Nathan Bedford Forrest honoured at a fundie wedding

[salex]

I think you hit the nail on the head with the bolded. Their entire lives are just one big reenactment. I'm jealous of their house, and a bit jealous of their lifestyle (not the no running water /indoor bathroom /electricity part though). I did find it weirdly romantic that he built a house for her, but other than those small things they kinda creep me out a bit.

Before we bought the house we live in, my husband and I looked seriously at a big new Victorian style home built in an entire neighborhood of old style homes-- Victorian, Queen Anne, Italianate, Second Empire styles-- all new. Since I was raised in a Queen Ann style home and hubs was raised in a Victorian, we were comfortable with the house. But the more we looked at it, the more it, and the neighborhood, seemed like some sort of Disney experience. Would we need to furnish it in Victorian styles? It just felt so Faux and overly planned so we ended up not going that direction. And while her house might be ok to me as a vacation cabin, all those baskets and unfininished boards look like hell to dust.

[StellaMarie]

I have to post about this post:

I think a lot of y'all are misreading what she said. A white woman went into a restroom. A black woman and her son were IN FRONT OF the white woman in line. When the son's turn came he ran into the open stall. The mom apologized to to the woman who was BEHIND HER in line.

What the OP is saying is that it's sad that the black woman felt she had to apologize to a white woman for taking her (the black woman's) turn. Like the white woman should have been mad. The white woman WAS NOT mad because it wasn't her turn.

ETA: I have no idea if this even actually happened or not, and I, of course, don't know why the black woman apologized. I hope it wasn't because she was expecting racism, but I can't really say that I'd blame her if she did. It seems like racism isn't actually going away like we all home. Too many non-whites have been killed by whites lately for me to think that people of color may feel the need to apologize for their skin tone. It seems like a lot of people still thing black = bad.

I hope none of this comes across as racist. I truly don't want to be. I just think it's not fair to jump on the poster who originally posted the story, because she's telling the story second hand, and can't really know if her friend exaggerated or not. I will also say though, that saying that all, or even "the vast majority" of the South is racist is disgusting. That's just not true. There is racism everywhere, but I think we sort of expect it from the South and that's where the generalization comes from?

Here's my problem. DGayle posted a friend's experience visiting Alabama (presumably from much more some "enlightened" non-Southern state). Taking the situation as she's reported it, here are the "facts:" (1) friend (white) was in line for the bathroom, (2) another woman and a child (both black) were also in line, (3) child ran into a stall when it was his turn, (4) black woman/mother apologized to white woman, (5) white woman tells her "it's okay, it was the child's turn," (6) black woman looks at white woman like she's crazy.

Here's what DGayle thinks happened: black woman apologized to white woman because (i) white woman should be allowed to use the stall first, despite being second in line, (ii) because Racism in the South -- black people are "treated like 3rd class animals," (iii) because black woman internalized racism and thought of herself as a lesser person ("how much it's accepted by them since it means they've been raised to think of themselves as lower beings") -- and therefore looked at the white woman "like she grew a few heads" when the white woman suggested that the black child had the right to pee before her. (Crazy Northern White Lady!)

Here's what I suspect probably happened: (i) black woman apologized to white woman because her child didn't exhibit what she (the mother) thought were proper manners (he "raced" into the stall), (ii) white woman assumed that the black woman was apologizing because her child didn't wait for the white lady to pee first and said as much, (iii) black woman looked at white woman like she had an extra head because the white woman said something stupid that implied she thought the black woman was apologizing for not letting her use the restroom first.

It's also my view that DGayle's *assumptions* are incredibly offensive. Racism is very real in America (and elsewhere). The South has plenty of issues with racism (and homophobia and xenophobia, etc.) -- though, as others have pointed out much more eloquently than I, "the South" is not a monolith.

But, seriously, it's not the 1950s in the South -- it's really just not a thing that white people are expected to use the bathroom before black people.

