So this article about Southern Hospitality being fake came across my Facebook feed the other day, and it was interesting...

"The Southern part of the United states is famous for its fried food, slow pace, and good old southern hospitality. It’s the practice of being particularly warm, sweet, and welcoming to strangers or visitors to one’s home. It can come in the form of compliments, unhurried conversation, and doting on guests' every desire. Almost sounds too good to be true, right? Well, that’s because it is."

Have you ever tried our fried chicken? If not, you're missing out. Yeah, it may not be the healthiest or not on your Weight Watchers plan, but who cares? I've never really understood why people make comments about how slow people are in the South. We are just trying to enjoy life and soak it all in. We only have one life, so we have to make it count. It's nice to take a drive down a long dirt road to just be able to soak in all of God's glorious creation and just be able to think. I guess it is just a different perspective that what up North has. Y'all have places like NYC and Washington DC where it is so busy all the time, and the closest place we have like that down here is Atlanta.

Southern Hospitality is about showing respect. It's "yes ma'am" and "no sir", "please" and "thank you", "can I get you anything?". It is about showing respect to everyone around you, not just the people you like. You give the same respect to the janitor as you do the preacher. I may not like you, but you can be sure I'm still going to respect you.

I also think that in Southern culture, perception is a big deal. We want to be liked by everyone regardless of the circumstances. Everyone wants to be seen as the "super mom" who has it all together and everything is just peachy. Who has the hardworking and loyal husband, two straight A kids who play football and softball, and a dog who all live in a Pinterest-looking house.

"I don’t know how anyone in the south can figure out if someone really likes them or if they are just being 'hospitable.'” You will know if someone in the South or really anywhere else likes you if they continuously want to spend time with you. It's not about whether they are "hospitable" or not, and it does not only apply to those who are "Christian, right-winged, and straight". I'm sorry that you feel like that. That's not how we want Southern Hospitality to be seen as. We will go out of our way to make you feel wanted and welcomed here. We want you to feel welcomed to the lovely place that we call home. We want you to love the South, just as much as we do.

I'm sorry that you've had a bad experience. I hope that you can come down here to the South and experience real southern hospitality like it should be! We will welcome you with open arms and a glass of ice cold sweet tea.