Posted by James May at 10:10AM on Tuesday 13 February, 2007 18 Comments
That bit in our American Holiday Video where we were attacked by the rednecks in the Alabama petrol station: I realise now that I should have seen it coming.
We'd been warned by some American modernists - i.e. Californians - that the southerners wouldn't take kindly to any of our light mockery of the things they hold dear - Bush, heterosexuality, NASCAR, Country and Western, short hair...
But I never really believed they would take it quite that badly.
But then, earlier that day I had stopped at another petrol station and looked at the selection of T-shirts on sale to the locals. One proclaimed 'God, pick-ups and beer' with a picture of a Dodge like Hammond's on it. Another sported some legend about the right to bear arms.
And yet another depicted the Confederate flag and a picture of, er, General Stonewall Jackson. I think this may have been a vital clue to the mentality of the hicks.
Wasn't Jackson a general from the civil war? And didn't he die from complications resulting from the amputation of his arm after he was inadvertently shot by his own men?
And, more importantly, wasn't all this rather a long time ago? And what's with the confederate flag? Do they still lament the abolition of slavery or something?
It's been pointed out to me that the old flag, rather than standing for a discredited set of social and political values, is now just a fanciful graphic.
The Dukes of Hazzard, after all, had one on the roof of their car, and no one thought it was in any way distasteful. It was just the good ol' boys from the South being sentimental about their roots.
And that seemed like a fair comment. I like a sense of history as much as anyone. But then something else occured to me.
I've never met anyone in Europe wearing a swastika T-shirt.
18 Comments for "Sweet home Alabama?"
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Too right, we have family freinds who live in St Louis, and even they fill up with fuel, lock all the doors, close the windows and drive for the border through Alabama! They even suggested that if any other country wanted to do some nuclear testing, Alambama may be a good place to start...
Fair point, you probably should have realised you'd be provoking them, but then again ~ isn't this the 21st century? A civilised place with freedom of speech etc.
Should you have seen it coming? Being pelted with stones and chased out of town for not actually having done anything? I don't think so.
On a happier note, it was a great episode, fantastic viewing (you all looked to be having such a good time), well done!
But I've seen many young people wearing Lenin, Mao, Che Guevara and Red Stars t-shirts. And communism was much more murderous system then nazism
I've never met anyone in Europe wearing a swastika T-shirt...
You wouldn't. And if you did they'd be almost universally panned for it.
To be honest, any group of people that can't laugh at themselves and show no sign of a sense of humour worry me...
"I've never met anyone in Europe wearing a swastika T-shirt."
Yes, because in most european countries, it's illegal. Doesnt mean they aren't being worn.
The confederate flag is hardly up there with the Swastika in the offensive symbols league table.
You really were asking for it by provoking the yokels. They are not reasonable people and will resort to stone throwing instead of a witty comeback.
To be honest I would have expected the same response if I drove past a Gay Pride march with "Man Love Sucks" emblazoned on the side of my pickup.
Couldn't agree more about the confederate flag.
However, I don't think the US has a monopoly on the inclusion of a population with low IQ, poor impulse control and thin skins.
I notice you didn't drive around a just-getting-out European football stadium wearing pink jumpsuits and driving a van with the phrase "(home team) Sucks A** Like a Hilton Sister--Soccer is for Little Girls; American Football Rules!" while blaring "Oops, I Did It Again" from loudspeakers to gauge the reaction of Europe's lowest common denominator?
I would expect you'd feel grateful to escape with a minor stoning.
Its when you see people like those who inhabit Alabama that you realise just how lucky you are to be a British citizen. The people who claim to live in 'the land of the free', yet openly attack anyone who hold different beliefs to their own. These people claimed to be deeply religious, then pelted you with stones because you upset them in some way. And they say the Americans have no sense of irony....
A fantastic episode of TG guys, certainly opened my eyes to a few things!
How would you react to an American TV show that went to Britain and made a carefully edited documentary about the bad parts? Sixty minutes of VAT, the Nanny State, skinheads, the most highly spied-on populace in the world, football hooligans, speed cameras, and rich people laughing as six dogs rip apart a still breathing fox. I'm guessing you'd feel like it was a bit of an unfair portrayal.
It's too bad you couldn't hang out in a roadside bar and share a few watered-down American beers - good ol' boys can be great mates once you get to know them. Camping in a random field with a dead cow stinking several feet away doesn't get you friendly with the locals, though.
And by the way - to some diehard Southerners, the Dukes of Hazzard wasn't just a TV show, it was a calling.
They wouldn't have understood the other stuff. Except maybe NASCAR. But then I dont know if even the dumbest of people would get too upset if you riiped it out of NASCAR, unless they were sober.
You guys were great in any case - balls of steel, or at least compressed tinfoil - in that one.My email inbox was full of forwards from friends of US message boards in absolute outrage screaming "If we were to drive through England with BECKHAM BLOWS or THE QUEEN IS A @#%!" then how would they like it?
I think it would be a highlight of my day to see someone drive past in a battererd 10 -year-old 7 Series with their views painted on the side of it. Anyway US of A, it's over now and I am sure American Idol is on tonight, so go back to sleep and HILLARY for PRESIDENT!!
This way you would get to see what our country is like from a third-person's perspective, even if it is full of negativity.
At the end of the day this was entertaining TV. Nothing more, nothing less.
Yes, Brits may think they are superior and pick on Americans, but Americans think they're superior to everyone else and are way too up themselves. I for one would love to see the day when they can poke fun at themselves.Go TOP GEAR!