I use Company Aytch as a reference to people from the north/mid west

A lot of them don’t understand the south.

Technically, I ain’t a southerner. I was born in New Jersey (duck, I only was there for 3 morning months before my parents moved back south) though my father was Virginian and I was in Georgia by 6 years old.

But when people don’t seem to understand the south, I point them to the autobiography of Sam Watkins and people seem to respond pretty well to the book, even people who would otherwise have a negative opinion of the south.

I especially like to reference the infamous steamy butter scene (“it’s The utmost disrespect to turn down butter from a lady”.

In all this talk about generals and mounument and politics and bullshite, I fall back to Watkins. An uneducated boy who got in over his head and fought like hell for the guys next to him.