August 27, 2012
After the enduring the War of Secession, a tumultuous Civil Rights era, Hurricane Katrina, the reputation of being first in everything bad and even being compared in http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2007/08/august.html">unflattering terms to the eighth month of the year, Mississippians have developed a thicker skin than denizens of most other states.
We expect it, and persevering in spite of it is the very thing that makes us Mississippi.
But the latest Miss. diss is almost too bizarre for words, and in some ways stings a little worse. In its coverage of Isaac -- the tropical storm that is likely to become a hurricane when it slams onto shore later this week -- a national cable TV weather network reportedly described the geographic area the storm will affect as the land mass between New Orleans and Mobile (Ala.).
To be fair, in the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vo6zPRT2Kw">video we found, they didn't actually refer to Mississippi as a landmass. But in talking about about where Isaac might hit, the reporter did conspicuously decline to name Mississippi, which could get the brunt of the impact.
Perceived slight or not, proud Magnolia Staters did not hide our indignation from That Channel That You Leave On for the Cat During the Day.
"I know that a lot of awesome meteorologists come from landmass state university…also known as Mississippi State University," wrote one wise-cracking commenter under a http://www.sunherald.com/2012/08/27/4148732/this-old-land-mass-called-mississippi.html">Sun-Herald article about Landmassgate.
Overnight, a https://www.facebook.com/TheLandMassBetweenNolaAndMobile">Facebook page sprouted up to carry Mississippi-related coverage of Tropical Storm Isaac and to let Mississippians show their statetriotism and disdain for That Channel Between That Guy Eating Gross Stuff and That Guy Eating Way Too Much Stuff. One page is already even selling Landmass-themed T-shirts.
Clarion-Ledger editorial cartoonist Marshall Ramsey lampooned meteorologists at That Channel Owned By That Network that Used to Have Really Good Shows in the '80s and '90s as feckless explorers discovering a nation it never existed.
If it seems like we're being sensitive, Channel That's Only Useful When Your Internet Isn't Working, it's because the national media never ceases to find new ways to thumb their noses at us. It happened during Katrina, and it's happening again.
As one Internet meme that plays on William Faulkner's famous quotation about Mississippi, states: "To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Land Mass."
The sooner people like those in charge at That Channel That Pissed Off Mississippi realize that, the better.
by R.L. Nave
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID