We’ve been in South Carolina since Tuesday.  We’ve traversed a huge section of the state, and just now crossed into North Carolina as we approach the Charlotte airport to fly to Ottawa to see our many and varied beloveds. 

Of course, we just had an appetizer of South Carolina - but, know what?  That Southern hospitality?  Not even kidding.  

Impeccable manners and warmth are just - normal.  Wow.  Coming back, SC.  Thank y’all for sharing a little piece of you and the food….yes.  Let’s do this again, only longer and better and without the rain.  The flash flood was super fun, but I’d like to check you out in the sunshine, if you don’t mind.  

In Charleston, the architecture was just__________  .   Im.  Possible.  There were little gas lamps actually burning actual flames on many of the historic homes.  Who are you trying to out-cute, anyway, Charleston?  You’re winning, so, just stop it. 

It’s not part of my worldview to objectify others, but really, if there is any of that in me, it’s about the accent.  I totally objectify people with cute accents.  I wish it wasn’t true, but sometimes I don’t even see them as real people, I just keep talking to them so I can listen.  

I use them.  For my own pleasure.

That’s not very nice.  I’m sorry, southerners.  

I look forward to getting back to Canada so the temptation to use others is mitigated by my surroundings.  I read a book recently with my co-op kids, a cautionary tale of the dangers of lumping people into categories that increases our tendency to alienate people as the Repugnant Cultural Other (RCO).  “Them” (who are different and therefore bad) and “Us” (who are the same and therefore good).

We must be cautious to not put people into categories so flippantly that they become repugnant to us based on an unfair and false presumption of how they live and how they think because they are a Them, sitting in strict opposition to our Us-ness.  

The book, How to Think by Alan Jacobs, does not, however, warn us of the dangers of the Adorable Cultural Other (ACO) - I just made that up.  The danger of flippantly categorizing people as ACOs is simply loving them for how they enunciate their words (and particularly their vowels) and their local colloquial words and phrases and not for who they really are and their inherent dignity. 

I am wracked with guilt. Can you tell?