Alejandro: The American South was the seat of slavery in the US. After the Civil War (1861 - 1865), there was a brief period in some Southern states (1865 - 1877) when it looked liked the former slave masters would not be allowed to regain power. But, from 1877 - 1965 Jim Crow ruled in the South. Jim Crow was the name for America's system of Apartheid. During slavery and Jim Crow, many white churches split. The Southern Baptist Convention (which is today the largest Christian group in America) came into existence to support slavery. After that, the SBC supported Jim Crow. This is the Church of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Billy Graham. Each of these ministers were against every major piece of civil rights legislation (including voting rights), all of the objectives of the civil Rights movement. Robertson and Falwell vilified Martin Luther King. Each is also staunchly anti-union. Falwell called Desmond Tutu a "phony." Each is/was a staunch "anti-communist." The SBC, along with similar churches, taught that blacks should be subjected to slavery and, later, denied voting rights because blacks are being punished for the sins of Cain or the sins of Ham. Or, in direct contradiction, blacks weren't being punished but were merely being properly Christianized and civilized by whites. This same religious-political-economic formation strongly supported "states rights" against the evil federal government. So, states rights and local control became the code words for defending slavery and Jim Crow. When Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980 his first speech was in Mississippi where he openly supported "states rights." The phrase "states rights" is about as popular in the black community as "crusade" is in the Muslim community. This is basically the oligarchy that has controlled and continues to control the South. Low property taxes and no state income tax, along with poor public services or non-existent public services are standard fare in their public policy. They are not libertarians. They are stateist and corporatist. They want forced prayer in schools, even then what this group means by prayer is a Christian protestant prayer. They are against "mulit-culturalism" and any form of "secular humanism." Socialism is considered absolutely satanic. They are also against equality for women. The most conservative Southern Christians do not believe that a woman should have authority over men (in any capacity). Women should voluntarily submit to their husbands. Just as many Muslim women wear a vail, many Southern Christian women (regardless of race) where a hat over the head or have their head covered in some fashion as a symbol of voluntary submission to the male authority. Sexism, racism, and the dominance of the white elite have always been intimately (pun intended) and intricately linked in the South, combined with a large dose of xenophobia. All justified by the belief that God made America special, i.e., superior, and thus America has an obligation to export its way of life around the world. Note also that there is a deeply militaristic streak in Southern culture. peace, patrick At 09:50 AM 11/1/01 -0700, you wrote: >Hi, Patrick and Fred! > >Could you please clarify more what you mean for "Southerner" in your recent >posts? > >For example, Patrick refers to "the political economic ideology and >theology of the South". > > >Abrazos, > >Alejandro > > > > sotAt 09:42 1/11/01 -0500, you wrote: > > > >Fred: > > > >Thanks for your postings with actual data. The numbers help clarify things. > >I'll respond in a bit. > > > >As a fellow Southerner, I, too, do not think that it is a good thing that > >America has been Southernized!!! > > > >I was merely point out that the political economic ideology and theology of > >the South has now become over-arching framework for all American political > >rhetoric and public policy. > > > >peace, patrick > > > > > >At 01:19 AM 11/1/01 -0500, you wrote: > > > >>On Tue, 30 Oct 2001, Patrick L. Mason wrote: > >> > >> > Jerry: > >> > > >> > Conservatives really aren't interested in whether tax cuts generate > jobs. > >> > The supply-side language accompanying these cuts is just political >filler, > >> > spin control, unadulterated garbage. Rather, the real objective is the > >> > libertarian desire to reduce the size of government, to reduce > government > >> > spending and transfer payments purely for the sake of reducing > government > >> > spending and transfer payments. Lowering tax revenues creates a budget > >> > deficit that conservatives then argue can only be solved by lowering > >> > spending. The net impact is to redistribute income toward the wealthy. > >> > > >> > America has been Southernized. > >> > >>Which is really too bad, and I speak as one from the South, but with a > >>different point of view. > > > >
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