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Jesus Guns and Girls: A snapshot of the South

I recently visited Western North Carolina. It's a beautiful place. I was a bit surprised, though, by the displays in many stores catering to families. Most tourists to the region are from southern states, including Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tenn. The stores catered to their stereotypical passions: Jesus, Guns and Girls. I suppose anyone could find strange images when they visit a place, but many of the images I have included here struck me as culturally foreign and reinforcing of Red-State stereotypes.

keyword = Rebel Flag
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I aint coming down
I aint coming down		 In God We Trust
In God We Trust		 Burning Twin Towers Cigarette Lighter
Burning Twin Towers Cigarette Lighter		 Jesus and Farm Girls
Jesus and Farm Girls
girls undies aint coming down
girls undies aint coming down		 Deer Antler Chandelier and wolf carcass
Deer Antler Chandelier and wolf carcass		 Guns For Sale at flea market
Guns For Sale at flea market		 Rebels Jets and Jesus
Rebels Jets and Jesus
Knives and Swords for Sale
Knives and Swords for Sale		 Check your love meter
Check your love meter		 Tools and Dolls for Sale
Tools and Dolls for Sale		 USA Cookie Jars (made in China)
USA Cookie Jars (made in China)
Boys version of Rebel Flag undies
Boys version of Rebel Flag undies		 Abandoned Church Bus
Abandoned Church Bus		 Car Dump in a river
Car Dump in a river		 Scenic Waterway With Abandoned Cars
Scenic Waterway With Abandoned Cars
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NC gunman 20-Dec-2007 01:16
You think this is so bad. You can fill up your flashcard in two blocks of N.Y. city. If you think the south is soooo bad. DONT COME BACK! NCGUNMAN
ron 15-Oct-2007 01:21
you went to a junk shop and found junk, a tourist trap. you found guns for sale at a flea market. where are you from? no tourist traps there? no flea markets? your superior attitude negates whatever message you think your pictures have. congrats, you've referred to most of the cliches web dwelling idiots use when thinking of the south.step away from your computer, do some real observation for ahwile
Guest 07-Oct-2006 00:49
stop all the hating - I see nothing wrong here. If you don't like it, move on to other galleries and get over it.
haldamere 15-Jun-2006 03:39
I see nothing wrong with these photos, in fact it makes me proud to be from the South.
s 14-Aug-2005 22:05
Just like all good empires, the USA will implode upon itself in a short historical time....
virginiacoastline 09-Aug-2005 21:53
Ashley, I think thatmight be the whole point of "snapshot" . . when you take a snapshot it may not represent the entire person or place . . it's just a quick isolated representation. Of course this same flavor can be shown anywhere, but it is iconic and in that vein well represented. Not necessarily thorough, just represented. GMV =]
Ashley Jones 08-Aug-2005 04:18
I think it is a real shame that you chose to label these photos "A snapshot of the South". If your mission was to find the most negative items and locations in NC then congratulations. You did a great job. What you didn't do however was portray an accurate snapshot of what the South is really like. I could go anywhere in the country and create a similar 'snapshot' of distasteful images.
n 08-Aug-2005 01:12
Guest,

Next vacation, I will look for something since it is such an icon. Thanks for the suggestion.
Guest 08-Aug-2005 00:28
You forgot the joke of a race car series called NASCAR !!!
n 07-Aug-2005 15:23
Hi Karen,

If I ever return to visit my relatives, which I intend to do, I will look for the decorated porches that you mention. Some of my relatives have them, but I couldn't get close enough without being chased by big dogs.

All of these photos were collected over several hours while visiting shops in the areas of Cherokee and Dillsboro.

