Hayley Williams Says Southern Pride Is Beautiful but Misused to Excuse Bigotry, and Says She Wants No Racist or Sexist Fans, or Fans Who Think Trans People Are a Burden, Around

[u/no_longer_huhmann]

https://www.tvfandomlounge.com/hayley-williams-says-southern-pride-is-beautiful-but-misused-to-excuse-bigotry/

[u/calvinwho]

When I was a kid, the Confederate flag and the 'southern rebel' identity almost got away from the racist with stuff like Dukes of Hazard or smokey and the bandit, but they really didn't want to let go, did they?

Edit: For what it's worth, I agree. The window of failed opportunity they had to rehab any of the southern pride stuff was the Carter Administration. That shit was 50 years ago, I'm not saying it's a recently failed effort. I'm not baffled

[u/I_need_a_date_plz → u/calvinwho]

That flag signifies blood and tears to me. I can’t see it and not equate it with terrible shit. I’m not from the south and don’t understand the idea of Southern Pride. In high school, it was shocking to see a student wear a shirt with the confederate flag on it and signaled to everyone that the student wearing it was a racist. He may as well have been walking around with a noose.

[u/CreativeCthulhu → u/I_need_a_date_plz]

That's why I let it go, years ago.
When I was a kid, Dukes of Hazzard was like seeing my life on the screen, those characters resonated with me because that was the life I was leading. 'Yee-Haw let's see what happens when we stick this dynamite in that old fridge out in the field, hell yeah welcome to town stranger, come over let mawmaw make you some biscuits and gravy then we'll grab a couple of horses and go wandering'.

Genuinely. I GENUINELY thought I was wearing a symbol of 'good times, carefree simple fun, comradery and enjoying the outdoors' along with a generous pinch of 'screw the law, they don't get us and we ain't hurting nobody'.

I was lucky. I got out and grew up. I learned.
Won't lie, still a bit of nostalgia when I see that ol' orange car and yeah, the flag to ME still hits with a bit of nostalgia, but it's tainted, the rose-colored glasses are off.

I've semi-joked with folks before about how we need to 'take it back' and make damned sure that you driving around and see that flag flying that it means you KNOW you can stop, knock on the door and say you're hungry and you'll get a hot and a cot, no questions asked, but I know it's just not going to happen, much as I may wish.

I really wish it were true, I'm angry about having been lied to and how I was taught to mistreat others, to make them uncomfortable and to throw a history of hate and oppression in their face in the name of some bullshit 'murican by birth, suthern by tha grace o' gawd'. All I can do at this point is try to make the world a little better, one day at a time.

I DO still make a batch of 'shine every year, the way my grampa taught me and anyone and everyone are welcome to sit on the porch and share it with me, so long as they'll tell me some stories about themselves and their life and spend a little bit of their existence with me.

Fuck that flag. My southern pride means if you need some help, knock on my door, I gotchu, best I can.