[Write14u]

As with much in life, hate can be passed down generationally and this happens a lot in the South. I already expressed my thoughts on displaying the Confederate flag, but I'll say one thing: I've seen just as much racism and hatred in other areas of the country. Southerners, however, don't pull punches. If they're a racist sonofabitch, they'll put it right out there, unlike some of the people I've met from other regions who are just as racist but perhaps smarter in that they don't voice it. Racism and hatred -- and the symbols that advocate it -- need to be erased.

Now, moving on to honor the spirit of Wicket's inital post ...

I've lived my entire life in the South, although I've traveled the U.S. extensively. I love the South. I love driving down a street and having some grandpa at his mailbox wave to me. I love my mom's pecan pie and recognize that tea just isn't right unless it's sweet (even though I'm not fond of it. LOL)

The U.S. is just amazing in its beauty and the South is no different. There are beautiful mountains and rolling plains. There's stark beauty to be found in some places and oddities in others. There's something that's oddly crazy beautiful about kudzu overtaking an abandoned house.

I freely acknowledge that there are weird things that happen anywhere in this country, but I'm here to tell you, you haven't seen true weird til you've seen Southern weird. There's things that happen here that couldn't ever happen anywhere else.

There's so much diversity in the music the South has accounted for, from the best of blues and jazz to country and even rap.

The bad stuff stands out like a wart on the end of a nose, but as Wicket says, there's much to love and enjoy here.

So that said, I'll leave you with some of my favorite lyrics from my favorite band, Alabama:
"I'll speak my Southern English, as natural as I please. I'm in the heart of Dixie, Dixie's in the heart of me."