Are southern White Americans anti-communist?

[black sheep.]

Southern whites have a reputation for being racist and anti-worker. Is this true for the vast majority of them? Is it possible to change the beliefs of southern whites?
Does poverty in Appalachia encourage communist growth? I am a southern white (with some Cherokee Indian blood), but I am a black sheep.
I am a communist. I have realized that the Democratic party's mix of socialism and capitalism has not solved our
nations economic, social, and economic problems. It has instead lead to a nation of welfare recipients and
neo-colonialism.
Anyways, I believe that Communists and other anti-Americans claim to believe all men are created equal. However, they single out American whites (southerners in particular) as evil. So, I want to know if there is a future for communism among southern whites.

[Dirty Commie]

I'm on florida, and there is no communist hope in the majority of southerners.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

So, I want to know if there is a future for communism among southern whites.


NO
They don't see the oppression at all, they deny all our claims, they have an unconditional love for american capitalism, they have an unconditional hatred for all things socialist. The only hope for a communist revolution in America is if it becomes heavily syndicated, or the economy collapses from the lack of foreigners to exploit due to communit revolutions, or both.
welcome to the boards, by the way.

[Umoja]

This is true everywhere in America. Southerners just act different culturally, but aren't much different from people in Boston or probubly most people in LA. Just different ways of expressing patriotism (and even many who aren't patriotic are capitalist).

[redstar2000]

There certainly are still some striking regional differences in the U.S. -- even the term "South" is misleading as there are clear differences between urban and rural southerners.

But I think such differences are not very significant; if 88% of the people in Craptown, Georgia, support President Bush while only 63% of the people in San Francisco do...what real difference are we talking about here?

Right now and into the foreseeable future, the American working class identifies with U.S. imperialism...the small number of exceptions simply don't weigh heavily enough to matter.

Every American communist (or one who wants to be one) faces difficult choices. Depending on the kind of revolutionary work you want to do, you can usually locate some place where something, even if very small, is at least taking place. You can move to San Francisco or New York...but it takes a lot of money to live in those places. And even there, you are still very marginal to the capitalist society that surrounds you.

Or you can follow my advice and get the hell out of this shithole as soon as you can; go to some country where you can do something with real impact. Compared to the level of struggle in countries like France, Germany, Italy and even England, all of the U.S. is a great desert, an imperial wasteland of shopping malls, fast food feeding pens, prisons, and security checks.

It will be different in the next century, of course...but we live in this one.

:cool:

[Moskitto]

I was told this about American politics.

North is more Liberal than the South
North-East is more Liberal than North-West
South-West is more Liberal than North-East
Midwest is ultra-Conservative
Texas is proper nasty right with psychos

But I don't know where Alaska and Hawaii are

So judging by this, Redstar would be right in saying approval ratings for George Bush are higher in Georgia than San Francisco (assuming I've got my geography right.)

[Severian]

I live in Alabama myself, though I'm not from around here originally...

I don't think the southeast is necessarily more racist than the rest of the country - anymore. Even by some numerical measures, it's actually less segregated - in terms of schools, and residentially. The most segregated cities in the U.S. are Chicago and Cleveland.

I don't necessarily think southern whites are necessarily more racist in terms of consciousness, either.

As for liberal vs. conservative, who gives a fuck? What significance does that distinction have anyway?

There is a significant difference, though, in terms of the strength of the labor movement. Not just in organization, but in consciousness. A partial exception: some of the coal-mining regions.

(So I'd say there's potential for communism in parts of Appalachia, not so much 'cause of poverty, but because of the history of struggle associated with the miners.)

This difference is largely part of the legacy of Jim Crow. With Jim Crow gone, the possibility exists of making up the historic gap in working-class organization and consciousness....but that's not to say it'll be easy.

[Blibblob]

I'm on florida, and there is no communist hope in the majority of southerners.
Floida isn't full of "southerners". You'd have to go miles to find a real redneck. Florida is full of Republican wanna-be-northerners. They look like northerners, talk completely different than southerners(but not really like northerners...), and act like a bunch of morons! Although they follow Bush just like any other redneck...

Before the south can become communist, they'd have to get brains. They'd have to get some smarts.

[Dirty Commie]

You'd be surprised where a redneck will turn up.

