Hey y’all, let’s talk about the South, or better yet, Southerners.

But … err … let’s try to avoid being like the ones on TV.

“These guys are right out of a strait jacket,” rfreed4541 on IMDb said about the Southerners on “Duck Dynasty.”

“The only time it’s interesting is when the (Southerners) do something stupid.” klondike99 said on “Swamp People.”

The media has labeled us all as backwoods hicks, in case you’ve missed the airing of shows ranging from illegal moonshiners, hunters and some strange little girl people like to call Honey Boo Boo.

And they all hold similar themes and portrayals of Southerners.

Regardless of what shows they came from, the South has a stereotype that’s more than encouraged by the media, and let’s not pretend that it’s a very positive one.

As a group, we’re portrayed as uneducated, hyper-religious, rural, sexist, lazy and conservative.

Well, I’m not going to say I don’t know Southerners who are into God, beer and guns. I’m not going to say that I’m not one myself. But I can surely say we aren’t all like that and most certainly promise we all don’t live off red dirt roads and have IQs lower than the temperatures up north.

So why are we all portrayed that way?

Most of these shows are reality shows, but that doesn’t mean there is no acting in them. Take “Duck Dynasty” for example. These men don’t come off as the sharpest crayons in the box. But how stupid can they be, if they are smart enough to not only run a successful business but also start a TV franchise worth millions of dollars?

As for clichés and stereotypes: they’re close cousins, and over the years the South has built a stereotype based off a group of people, whether it be a town or that one group of guys and girls who come to school dressed in camouflage during deer season.

There will always be a group of people who fall into a stereotype, simply because those stereotypes come from elements present in the represented culture.

Shelley Burguieres grew up in the small Virginia town “Duck Dynasty” is filmed in.

“It’s actually pretty accurate,” Burguieres told The Guilfordian. “Almost everyone in the town hunts, goes to church and most of the women have taken the role of housekeeper.

“But there are also some misconceptions. Not everyone looks as rough as the men in that show, with the bad beards and hygiene, and barely anyone is that stupid either.”

“I think for the most part (the media) distorts, not clarifies,” said Sarah Thuesen, visiting assistant professor of history. “The South got the stereotype of ignorance because the schools have always been underfunded. Some of that had to do with racial segregation issues that date back to reconstruction and civil rights.”

We do have groups of people who are big into hunting and praying before each meal. We also have less money going towards schooling. But, according to VDare, the average IQ of the southern states are all ahead of places such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

So it’s been proven statistically, just because you speak in a Southern drawl doesn’t mean you are a stereotypical bearded, uneducated person.

In the well-chosen words from the movie “Sweet Home Alabama”: “Honey, just because (we) talk slow doesn’t mean (we’re) stupid.”