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Quote by John Shelton Reed

“But I still do believe that there are useful things to say about Elvis Presley, including what his own ordinariness as a poor Southerner says about 20th-century hero-making.”

Quote by John Shelton Reed

Author

John Shelton Reed

John Shelton Reed is a sociologist born on January 8, 1942. His research focuses on sociological theory, cultural sociology, and the sociology of the American South. more

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“Dixie has just fallen to pieces. There are little patches of Dixie. But even in the heart of Dixie - in Alabama - Dixie is slipping. They've stopped using the word in commercial listings.”

Heart Littles Pieces Fallen Patches Alabama Slipping Dixie

Author:John Shelton Reed

“I can see why many Southerners, black ones in particular, don't like the implication that Southernness and the Confederate heritage are one and the same, because they're not. On the other hand, there are people who want to extirpate that completely and want folks to spit on the graves of their ancestors.”

People Want I Can Hands Black Particular Folks Graves Heritage Ancestor Implications Spit Confederate Southerner

Author:John Shelton Reed

“I do believe states' rights was a sound doctrine that got hijacked by some unsavory customers for a while - like, 150 years or so. I'm professionally obliged to believe that knowledge is better than ignorance, but some kinds of forgetting are OK with me.”

Years Believe Kind States Sound Forget Rights Ignorance Customers Doctrine Obliged States Rights Sound Doctrine

Author:John Shelton Reed

“I think there's a suspicion in the South of people putting on airs. You see it in most successful Southern politicians, but you also see it in someone like Richard Petty, who may be a multimillionaire stock car driver, but he's also beloved because he has a nice self-deprecatory way about him.”

People Thinking Way May Self Successful Nice Air Car Politician South Beloved Drivers Southern Suspicion Petty

Author:John Shelton Reed

“I've occasionally wished I had Caller ID. Even telemarketers, I hate to hang up on them. I try to explain I'm not interested, but they have all these canned responses so I end up having to hang up on them anyway.”

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Author:John Shelton Reed

“No, I got a GED in my 30s. My kids know that I never stop learning, and they know I love reading. I have books overflowing everywhere. I am current on today's events and I read the paper every day, and we talk about it, so they see that appetite.”

Knows Book Kids Today Reading Events Paper Currents Appetite Love Of Reading Never Stop Learning Ged

Author:Michael J. Fox

“If you care to define the South as a poor, rural region with lousy race relations, that South survives only in geographical shreds and patches and most Southerners don't live there any more.”

Ifs Care Poor Race Relation South Regions Patches Race Relations Southerner If You Care

Author:John Shelton Reed

“Maybe we've been brainwashed by 130 years of Yankee history, but Southern identity now has more to do with food, accents, manners, music than the Confederate past. It's something that's open to both races, a variety of ethnic groups and people who move here.”

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Author:John Shelton Reed

“There's an ethic that says: 'You don't run off to the church for the sacraments of salvation, you establish a personal relationship with God. You don't run off to the courts for justice, you settle it yourself. You don't run off to labor unions to sort out your work relations, you can take this job and shove it if you don't like what you're doing.”

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Author:John Shelton Reed

“We could say that people who eat grits, listen to country music, follow stock-car racing, support corporal punishment in the schools, hunt 'possum, go to Baptist churches and prefer bourbon to Scotch are likely to be Southerners.”

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Book:My Tears Spoiled My Aim, and Other Reflections on Southern Culture

Source: My Tears Spoiled My Aim, and Other Reflections on Southern Culture