All you have to do is be David Putz, I mean Plotz, editor of Slate.com and author of the article they’ve re-published for seven straight Augusts . . . you know, the one that begins:
August is the Mississippi of the calendar. It’s beastly hot and muggy. It has a dismal history. Nothing good ever happens in it. And the United States would be better off without it. …
(h/t Scout)
Mr. Plotz did not bother to visit (at least) north Mississippi this August. Wonderfully mild, albeit seasonably warm. Yesterday was overcast and early downright cool. Yep, fall in the air. It was 68 when I walked out of the house this morning.
Slate is the Tupelo of e-zines.
Well … my great great grandfathers and others tried to relieve the nation of Misipy nearly 150 years ago, but the nation preferred not to let ‘em go.
Ben, I’m about ready to try it once again. (If California, for instance, wanted to secede and join Mexico, I would not object. There are a few other states I would sacrifice, if necessary —few worth fighting to keep).
Warts and all, I love Mississippi. No one is forcing anyone to visit us or to live here. Its still a free country. If you don’t like it, keep your ass out. More room and space for those of us that do. That includes Mr. Putz.
Du bist arschloch.raus mit,undt nach der Teufel mit du
We don’t want no trouble here, in any language.
AFOTL: I lived all my adult life outside Mississippi. It’s an eye-opening and horizon-lifting experience. Mississippi could be so much more, but it affirmatively resists change, progress, and development. We aren’t going to keep up with the rest of the nation so long as we cloak ourselves in insularity and xenophobia. It isn’t everyone else who has it wrong about us … we are the ones compelled seemingly always to find a low road and stick to it no matter the consequences.
I don’t know about that xenophobia business. I have lived elsewhere, too. Some of my best friends are yankees. Most of them, I would classify as insular xenophobes, but xenophobes with money and bike lane equipped living places (and Fresh Markets). The key to enlightenment seems to be Fresh Markets.
I was born in Mississippi and have lived my entire life in Mississippi. And, God willing, I hope to live a long and fruitful remaining life here, and eventually die here.
I love many things about Mississippi — its soulful and colorful people and characters; the honesty, genuineness, and realness of its inhabitants; the relatively mild winters, the ryhthm and coolness of its springs, the colorful and cool falls, and the hot and sticky summers; the great food and cooking traditions; the music, including the origins of gospel, blues, and rock; the timeless culture; its diverse foliage; its abundant wildlife, hunting , fishing and other outdoor opportunities; its rivers and streams, including the grandest one of all– the MS River; the rich Delta land; the Hill Country; the MS Gulf Coast; its abundant artists, writers, musicians, actors, professional sports stars and other entertainers; the fact that folks of all colors and ethnic backgrounds have been living, working and playing together for many years, enduring much turbulence along the way, but reaching a point now that few other state populations have achieved; its generally slower pace; college football, especially my beloved Ole Miss Rebels, and tailgating in the Grove on a fall Saturday ; the too numerous to mention little holes in the wall and dives where fine food and entertainment abound; etc. etc. (I am sure some of you can add even more positive attributes to my brief list).
Ben, maybe you should visit MS more often. I have traveled to a lot of places across the US, and none are as appealing to me as my home state. I usually wind up saying about these other places: ..”it’s a fun place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there”.
“Statistically Mississippi often appears last when ranked with the other states. However, the numbers do not reveal the significant contributions the people of Mississippi have made to the state and to the nation. Mississippians have changed the face of American life in science, art, industry, athletics, and entertainment.”
http://www2.nemcc.edu/mspeople/1st_facts.htm
http://www.mississippibelieveit.com/
I guess I’ll never understand why truly enlightened people visit Mississippi or gawd forbid, move back here to live ‘cuz by their standards the State and most of its inhabitants rate slightly lower than a common outhouse shithole. The truly ignorant write about those things of which they know nothing, my example of course: Mr. Putz. The question is, who is in charge of setting the standards? And the follow-up question is who died and left them in charge anyway.
P.S. Lotus, I think you had it right to begin with in naming Mr. Putz.
The key to enlightenment seems to be Fresh Markets.
That or Whole Foods.
I visited Slate, looked up Mr. Putz bio and IMHO this young upstart raised in DC and educated at Harvard has never set foot in Mississippi. Yet I have been to DC and to Harvard and guess where I had rather be in August. The year I was there, gee, they were having a heat wave, people were passing out from the heat, while the B&B we stayed at in Conn. had to provide my family with blankets at night. Yanks are candy butts when it comes to heat, very few people in large spaces, and Fresh Markets.
I’m not denying what you say, mag, just pointing out that next to you, everybody I can think of to name is a candy butt.
Long ago, I decided that our low ranking is actually the result of a well-thought-out disinformation campaign by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Otherwise, we’d be up to our asses in damn Yankees.
By the way, Lotus dear, your new spam filter sucks.