Heart of Dixie

Thursday night I went out to have drinks with Dutch and some of her friends from work. It was a good time as they are all really cool, fun people. All except for this one girl, who we’ll call Ellie May. I had never met Ellie May before but I knew about her since she’s from Savannah, like Dutch. When she asked me where I was from I told her I was for Birmingham, Alabama, which is unusual for me. Most of the time I lie and say I’m from Atlanta or only give half the story and say I moved up from Athens. But for whatever the reason, maybe it’s because I just saw my dad this weekend or because I’ve been listening to a lot of Drive-By Truckers recently, I told the truth about where I’m from. She then preceded to got this look on her face and said something to the effect of "I would never step foot in Alabama".

Now this is the exact reason I usually don’t fess up about my real hometown. People are quick enough to judge you when they find out you’re from the South, but when they find out you’re from Alabama, it’s even worse. Alabama sucks, I know this better than almost anybody and I’ll be the first to admit it. But that night, her attitude really got to me. It’s sort of like how you can talk shit about your siblings but as soon as anyone else does, you get all defensive. I expect Yankees and Midwestern to judge who I am or run down my home when they find out it’s Alabama. I mean, most of their knowledge of the South comes from Deliverance and Jeff Foxworthy comedy specials. But I won’t by looked down on by somebody whose from a state that elected a governor because he promised to put the Confederate Battle Emblem back on the state flag. And let’s be honest, Ellie May, if an outsider observer had to guess which one of us was from Alabama, they probably wouldn’t pick me, since I’m not the one who sounds like a goddamn cracker when they talk. Try and keep that in mind, Hot Shot.

(Incidently, don’t take all of this to mean that I’m now on some "The South Will Rise Again" kick. There are a lot of things I still don’t like about the South, in general, and Alabama, in particular. I’m just not going to be ashamed of where I’m from, that’s all)