I don't think it is ever a productive thing to generalize. Nor is it productive to make assumptions about subjects you don't know about. If you've never lived in the south then your perceptions of it may be a little skewed. Being from the south doesn't make you a racist because racism does not discriminate against who it plagues. Anyone can be a victim of racism. Oh yes, there is deep-rooted racism in the south. But we aren't the only place you can find racism. There is racism in every corner of every state, and in every other part of the world.
Racism comes in all shapes and sizes. There is the hateful, evil kind that we are all too familiar with. But then there is more subtle kind that may not be violent, but is still demoralizing, stratifying, and what I think is the root of our struggle with it in America.
Kids aren't born seeing people in color, at least not like we do. When I looked at my parents as an infant I didn't see my mom as Korean and my dad as White, I saw them as people, not judging them for any difference or nuance. As I got older, however, I felt people make a point to tell me I was different. That having two parents of different races was different. Was it hateful? Not always. I got teased here and there, but it made me uncomfortable in my own skin. Through the years I had a hard time not being able to identify with one race and I blamed that on the ignorance around me. The ignorance in Alabama. But ignorance and bigotry are not exclusive to Alabama, the south, or even white people. These issues are all people problems. And "people" is one category we all belong to.
Do you know what southern pride means to me? It means being who you are unapologetically, no matter what you are. It means being loud, and maybe a little rude sometimes when it comes to voicing you opinions. It means knowing it is okay to be offended, because not everyone is going to agree with us. We won't agree with everyone else and we get that, too. A disagreement, or even hurt feelings every now and then is good for you. It makes you a stronger person if you deal with it properly. If there's one thing that southerners have, it's thick skin.
Southern pride means freedom, which is something I think a lot of people that aren't from the south don't understand. It's about the freedom to be whoever you are, to fight for whatever you believe in. And if we step on a few toes along the way, we apologize for the inconvenience, but not for being ourselves. White people aren't the only people that have southern pride either. Every kind of southerner does. Now I won't deny that there are southerners out there that spoil it for the rest of us, but don't tell me that racism is a southern thing. Not too long ago, there were more members of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana than anywhere else in the country.
Racism isn't a southern thing, it's a people thing. It's a thing that a lot of people don't understand either. How can you fight something you don't understand? We need open conversation and open minded-ness from the north, south, the left, the right, and everything in between. We are all the problem, but we could all be the solution too.
