Folks often don’t understand the rather complex and deep rules of etiquette in the rural South.
We believe in showing respect the way our mama taught us to, so here are some rules that might help you understand our ways. 🧵
Understanding inside-outside etiquette is a good start. Inside a place of public gathering (unless only men are gathered, like a barber shop or old-time coffee shop at 6AM), the hat comes OFF.
On the inside of a home, it’s polite to offer to take off your boots. But it’s less polite to take a guest up on their offer. Your floors aren’t as important as their hassle.
Acknowledging people’s presence or existence is key to Southern etiquette. To act as though someone isn’t there is tantamount to hatred.
You nod (head going up) to those you recognize.
You nod (head going down) to those you don’t.
There are different rules for this on the road. When going in different directions, you finger-wave from the steering wheel.
One finger = I acknowledge you
Two fingers = Hey, buddy!
Pointing directly at the other driver = I love ya, brother!
Especially true for gravel.
There’s lot of road etiquette. If someone slows down when approaching you in the other lane (on smaller roads and streets), you stop. They want to chat.
When driving by and someone is in their yard, if they look up, wave. If not, they’ll wonder what your dang problem is.
If there’s a funeral procession, no matter how long it is, and no matter how busy you are, pull over to show your respect.
One of my wife’s cousins turned around to go fight someone who didn’t pull over at their grandma’s funeral. It’s very disrespectful.
See a cop on the side of the road? Flash your lights three time to those passing in the other direction. We don’t like the Smokeys.
See a deer by the road? Flash twice.
It’s not as impolite in the South, as it is other places, to knock on someone’s door unannounced. I used to do door-to-door sales in Arkansas. Tons of folks let you in and offer you tea before they even ask who you are.
But do yourself a favor. After you knock on a stranger’s door, take one step off the porch to not be intimidating, because 100% there’s a gun behind that door. You don’t want us startled.
When addressing people, we don’t do that pronoun garbage.
You call women older than you, ‘ma’am.’ Women younger than you, ‘miss.”
Ladies will usually call you ‘sir’ if you’re older, but if you’re younger, don’t be surprised to be called ‘sugar’ or ‘baby’ or ‘darlin.’
Live in the Bible Belt? Watch your mouth. Don’t swear in front of ladies. And turn your ghetto blaster down. Nobody wants to hear your vulgar rap music at the stoplight.
Opening doors is important.
Open store doors for all women no matter their age, for everyone older than you no matter their gender, and for everyone else within a few feet behind you.
Carry a gun wherever a lot of people are present, especially church. Be discreet. That’s something you do to protect people who can’t protect themselves.
A lot of ladies keep them in their purses and diaper bags.
See someone broken down out in the country, a good distance from town? You stop…especially if it’s a lady.
Don’t get out, because you don’t want to frighten them. Just ask if they need help or to borrow a phone.
If you don’t do that, that’s scumbag territory.
The American South is a very special place. Its etiquette is deep and sometimes complicated…but always sincere.
Subscribe to more of my observations at Insight to Incite.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
If you’re wondering why @mikecosper is currently melting down over RFK and is defending Big Pharma like it died on the cross for him, I explain in this post at Insight to Incite. 🧵
Essentially, it’s because Cosper is Statist, someone who views the government as having deified power. This is why they defend Big Government and bureaucracy with religious zeal.
And all cults have witch doctors, going back to Simon Magus.
Understanding the role of witch doctor in cultic religion is essential in grasping their veneration for guys like Fauci and Francis Collins. It’s religious in nature.
As DOGE lays an axe to the root of corrupt bureaucratic institutions, let’s take a look at corrupt evangelical institutions that also must be purged and shuttered.
Polemics Santa has some gifts from his bottomless bag of memories. Let’s look at the @ERLC 🧵
The ERLC spent 61% of its budget on salaries and only .7% on doing its actual job. When @jonharris1989 brought forward whistleblowers exposing the SBC liberal drift, the ERLC’s Joshua Wester attacked the whistleblowers.
When the government was shutting down churches in Covid and arresting pastors like @rhowardbrowne, ERLC leadership board member @bartbarber said we’re better served by a Totalitarian government. So much for “Liberty” in the erLc.
In recent days, the complete self-destruction of the Evangelical Left has allowed a post-mortem to be done, trying to figure out how evangelicalism went woke.
More attention should be given to Dr. Albert Mohler. Here’s how P&P has covered it over the years. 🧵
Mohler has been gifted with the ability to speak out both sides of his mouth. When provost, Matthew Hall, was caught explicitly teaching White Guilt and CRT, Mohler bravely and vigorously said *no one* teaching it would be employed at SBTS.
And then, a few weeks later, Mohler renewed Hall’s contract and gave him an award. He says things loudly, and then does the opposite. Cooperative Program funds have to keep flowing in. It was just hot air.
If you comprehend that influence of USAID, power of the CIA, corruption of our bureaucracy, and intentional brokenness of our immigration system all have ONE cause…support for the Post-War Consensus, you too would question those who tell us not to question it. 🧵
The Post-War Consensus refers to the notion that WWII was caused by strong national leaders (like Hitler), emphasizing what’s good for citizens of your own nation above others (nationalism) and closed borders and cultures…and not by a long, complicated history in Europe.
The PWC was a necessary narrative to overlook certain inconvenient facts, like the Allies destroying their moral superiority by including Stalin, or Churchill’s targeting of civilians in Dresden, or Britain’s explicit policy of constant war for 400 years.
While everyone is focusing on USAID buying evangelicals like slaves on the auction block, you might have forgotten about an exiled International Criminal Globalist and Clinton Foundation figure buying @LigonDuncan, @westminsterts and @TGC to do his bidding.
It’s true. 🧵
James Riady was convicted on 85 different counts of bundling cash from South Korea and China and funneling it to Clinton’s presidential campaign. The State Department then banned him from returning.
His nickname in the press? The Evangelical Felon.
You might remember this scandal, because it almost led to impeachment charges. Riady was tied to Chinese Intelligence, and Clinton sold him influence in the White House.
You might have heard that former VP Mike Pence has made it his life's work to scuttle the appointment of RFK Jr. to Secretary of Health because he "isn't pro-life enough."
What you might NOT know is that Pence's efforts are funded by Big Pharma and Big Abortion. 🧵
Pence's group, 'Advancing American Freedom' claims it's Kennedy's abortion stance that disqualifies him from DHHS. Many evangelicals are jumping on the anti-RFK bandwagon because Pence speaks for the Pro-Life Movement.
'Advancing American Freedom' penned a letter attacking RFK and Trump for nominating him, writing, “While RFK Jr. has made certain overtures to pro-life leaders that he would be mindful of their concerns at HHS, there is little reason for confidence at this time.”