[eldude]

Anecdotally, having been born and raised in Orange County, CA (11yr), then Arkansas (5yr) and finally Texas for High School and College (7yr), followed by Denver (liberal) and now Silicon Valley, I can confirm this liberal bias toward both Texas and The South, and also by self-appointed intellectuals toward individuals like myself who tend to not take themselves too seriously.

I regularly find myself catching others off-guard professionally when I exert my intellect, because they tend to have me pegged as an easy-going So-Cal / Southerner. However, from my experience, liberals and self-appointed intellectuals share all the same personality and reasoning flaws as their counterparts.

People are people and differ mostly in the person they choose to project, not in their inherent abilities. Both are honest about different portions of themselves.

[rainsford]

Initial perceptions shape the views people have of each other...it's not just about how people view southerners. I'd guess from your post that you have certain preconceptions about "liberals" and "intellectuals" that aren't always accurate ;)

You can't judge a book by its cover, but that's where first impressions tend to come from.