Dillards 24 - Smug Bible Tweets and Maneaters (Jill/Derick/Israel/Baby Dillard)

[Pukingpearl]

I am the child of mid westerners and grew up in the south. There's much about the south I loathe (the obvious things). But I am fiercely defensive of southern culture and there is so much beauty to be found in it that seems to be missing in the other places I've lived. The sense of community is so strong, and it permeates all aspects of life: food, family, friendship, faith. There is also a poetry to every day life that I find magical. 

I also get heated under the collar when southerners are all portrayed as ignorant, or bigots, or religious nut jobs. I grew up in a pretty religious town, but still many, many of my friends were educated and open-minded. I know that there are in fact many people in he south with horrible beliefs and attitudes to others, and I'm not trying to downplay that. But I think it's important to call out the individuals and not the whole. I felt the same way when i was living abroad during the Bush era and Europeans would constantly ask my why I supported the wars and guns and Guantanamo...umm I didn't! 

Also, I currently live in a very Yankee state and there are confederate flags everywhere! I don't really even get it...maybe it's a rural thing? 

 

ETA: I feel like I need to express more that I think slavery and racism and also indirectly benefiting off those things is a true atrocity. And I respect that my experiences in the south are much different than many other people's experiences. 

[CreationMuseumCurator]

Poor Dillards. I don't often feel sympathy for them, but today is different. The only soft spot I have for Derick is the loss of his dad. 

The anniversary of a loss is always hard. The days leading up to it, and the days following it, are usually pretty awful, too. I hope they're all being allowed to process the day in a way that feels natural to them, not being shamed for legitimate grief. Even Jesus grieved loss. 

17 minutes ago, Pukingpearl said:

Also, I currently live in a very Yankee state and there are confederate flags everywhere! I don't really even get it...maybe it's a rural thing? 

I'm in Kansas and see the same thing. We were a free state, so it makes absolutely no sense. I think it has less to do with location and more to do with the desired political statement.

[ViolaSebastian]

For some reason, I see Confederate flags a lot in Ohio. Why, of all places, Ohio?!

[LaPeleona]

In Nothern California there is an area that calls itself the 51st state. Lots of confederate flags and camo. 

[SassyPants]

13 minutes ago, LaPeleona said:

In Nothern California there is an area that calls itself the 51st state. Lots of confederate flags and camo. 

Far Eastern Northern CA- Western North Nevada-

Man, those folks must hate living in CA at all-

[SilverBeach]

I don't know that GWTW is a romance novel.

If your ancestors owned slaves, hopefully they did not become terrorists during reconstruction and afterwards. I wouldn't be dismissive about that, as there as still black people in the south that won't look a white person in the eye. Plus, your ancestors owe for that unpaid labor that likely benefited you.

I grew up in Chicago eating grits, Alaga syrup, greems, hamhocks, sweet potatoes, and other southern specialties. My mom was from Arkansas, and this is the food she loved. I do also, although I use smoked turkey in my greens now. Many northern blacks have southern roots and have nothing against southern culture per se. They did not like jim crow and limited employment opportunities and being disenfranchised, leading to the great migration.

Yes, the North had/has racism, but not chattel slavery and that back of the bus stuff.

I am pessimistic about race relations in the US, north, south, everywhere.

 

[Jinder Roles]

How does Jill miss a man she's never met?

Also, this is BEC but that crying emoji is usually used link crying with laughter or in joking. Not a serious post. Jill just seems so immature to me. She talks like a 13 yr old with her first crush.

[SilverBeach]

18 minutes ago, LaPeleona said:

In Nothern California there is an area that calls itself the 51st state. Lots of confederate flags and camo. 

This is quite scary.

[Timetostoplurking]

I have never seen a confederate flag in Minnesota.   Never!!   But then, we are about as "northern" as you can get.  (I do see a  lot of Norwegian flags. Lol)

[wikinggirl]

14 minutes ago, Jinder Roles said:

How does Jill miss a man she's never met?

Also, this is BEC but that crying emoji is usually used link crying with laughter or in joking. Not a serious post. Jill just seems so immature to me. She talks like a 13 yr old with her first crush.

I thought the same thing. She can be sad that she and her kid(s) never got to meet him, but miss him? 

12 minutes ago, Timetostoplurking said:

I have never seen a confederate flag in Minnesota.   Never!!   But then, we are about as "northern" as you can get.  (I do see a  lot of Norwegian flags. Lol)

Well, it is the best flag!  I love waving my little flag on May 17th (Norwegian Constitution Day, not because it's Jill's birthday!)

[Meridae]

23 minutes ago, Jinder Roles said:

How does Jill miss a man she's never met?

