re: Why are so many Southerners so stuck in their ways?

The South is so much different than it was 70 years ago. I agree it probably helped frame the cultural institutions but the South has become so much more class conscious, not just divided by race.

In contrast, the Midwest used to celebrate it's working class where the South generally shite on theirs. Most of us came from poor working class Southern stock though.

I'd say class is a greater dividing line today than race