As a Southerner, it pays to have a thick skin. Folks from other parts of the country at times think less of us. This is of course due to the many stereotypes about our beloved Southland, many of which paint us as an ignorant, uneducated, backward, and sometimes incestuous people. On the same token, we have our stereotypes about the Yankees up North being snobby, pretentious, city-slicking prudes that tend to ruin everything once they head down our way. The existence of these stereotypes is common knowledge to anyone from both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.