Relocated Yankees living in Cary should not look down on the South’s customs because they have not fully integrated into our culture. As one southerner put it, “people who have moved to the South are like strawberries that have been dipped into chocolate.” With only a thin layer of exposure to southern society, how can Yankees be expected to understand, and more importantly respect, the South?

When most Northerners speak about the South, their comments are unflattering. They criticize the Southerner’s dialect. They joke about the gourmet selection of deep-fried foods offered at the State Fair. They paint the inhabitants of the South as beer-guzzling, ignorant, belligerent racists with a 12-gauge in their hand. Yankees refer to Southerners as rednecks, hicks and honkeys, all of which are derogatory terms designed to belittle the South and its residents.

Contrary to popular belief, only a small number of Southern occupants actually embody this stereotype. People of the South are smart, well-spoken, open-minded folks who are no more prejudiced than any region in America. The labels for Southerners are out-dated and uncalled for.

It is no longer the day that all Southerners assume positions as simple farmers. Agriculture is still number one, because of technological advances designed to assist farmers. Farming has conglomerated so that only a few people in the South are still involved in agriculture. Instead, citizens are training to work in other industries. One cannot be a redneck unless he is working in the field.

Southerners are not stupid. It is quite the opposite. That is why the South is home to some of the most prestigious universities in America, such as Duke and Vanderbilt. This tradition of achieving higher education is not new; the University of North Carolina was the first public university to open in the country. Some of the smartest young people in the world attend these colleges; most of them home-grown right here in the South.

So, before a Yankee cracks on the South, he needs to take another look and realize it is no longer 1865 and the South has grown up. “Rednecks” are just as sophisticated as Northerners. So to all the people from the North who have moved down to the South, drop the name-calling, stereotyping and prejudice. If Yankees do not like the South they can go back to where they came from.