My point is that this "story" tells more about the storyteller than the event itself. DGayle and her friend made some pretty vile assumptions. Not just about the South in general (and she really it clear later just how she feels about it!), but about how this random black woman in the bathroom must have viewed herself as a "3rd class animal."

And now I've probably officially beaten the dead horse.

[StellaMarie]

And while her house might be ok to me as a vacation cabin, all those baskets and unfininished boards look like hell to dust.

You can see the dirt (i.e., the ground!) between their floor boards!! It would make me insane. You'd never feel clean, and it's a nightmare to bathe anyway.

(It really would be my worst nightmare. I don't like to cook much anyway, but on a cookstove and by lamplight? And with little to no running water and a freaking icebox?)

[gustava]

Just in case people were searching for her house on the blog:

storyofaseamstress.blogspot.com/2014/05/house-tour.html

Do those "banners" look like thong underwear to anyone else? Or do I just have a dirty mind?

I like the final photo with the old suitcases. Nice touch.

[salex]

You can see the dirt (i.e., the ground!) between their floor boards!! It would make me insane. You'd never feel clean, and it's a nightmare to bathe anyway.

(It really would be my worst nightmare. I don't like to cook much anyway, but on a cookstove and by lamplight? And with little to no running water and a freaking icebox?)

Ok, I didn't look at all the pictures. If you can see the ground through the floor, I would find it unworkable. Bugs, mice, snakes, etc are not invited into my house and if there really are cracks that big in the floorboards, then there is not way to keep those things out. Better them than me.

[gustava]

Ok, I didn't look at all the pictures. If you can see the ground through the floor, I would find it unworkable. Bugs, mice, snakes, etc are not invited into my house and if there really are cracks that big in the floorboards, then there is not way to keep those things out. Better them than me.

Having just built (OK, had built for me) log house, my guess is that they put in the floor studs and laid boards down but had not yet done the subflooring. Not the way I could live, but then, I've done the wild and crazy back in the day.

[Alice_Fraggle]

Here's my problem. DGayle posted a friend's experience visiting Alabama (presumably from much more some "enlightened" non-Southern state). Taking the situation as she's reported it, here are the "facts:" (1) friend (white) was in line for the bathroom, (2) another woman and a child (both black) were also in line, (3) child ran into a stall when it was his turn, (4) black woman/mother apologized to white woman, (5) white woman tells her "it's okay, it was the child's turn," (6) black woman looks at white woman like she's crazy.

Here's what DGayle thinks happened: black woman apologized to white woman because (i) white woman should be allowed to use the stall first, despite being second in line, (ii) because Racism in the South -- black people are "treated like 3rd class animals," (iii) because black woman internalized racism and thought of herself as a lesser person ("how much it's accepted by them since it means they've been raised to think of themselves as lower beings") -- and therefore looked at the white woman "like she grew a few heads" when the white woman suggested that the black child had the right to pee before her. (Crazy Northern White Lady!)

Here's what I suspect probably happened: (i) black woman apologized to white woman because her child didn't exhibit what she (the mother) thought were proper manners (he "raced" into the stall), (ii) white woman assumed that the black woman was apologizing because her child didn't wait for the white lady to pee first and said as much, (iii) black woman looked at white woman like she had an extra head because the white woman said something stupid that implied she thought the black woman was apologizing for not letting her use the restroom first.

It's also my view that DGayle's *assumptions* are incredibly offensive. Racism is very real in America (and elsewhere). The South has plenty of issues with racism (and homophobia and xenophobia, etc.) -- though, as others have pointed out much more eloquently than I, "the South" is not a monolith.

But, seriously, it's not the 1950s in the South -- it's really just not a thing that white people are expected to use the bathroom before black people.

My point is that this "story" tells more about the storyteller than the event itself. DGayle and her friend made some pretty vile assumptions. Not just about the South in general (and she really it clear later just how she feels about it!), but about how this random black woman in the bathroom must have viewed herself as a "3rd class animal."

And now I've probably officially beaten the dead horse.