethical and educational superiority. A friend who moved here from Detroit several years ago actually - and with a straight face - invited my husband and me to meet their visiting relatives.

Sounds friendly, right? Only until he explained that he wanted his mother-in-law to understand that "a few people in this place aren't idiots!" Ahem. Forgive me for not being flattered.

Yes, we're polite and helpful to strangers, but we aren't interested in listening politely as you give us chapter and verse about what's wrong with our educational system, economy, political viewpoints, and religion.

I'm a Jewish liberal Democrat who's an Alabama native. I don't need to be told what's wrong because I've worked for decades to try to fix it. If you're only coming here to criticize and exhibit your own moral superiority, then let me pretend to be a New Yorker - just for a second:

"Shut the hell up!"

After living my whole life in Chicago and a town a stone's throw from the Canadian border, I had never been to the south and did not want to make the judgments my heart wanted me to make without some of my own experience.

Recently I went to N. Carolina, and while I understand that one experience is not indiciative of all things, I found the southern "hospitality" to be frightingly invasive. I was asked if I was from New York, if not,where I was from, where I was going, How long I was staying, if I had any children if I had a husband, did all new yorkers (I'm from Michigan by the way, not New York) wear their hair like that....Frankly I found it to be a way for people to be very nosy about my life and in a not so subtle way, point out my differences to me with an undercurrent of "don't stay here you are not like us." Someone at the hotel even asked me why my last name was not my husband's. When I told her I didn't want to change it, she actually laughed at me and said, "you are NOT from around here." Thanks. I got it. I did not find it to be freindly or hospitable in the slightest. I couldn't wait to get home to ride on the train next to a stranger in blessed silence.

But I guess if you are used to that as an operating system, maybe you are less inclined to be offended and know how to deflect it better than silence or an awkward laugh.