Sweet Home Alabama (Wednesday Nobody Interviews)

This week's interview is with Alabama born and raised Southern gentleman Julian Wills.

1. How do we know eachother?
We met online through Writer's Digest and now we talk on the phone.

2. What do you personally find is the biggest misconception Northerners have about the South?

That the civil war was about slavery. It was about State's rights, not slavery.

3. While I was living in the South I noticed there was a lot of Southern Pride and one of the ways of expressing this pride was displaying the confederate flag. There are some who might consider this racist. What does the confederate flag mean to you?

We do not considerate the flag racist because once again the war was about state's rights and not slavery. And it now represents a sense of Southern culture and Southern heritage.

4. What is your favorite thing about living in the South?

The laid back attitude and the friendliness of the people. The big DAWGS and not the little yappy dogs from up North, everyone up North has one of those little yappy dogs that are annoying as hell. We have DAWG's down here, they've got dog's up there.

5. It has been argued that the public school system in the South pales in comparison to what we have up North. What are your thoughts?

I wouldn't say it pales in comparison, but I would say it's not as good. 'Pales in comparison' is a pretty strong statement, it's more like it's not as adequate. It has to do with funding, there is none. The teacher's get paid so little that they need to find other jobs. The city council people are corrupt, we have scandals down here like every week.

6. Hollywood really plays into some of the Southern stereotypes. What movies do you think do it most accurately and why? Which are most inaccurate?

A very accurate one is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" because it's a true story and all the characters in it were real. It portrayed a Southern flavor accurately. As far as inaccurate I would say "Deliverance" because they're all inbred Southern rednecks.

7. You previously mentioned how laid back and friendly people are in the South. You live in the bible belt. How are "outsiders" treated as in non-Christians?

This is a particularly good question. I think to some degree they are looked down upon, but I also think there's a Christian love that permeates society in the South.

8. Let's explore further some of your views on the North. What is your take on the attitudes and behaviours of the people above the Mason-Dixon line? And if you've never been up North, where did you form your opinions from?

That's they're curt and rude, fast moving, and abrasive. I would say I got my opinions from the news.

9. On Writer's Digest you helped to start a forum called "Southern Sunshine" where there are in depth discussions on some of the topics we broached today. What was your inspiration behind this?

I wanted people to understand the South in a better way.

10. Thanks so much Julian for agreeing to let me badger you in my interview. My traditional last question, if you could be any breakfast cereal, what would you be and why?

Fruit Loops. No explanation, if people want to speculate they can speculate all they want.