We may differ, but I've lived in Tn. and planted two churches there. I think you are painting with a rather broad brush.
Tn. is in the top 10 states that I've been two in my book and I've been in all fifty of them.
I will admit that I'm more rural and don't rock the boat type of person. I prefer rural area over cities, I like less government over larger government. I try and fit in rather than change their culture to mine, anywhere I've ever lived. I guess I'm just a rural type of a guy that all the northerners moved down and changed this into a city of about 70,000 folks.
I've seen great Southern Hospitality there.
Tennessee is great if you're caucasian not so much if your a mix of hispanic and caucasian. I like smaller government however there are basic things government should be about. Public defence is one of them, which includes a military, a police force, firefighters, and emergency medical services.
Its a beautiful state some people I've met were nice. However, many were nice to your face and killed your back with all the stabbing they did. While there in Eastern TN door to door witnessing I was told I wasn't from "'round these parts" once a native took a good look at me. While at an Nursing Home helping the Elderly in Chattanooga I was told by a nurse that the country was better off when black people were slaves and that they were all to blame for the high crime rates. I was at a blockbuster video when I saw a guy come into the building holding a bloody t-shirt over his mouth. He had cut somebody off and was at a red light when the person whom he had cut off walked up and punched him in the face without warning knocking out a couple of teeth. I was up in the Ocoee region about to go 4 wheeling when a park ranger warned me that people in this area (note state game land) living here would shoot me on site since they didn't know me even if I wasn't on their property. I can't tell you how many people told me that Jesus loved me but then called hispanics dirty people. I worked for a CPA firm in Chattanooga and I could see how people were extreme "classist". I can't tell you how many business took advantage of workers with low wages and little to no health insurance since no one had to be accountable to anyone else and everyone took it in stride. And these are just some of the stories I have to tell. There are many more stories I could tell you. Like a college student who wanted to be a pastor got a girl drunk, slept with her and when she came to he said they should get married since they already had already "Spoiled her". I can tell you the time a guy ran his car into me and the police officer knew him and order me not to report it to my insurance company. I could go on about how many discriminatory things I've heard about blacks, jews, asians, hispanics. Let me put it bluntly I was made to feel very uncomfortable.
Sorry I'm venting. Despite all these things you are right I do paint with a broad brush not telling about the (extreemely) few people I've met that have been great and has been my honor to know.