Also, this is BEC but that crying emoji is usually used link crying with laughter or in joking. Not a serious post. Jill just seems so immature to me. She talks like a 13 yr old with her first crush.

That emoji can be used for either laughter or genuine sadness. She did use it in an appropriate context.

[xlurker]

10 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

Gettysburg is an uncanny place. It is good to go there when it's less populated.. you can hear things.

Kid #1 went to Gettysburg College, and for 4 wonderful years visited at all times of year.  It is wonderful when its quiet.  Spent a whole lot of time roaming around the battle field

[SportsgalAnnie]

The Town I'm from actually was very pro union. It was a poor farm town in Appalachia and often times everyone would be working hand in hand. I also found out my great great grandma was a full blooded Cherokee who helped people out on the underground railroad  

[FloraKitty35]

I saw a Confederate flag last spring in Rhode Island.

[srosieb827]

On 1/17/2017 at 7:46 AM, Snarkle Motion said:

Not only was the south terrible for black slaves, there was vast income inequality between rich and poor whites. But poor whites had the social status of being above blacks and could dream of being landowners one day (even though it was near impossible- can't compete with a farm that has slave labor!) so they didn't recognize the inequality of their own situation. I see this as still relevant in a lot of ways. 

These issues really always come down to class.  It has very little to do with race in the end. Poor whites of the time would say at least I'm better of than slaves and have my freedom, I must be better than them.  Meanwhile the wealthy land and slave owners are more than willing to feed into that narrative and tell them if they work hard they can be in the same spot one day, even though it will never happen, in exchange for their loyalty and numbers. 

This explains the political situation we find ourselves in today where poor white working class vote against their own interests consistently.  If you're poor and white you want to feel superior to someone and the only people left are poor minorities.  The wealthy offer them as a scapegoat, blame them for everything that is wrong with our country today, while the white working class and poor pledge their allegiance to the wealthy who are really out to screw them every chance they can, cutting healthcare, benefits, increasing taxes, lowering education standards and funding etc. They buy into the narrative that if you work hard you'll be able to support yourself and your family but don't realize you shouldn't have to kill yourself to afford healthcare - the wealthy certainly aren't. In reality white working class have more in common with minorities in terms of opportunity and culture, but their natural desire to feel like they aren't at the bottom of the food chain, coupled with a convenient and appealing narrative that allies them with a group they have nothing in common with but desire to be a part of keeps racism and conservative politics going strong. 

This isn't just in the South.  The Boston Busing riots in the 70's were 100% race driven on the surface, but really were about disadvantaged white working class willing to scapegoat the black working class in other neighborhoods for their problems, all the while no one was paying attention to the fact that the wealthy white kids were STILL getting a better education and more opportunities than anyone else. 

[Denim Jumper]

On 1/17/2017 at 9:07 PM, luxfilia said:

Southerner (born and raised) and avid reader here. I think you're SUPPOSED to hate Scarlett. Many of the nuances are overlooked by those reading it at face value.

Agreed. Full disclosure: I've read the book probably a dozen times, along with Roots and Queen, as part of an annual ritual where I reread several sagas. It wasn't until after the 3rd or 4th read that I realized Scarlet is supposed to be an unlikeable character. She's complex, in the sense that the reader is both disgusted by her and in awe of how much of a survivor she is, just as the characters in the story are both disgusted by her, yet utterly dependent on her for their survival. 

[WhoompThereItIs]

22 hours ago, ChickenettiLuvr said:

I realize I'm a latecomer to the Gone With the Wind discussion... but here lies my dos pesos' worth:

As a Yankee girl dropped into the Deep Old South for college, I was bewildered by the portion of Freshman Orientation that "politely" informed us Yankees and/or folks of color where not to go in the metro area. (True Story, sadly.)

Imagine my further confusion when told that many of the good southern folk were "unaware" that You-Know-Who marched through You-Know-Where and ... well ... you know the story.

The mysterious phenomenon continued through my first two places of employment after graduation... having to answer:  "Who is your daddy?" and "Who are your mama's people?"

To this day, I've yet to be able to sit through the entirety of GWTW. (*ducks for cover north of the Mason-Dixon Line*)

This happened to my friend, who grew up in the projects. The group leader warned everyone not to go to that part of the metro area, and their response was," sooo, you don't want me to go home?" 

 

 

 

 

 

[onekidanddone]

12 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

Ugh The Great Gatsby.  Had to read that for English 101 my first year at college.  Wanted to through the damn thing across the room. Boring  as fuck.  Reading about a bunch of self centered narcissists just didn't click with me. 

Oh dear gawd!  I can't type. "Wanted to throw not through"  I sound as illiterate as the evil cheese puff.

 

[VeganCupcake]

Derick sounds like such an ignorant idiot on Twitter. He should delete his account. 

