You Can "Flyover" My Ass

Growing up in Arkansas, I was surrounded by the ignorance, bigotry, and poverty one imagines existing in the South. I was also surrounded by far-right Christians/Republicans who had a severe distaste for both of the coasts. This dislike was partly based on the fact that the coasts are more liberal (and therefore morally corrupt), partly based on a deep distrust of the North from the time of the the Civil War and Reconstruction, and partly based on the impression that the West Coast and the East Coast (I'll call them Coasties from now on) look down on us Southerners/Midwesterners. We're nothing but the "flyover" only to be courted or cared about during election season.

As the extremely liberal child of a well-educated liberal family, I always chalked up the latter distrust of the Coasties to the same prejudiced-based mantra that the other distrusts came from. They were just being paranoid and trying to come up with any reason not to vote Democratic. To me, Boston, New York, DC, and San Francisco were meccas I couldn't wait to pilgrimage to, where I would find like-minded people who were open-minded, socialist, secular, and compassionate. After attending college in Missouri (where there were more liberals, but still a general distrust of the Coasties), I moved to DC for grad school. At first, it was everything that I imagined. I was surrounded (even during the Bush Administration) with people I thought were like me. They abhorred prejudice, ignorance, and wanted to change the world.

And then? I realized that the South and Midwest weren't actually that paranoid after all.

Over the last two years I cannot count the times that I or my fellow "Coastal immigrants" have encountered Coasties who would balk at saying anything negative about blacks or gays, but who take no second thought to insulting, stereotyping, and completely dismissing the South, the Midwest, and the millions of people who live there. I cannot count the times that I tell people I'm from Arkansas and they make a derogatory comment or face about either the South or about me. I cannot even recall the many times I've heard blatant bigotry spoken by people with high-caliber educations. From people who believe themselves to be educated, learned, cosmopolitan people. From people that I count as dear and beloved friends.

And the kicker? Most of these "Cosmopolitan people" have never even been to the Midwest or to the South. Some of these people want to travel the whole world, but refuse to go to Chicago because avoiding the Midwest/South is a "personal choice." For those that have ventured out, it was on the ubiquitous cross-country road trip that took them through the lower south or the straight middle. Yes, I admit, if my only experience with the South was the bigotry/poverty of Mississippi/Louisiana/Alabama, I might think that all the prejudice against Southerners I'd been taught growing up was true. But how is coming to that conclusion any different than being raised to hate black people, getting mugged by one and then saying that based on that one real-life experience all black people really are violent, worthless criminals? It's not. It's exactly the same, except that on the Coasts it's not okay to say that about black people anymore.

So here's the thing. Yes, there are lots of things about the South/Midwest that I am ashamed and disgusted by. Yes, there are lots of racists. Yes, it has lots of Protestant religious nuts. Yes, it has lots of poverty. Yes, it has a large rural population. Yes, it has a lot of Bush supporters. Yes, it has thick accents. Yes, it has people who hate women, gays, and anyone other than white men. But you know what? So does the North. So does California. So does Britain. So does pick-your-rural-town-of-choice. Idiots live everywhere. EVERYWHERE. For every KKK member in Mississippi, there's a Skinhead in NY. For every Confederate flag in Tennessee, there's a swastika in LA. For every Baptist preacher calling for the quarantine of all gays, there's a homophobic Catholic lady in Boston voting against gay marriage. For every trailer park-Yankee hating-"The South Will Rise Again" kid, there's a prejudiced/ignorant Coastie with illusions of moral superiority based solely on geography.

So, I'm here to set the record straight, 'cause I'm getting tired of people scowling at me when I tell them there's a job I want in Kansas City. I'm shouting because I'm tired of people treating me like my IQ is 50 points lower just because I'm from Arkansas. I'm bitching because I'm tired of my KC friend in LA getting dissed on by LA men who've never left Southern California in their lives. I'm putting up my fisticuffs because I'm tired of people asking my friend from Arkansas what "coast she's from" like those are the only two places intelligent people live. You know what? She's from the fucking middle.

There's a whole rest of America out there, with amazing music, spectacular novels, ground-breaking science, breath-taking art, fabulous microbrews. And, I admit it, it is a place where liberals sometimes have to fight tooth and nail to make a fucking difference. But doesn't that mean something? It's really easy to have an opinion when everyone else around you believes the same things. It's a lot harder (trust me) when saying what you believe means you might get threatened or ostracized. If there were nothing valid about "the middle," why would liberals stay put? Why wouldn't we all just pick up and move to Manhattan? The fact that there are liberals (and even entire "Blue" areas) shows how much there is to offer in what Coasties see as the amorphous and homogeneous "middle." Athens, GA is not the same culturally as Chicago, although they both have great independent music scenes. Wichita, Kansas has a completely different personality than rural Louisiana, but both offer a feeling of welcome and openness. Northwest Arkansas has more in common with the mountains of Tennessee than it does with the Delta lands of Northeast Arkansas, but all of Arkansas has beautiful, untouched nature unlike any other state. North Dakota is like a little Netherlands, windmills and all; while the Appalachians are like Scotland, fifes and all. During the 1990s, Lincoln, Nebraska was one of the great gay capitals of the US and Omaha became one of the hubs of the independent music scene. Iowa City, Iowa produces some of the best writers in the United States and Jackson, Mississippi is home to the Sweet Potato Queens, the funniest damn women in the country. This amazing diversity has resulted in some of the "great" American music traditions--jazz, rock 'n' roll, bluegrass, MoTown and the blues. It is where the trucker hats and cowboy boots Williamsburg, Brooklyn hipsters have appropriated come from. It is still the land of unmanned produce-stands, where you are trusted to pay for what you take. It is more than just "flyover" country. I may have moved away because of my career, but it's still my home.

I'm not saying that the middle is perfect. Yes, there are still a lot of problems. There is a disproportionate amount of poverty in some areas and an unreasonable amount of hatred in others. I'm not saying that everyone in the middle is "good." I'm not saying that there aren't things in the South that sicken me. I'm also not saying that I hate DC, Boston, NY, or San Francisco or the people I have met there, because I don't. What I am saying is that hating us just because of where we were born isn't going to make America any better. Stereotyping us all as ignorant, racist, and unworthy of respect does nothing for anyone. People like Bush are going to continue to win if things don't change, because, honestly, would you vote for a party whose members were bigoted against you and your family? Who only care about you when it means votes? Who don't even bother themselves with seeing what's out there, even when they have the means to? Probably not.

So the next time you're reading Tennessee Williams, admiring Bill Clinton, framing a print by Thomas Hart Benton, listening to Bright Eyes, or dancing to Nelly, remember that these people did not come from a vacuum. They are not anomalies or freaks. They are Midwesterners. They are Southerners. Most of all they are people.

And they deserve your respect and compassion, not your prejudice.