[truthaddict11]

i find it insulting that anyone thinks that "the south" is nothing but racist anti-communist hicks. because it certainly isnt.

[Dirty Commie]

Quote: from truthaddict11 on 11:52 am on May 23, 2003
i find it insulting that anyone thinks that "the south" is nothing but racist anti-communist hicks. because it certainly isnt.


No, it isn't, but I'd say that the majority if southerners are anti-communists.
However, the same people who are the anti-communists down here are also ignorant of what communism is.

[truthaddict11]

its not like "the north" is pro-communist" though

[Dirty Commie]

I know, but there is less anti-communist sentiment, and unions are more common.

[Umoja]

Everyone here seems to hold a more regional bias. Firstly- "Redneck" is not a nice term, it's in a way extremely racist to say.
Secondly- Of course the South has less Unions, it's not as industrialized. Most farmers, and workers in small business don't need Union.

[Organic Revolution]

i used to live in the south and i was a communist and people hated me there. so i say yes there is alot of anmti communist sentiment

[Blibblob]

Everyone here seems to hold a more regional bias. Firstly- "Redneck" is not a nice term, it's in a way extremely racist to say.
Secondly- Of course the South has less Unions, it's not as industrialized. Most farmers, and workers in small business don't need Union.
I'm sorry about the redneck thing... but, what else can we call them, they can't just be southerners! Not all southerners are like them!
Take a look at Atlanta... thats not really farming and small businesses. Nor is Florida. Personal farmlands are dissapearing, companies are taking them over and causing the farmers to go bankrupt. Mechanized farming is destroying the art of it.

[Dirty Jersey]

I think that since alot of southern states (ie: Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Viginia, Texas, and South Carolina) are known for having very poor educational standards that they don't know enough about communism to have a valid opinion. They just soak up what parents, friends, and the media tell them is correct. Its the same for all US states, but especially in the old South.

[Severian]

"Redneck" reflects not just regional, but class prejudice. Like "white trash."

The weakness of the labor movement in the southeast is not just because of less industrialization (which is probably not even true anymore, due to all the industry that's moved here looking for lower wages.) Southern industry is less likely to be unionized. North Carolina has a larger percentage of industrial workers than any other state (textile) and the lowest percentage of unionization (also 'cause of textile.)

It has HISTORICAL causes, like most anything having to do with the relation of class forces anywhere.

[Blibblob]

I think that since alot of southern states (ie: Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Viginia, Texas, and South Carolina) are known for having very poor educational standards that they don't know enough about communism to have a valid opinion. They just soak up what parents, friends, and the media tell them is correct. Its the same for all US states, but especially in the old South.
Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Florida here, has like the second worst school system in the Nation. And the US itself has a VERY crappy school system.


It has HISTORICAL causes, like most anything having to do with the relation of class forces anywhere.
Yes, forgot about that. The ties in the old south. Since many's ancestors were either slaves, or slave owners. Um, can't tie that in very well... help?

[black sheep.]

I agree that the terms "white trash" and "redneck" are
racist. Marxism views racism as a result of capitalism. Some white southerners have been brainwashed by capitalism. They believe communists and non-whites are the "enemy".

Now you have to remember that all of the South is'nt the same. There is Appalachia and the deep south.
Appalachians are not as prejudiced against non-whites as deep southerners. As for myself, I would never live in Mississippi or Alabama. It has too many racist people. I live in East Tennessee. It's not too bad. At least people here keep racism to themselves. Actually, among Pentecostal churches here you can see some actual racial harmony between blacks and whites.

[Severian]

Blibblob, I think it has more to do with Jim Crow segregation than slavery directly, like I said before.

Black sheep, I think you're making overly sweeping generalizations about Alabama, Mississippi, etc.

E.g. north Alabama is basically hill country like east Tennessee, West Virginia, etc. Most people there opposed secession, Winston County in north Alabama tried to rebel against the Confederacy.

Yet Cullman, which at that time was part of Winston County, today has a deserved reputation as the most racist place in Alabama. So I don't know that the hill country is automatically less racist than other places. Fewer Black people there, certainly.

Interesting comment about the Pentecostals, though. Churches generally being among the most segregated of institutions, the Pentecostals are a semi-exception to that, aren't they?