re: What does the nation outside of Louisiana say about LSU?

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Ever seen Waterboy?

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I think this movie was hilarious. but then i'm secure with my upbringing and LSU education.

lots and lots of people like to put down others. they close their minds and go by age old stereotypes.

LSU has funding problems and we always have. the state, and most importantly, former students simply do not support the university like we should (myself included). of course, if the football team needs support, the dollars pour in. just sayin'

"Ever seen waterboy?".....

Sadly enough while not what a very large majority thinks of the state and it's people as a whole, these steriotypes is what comes to mind to probably about half to three fourths of the nation when it comes to our average citizens. I've met people who really thought I've eaten nutria rat and no matter how improbable it sounds when spoken, the thoughts these people have about everyday life in Louisiana can be plain ridiculous. On the other hand I've met plenty of people who think we actually have the best collection of diversity amongst our residents, things like education, culture, principals, common decency are placed with high amounts of value and consideration to these sort of outsiders looking in....

The problem is how do you go about fixing this perception that the majority of Louisiana's citizens are Backwater Cajun pieces of white trash that have 3 teeth and just married their cousin....

Sadly the media portrays us in these very negative lights in a more national spotlight that the average American sees more often than something representative of reality. TV shows like Duck Dynasty, Swamp People, etc...have done nothing but completely lock in these false narratives and characterized us all as if we were morons. The fact that you see the Robertson's on TV and they are identified as wealthy natives of Louisiana and it's basically shown that even the rich and we'll to do among us are still these freaking trash bag rednecks. And yes, they are that popular in American pop culture. The viewership of their show has touched most homes with cable access and even if that number is a minority percentage of Americans, which it is, the fact is that the people without access still have had their ability to see Louisiana at it's absolute worst....hunting alligators, walking around with shabby beards and camo jumpsuits in every situation life could bring forth. And it will never stop at a level that is anything close to changing this entirely skewed perception of us. The other gigantic problem is the coverage of national disasters that happen In our state. 10 plus years ago a lot of people in this country got their first real taste of what people in Louisiana are like when Katrina hit and was on a 24 hour cycle of news for weeks, showing literal human atrocities being committed at a level that was absolutely sickening to most. And everyone around the country saw the people of New Orleans at the worst they possibly could have, and that's after it was for years already known as the "murder capital of the country" ...If were not white trash rednecks then we are ghetto criminals and both of these totally wrong steriotypes are what probably 75 percent of the country thinks of us as a whole.

As someone who takes more pride in my state that it is worthy of, a born and raised Baton Rouge kid, loving my home as much as I do...it's still hard for me to even mildly accept this when it comes to how we are portrayed and seen to be. I hate it to my core that the great people I grew up with and could count with my life in hand are seen and thought of as fractions of the people they truly are. All because of poor media coverage and the want for drama and ratings on national cable networks. Promotion of the worst qualities of the worst Louisiana citizens is what gets put out there more often than not, and it will not change until we as a state stop allowing ourselves to be put on national spotlights in such ways. The person has to sign that release and has to agree to the portrayal that is going to run.....sadly the fact is that no matter what we do, how we change for the better, whether individually or as a whole community, the majority of Americans will never care enough to change their initial opinion of us all....and for almost everyone who is an adult that knew little about Louisiana before Katrina...what they had branded in their minds after is what's going to be there forever.