This week, I stumbled upon the article titled, 'Southern Hospitality is as Fake As The People Who Practice It'. I understand that Odyssey is a place to make your voice heard, and it’s not often that I feel the need to respond, but this time, I do.

Before I get started I would like to point out that this is not a rant because I am easily offended, as the article suggested. Rather, this is a counter-argument for the points made by the author that I believe are incorrect.

I grew up in an area that would definitely be considered the Deep South. To put into perspective how southern my town is, we literally had a farm on our middle school campus, and were required to take a class that had us shoveling manure and collecting eggs from chicken coops.

That being said, I will be the first to tell you that the South isn’t all sweet tea and “thank you ma’ams”. I don’t always agree with the political aspects of the region I grew up in, and I am most definitely not as proper on a daily basis as I am when my grandma is around. I understand that not all people from this region deserve praise for their actions.

However, I feel the points made in “Southern Hospitality is as Fake As The People Who Practice It” are unfair, overgeneralized statements. The first point I disagreed with was:

“Saying ‘I practice Southern Hospitality’ to me now translates to ‘I’m completely two-faced and you’ll never know how I really feel about you.’”

First of all, no one says, “I practice Southern Hospitality”. In fact, I’m not sure the words “Southern Hospitality” are said very often in the South. I have heard the term when people from other parts of the country discuss the region, but it’s not like this is something we are inherently aware of “practicing” as the author said.

We don’t take courses in the subject, and when we misbehave, out parents don’t say, “hush now, you have to practice your Southern Hospitality”. The mannerisms come from being immersed in the culture of the area. You don’t learn a Bostonian accent, do you? You just do it from growing up in Boston, right? The same thing applies to mannerisms. Speaking of manners leads me to the next excerpt I have trouble accepting:

If you have to hide your social judgments with “please”, “thank you”, and “bless your heart”; you’re being fake. I prefer the north, where people don’t hide their judgments in kind words: they wear them on their sleeve.

Please stop me now if you can honestly say in the depths of your heart that you have never talked about someone behind their back. Seriously. I will stop writing this instant and go buy a New England Patriots jersey and wear it ‘til I die if you can say that with complete sincerity. That’s all I really have to say about that.

I am not going to touch the statistics about a higher crime rate and Jim Crow laws. But I will say that they have very little to do with the modern idea of Southern Hospitality, which is what the article implies. There are much stronger links to these phenomena than “being fake”. Violence, for example, is connected to regions with a high rate of poverty. Which could very likely be the reason, as the South has the highest poverty rate in the country.

As for Jim Crow laws, I will not create excuses for the past. Jim Crow laws were implemented nearly 70 years ago, and are by no means something I would like to defend. However, I will say that there are racists in the South. And there are racists in the north. There are racists everywhere. Their actions are not excusable, but I did not think that racism and “being fake” are even something that should be compared. One is a very serious offense, and the other is just petty.

I will say, though, that if you are trying to equate the two, you will fail because those who are racist are very open about it and definitely don’t try to hide it with Southern Hospitality niceties.

Moving on, here is the final passage I disagree with:

Recently, a Louisiana native pulled the wool right over my own eyes. She came to my house, cooked me and my family many great meals, and showered us with compliments and kind words. In reality, she had a huge problem with my jokes, my political beliefs, my religious attitudes, my cussing, and the rest of my family.

The first question I have about this is, what relationship with this woman? She cooked you many great meals, so is she a family friend? Or is she employed by someone in your family? Either way, just because someone doesn’t tell you outright that they disagree with you, that doesn’t mean they are being fake. In fact, I think she was being the bigger adult in this scenario. Despite her differing opinions, she was kind and helpful. Who says her compliments weren’t genuine? Being civil with others despite differences in opinion is something more people need to practice. Good on her.

To conclude, I think that saying Southern Hospitality is a guise to be fake is grossly inaccurate. This cultural behavior isn’t a cover up for Southerners to be rude. There are terrible people everywhere and to use the South as a scapegoat for all the two-faced people out there is just unfair. Be nice and spread good vibes always.

Also, that cover photo is the worst. I wish it didn't exist.