Thanks for visiting,

n
Karen Stuebing 07-Aug-2005 09:52
Yeh, so what's your point? Just kidding. I hope I never have to be PC and that's one advantage of living in Appalachia. It's nice to see it through the eyes of an outsider. And of course, this doesn't represent the entirety of life here. For example, there are no porches with old appliances. Seriously, it's got a definite spin but it's supposed to and it works. And I'll vote. :)
Barri Olson 07-Aug-2005 00:08
Thanks 'n' I think this clarifies the meaning a great deal. I am glad now that I said something...even if I can no longer correct my typing where it should have said "who classify them" instead of "who have classify them" duh :-) I miss that ability to correct that we used to have. One thing I've admired in your galleries is that unlike many others who have political galleries, you don't delete posts you disagree with...which often provides a discourse that can stumble toward the truth.
n 06-Aug-2005 23:55
Barri,

You're right and I agree that there may be some people who buy these things for the reasons you mention. I just thought that I should chime in given that others were defining what the name of the gallery represented. I meant in my selection of that word that it's an "isolated observation." I also used snapshot in the title because of the camera connection.
Barri Olson 06-Aug-2005 23:42
I do believe I know what a snapshot is, and as I defined it I said in the context of "except maybe etc. etc." A snapshot can be many things to many people depending on the interpetation they have of the literal photo....as anything is defined by the experiences and views of the beholder...and I do not believe that most people sterotypify Southerners as having these passions. Some may...and in all honesty I think people buy this kind of stuff to laugh at those and rebel at those who have classify them as such. A marketing notch has been realized. I do agree with San Antonio that it is a snapshot but not a representative one...I guess in a convoluted way that is what I was attempting to say, sorry if you misinterpeted.
n 06-Aug-2005 19:52
Barri,

I don't know what your definition of "snapshot" is, but this is what I had in mind:

snap·shot (snăp'shŏt')
n.
A photograph taken with a small hand-held camera.
An isolated observation: a sociopolitical snapshot of the electorate.

Sam Antonio is right on this one.....
Barri Olson 06-Aug-2005 02:13
I don't quite believe this is a snapshot of the South except maybe in the sense of some of them laughing "tonque in cheek" at the stereotypes some have of the South. And the other stuff, I've seen worse than the 'Car Dump in a River' and not in the South. We have the same kind of laughing at our own stereotype stuff in Wisconsin. Ya Hey! Where's my 12 pack. A big tourist spot (Wisconsin Dells) here is full of it.
Sam Antonio Photography 05-Aug-2005 00:28
As the title states, it is a snapshot of the South. I wouldn't take this to be a true representation of the South as I would take Times Square to be representative of New York City.
Sam
http://www.pbase.com/bircher
Jill 04-Aug-2005 13:48
As a resident of Alabama I have never seen this type of marketing. I do believe it is capitalism at its best..catering to those that have preconcieved opinions, appealing to the tourist. Too as Ellsworth stated this could be politely hidden here..although I doubt it.

Here is a link to my town: http://www.ci.huntsville.al.us/AboutHville/index.html
Joshua 02-Aug-2005 19:24
There is no doubt that a great deal of my fellow southerners are motivated by these same "stereotypical" passions. And, I do not suggest that these types of merchandise are not readily availible in the south (and most other parts of this country). However, I caution those viewers of this gallery to look past the stereotypes that we as humans are so prone to invoke, and which often promote feelings of disunity and misunderstanding.
Ellsworth Weaver 01-Aug-2005 20:20
Voted for this. This is scary and real and a dark part of ourselves we must not project on just one area of the country. Of course you know, these icons are everywhere, in every country, just sometimes more politely hidden. Peace, Ells
Lisa Bocook 30-Jul-2005 02:20
Hi,
Since I'm from this little town I'd like to thank the photographer for capturing the grossness of marketing. Nothing in the photos approaches the tackiness of television but it sure does a good job of showing how, instead of changing sex and violence as commodities, we've just marketed "God". The horror of it is that putting God (and Country)on the same sales rack with guns and half-dressed "girls" actually elevates the latter. - As for those rebel flags... some of us consider them historical symbols and enjoy seeing them... but again, for many they are a symbol of racism. I sure wish the Jesus T-shirts were keepin' better company. Nice job Burt.
Benjamin Munson 27-Jul-2005 18:11
These are beautiful pictures. The photographer shows a real talent for framing his subject matter. The titles are great, too--ironic without being gratuitous.
eric jones 27-Jul-2005 16:20
so did you take any photos of the good things about north carolina or were you to focused on the bad?
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