[Lizzybet]

2 hours ago, Jinder Roles said:

How does Jill miss a man she's never met?

Also, this is BEC but that crying emoji is usually used link crying with laughter or in joking. Not a serious post. Jill just seems so immature to me. She talks like a 13 yr old with her first crush.

She also said she misses Jubilee. I don't know if Jill has some cognitive disability, or what's going on with her, but to me, you can only miss who/what was once a presence in your life.

This, in my IMO, isn't [only] because she's poorly educated, but because she just can't grasp basic concepts. Why? I don't know.

[Meridae]

9 hours ago, princessmahina said:

Living in the deep south (Alabama), I find the heritage vs. hate debate an interesting one, especially in light of the shitstorm that went down when they took the flag down in Montgomery a couple years back.

My take on it is that it's heritage when the Confederate flag is in a museum (or another historical-type exhibit) with the purpose of education or if it's on the grave of a Confederate soldier. I find both of those totally okay. I find it hateful when it's anywhere else-- a flag hanging on a truck, dangling over a courthouse (I can't even imagine how a person of color would feel walking into a courthouse with the Confederate flag hanging over it), bumper stickers, etc. 

It gets fuzzy when it comes to re-enactments because the historian in me loves watching things that are historically accurate, but the rest of me gets a little (or more than a little) weirded out by people who get really excited dressing like Confederate soldiers. 

My boyfriend's best friend happens to be black. He owns a Confederate flag, hangs it above his bed, and made a point to save it during the Louisiana flooding last summer. He's certainly not indicative of every POC (or white people, for that matter- I can't stand that damn flag) but there truly are some Southern minorities who embrace the Confederate flag as part of their heritage.

[CreationMuseumSeasonPass]

I've seen Confederate flags here in Iowa. Granted, it's mostly in the rural areas. I don't think it's a heritage statement, as much as it's alt-right political propaganda. Since we're on this topic, a few years ago, my mom told me one of my ancestors is Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. She's like my great-great-great aunt or something. That's pretty cool.

My in-laws moved to Mississippi a little more than a year ago. My MIL didn't care what state they retired to, as long as she lived on the beach. At first, they were going to get a house near Virginia Beach. But then, my FIL decided that state wasn't red/conservative enough. That's why they chose Mississippi, because my FIL thinks it's the reddest state in the nation, and compatible with his politics. That was the reason they moved across the entire country. I'M NOT KIDDING.

When we visited last Christmas, we went to the Jefferson Davis Confederate Presidential Museum in Biloxi. I love going to presidential museums, and hey, it IS a part of the country's history. At the gift shop, my FIL found a portrait of confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. My husband's family comes from a long line of military service. His grandfather was on Omaha Beach during DDay.

Anyways, at the gift shop, my FIL wanted to buy the EXPENSIVE Nathan Bedford Forrest portrait. I asked in shock, "Why?!" He answered, "Because he was a brilliant military strategist." So, I replied, "Well, he was also the first grand wizard of the KKK, so that definitely overrides any of his military genius."

My FIL bought the portrait anyway and hung it over his computer at his house. I love my in-laws, but I have to add, my husband is as far left as his parents are far right. Mr. Museum is a big Bernie Sanders fan.

[princessmahina]

Just now, Meridae said:

My boyfriend's best friend happens to be black. He owns a Confederate flag, hangs it above his bed, and made a point to save it during the Louisiana flooding last summer. He's certainly not indicative of every POC (or white people, for that matter- I can't stand that damn flag) but there truly are some Southern minorities who embrace the Confederate flag as part of their heritage.

I find it so unbelievably incredible that there are people out there like that. It's not something I could ever understand, I guess.

[kjmackin]

23 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

I also find the South to be oppressive to those of us who aren't religious.  

Currently in Oklahoma and I don't think oppressive is a strong enough word when it comes to it. I stop attending church during college & gave up believing Jesus was more then a moral philosopher maybe even longer. But if I voice that around most people I would be more of a lepeer to society then what I'm because I don't go to church, think Senator Inofe is amazeballs, or Donald Trump is the second coming of Reagan. Hell, I kept my Bernie & Clinton stickers  tucked away at home let alone my past of volunteering for Obama in 2008. And my lady parts justice shirt is kept out of rotation unless I go to a safe liberal place  

 

When I was working for OkState IT University ( the technical side of Derick's uni) it was common to be asked if I believed in God or what church I went to on regular basis. 

[candygirl200413]

I live in PA and the middle (which we call pennsyltucky) is like confederate flags galore. So Im assuming it's just more of a rural thing! I remember learning from my teacher who I think grew up in middle of no-where PA told us how they get some day off in Jan/Feb to go hunt and that's when me and my peers were like ohh this isn't just a southern thing...