I'm doing some research for my road trip back East this summer.
We'll be spending several days in the Black Hills/Badlands area, and I was checking out commments on travel forums.
I came across the following "warning" about Western SD. I'd say I'll fit right in there.
A word to the wise: These people may seem like "nice, friendly folks", but if you harbor political views that can in any sense be construed as "leftist" -- even moderately left of center -- be careful where and in whose presence you voice them. Western South Dakota is arch-conservative, Bible-thumpin' country. It's almost exclusively white and essentially red-neck. Except for the accents, these people have more in common with Georgia crackers or Texas "good ol' boys" than middle-of-the-road Minnesotans or Iowans, who live right next door. Avoid religion, politics, environmental issues, and gun-control at all costs. And you don't have to scrape far under the surface to find racist and homophobic opinions. Putting it in a nutshell, this is "Praise-God-and-pass-the-ammunition" territory, where "liberal", "gay", "socialist, and "Democrat," are all diry words. |
