In search of Bubba

A battle has been raging in my community newspaper on the relative merits of being a northerner in this southern-Appalachian town.

Northern transplants, say some local folk, are loud, abrasive and constantly trying to change the status quo to match the way things were "back home."

The northern natives respond that they, at least, are forthright and forward thinking. They're willing to speak their mind right to someone's face.

To some of those northern writers, the ones who feel being here is forced exile, the local folks must come across as just a bunch of Bubbas. But I don't think they've ever actually met Bubba. He's a more well-rounded fellow than they might expect.

Bubba is a staple of southern music and books. He can be found in person in small towns throughout the South. Most southerners know Bubba -- or his cousin, or his neighbor.

In country music lore, Bubba is every man. In Mark Chesnutt's song, Bubba Shot the Jukebox, he has a quick temper and carries a gun.

Bubba shot the jukebox last night. He said it played a sad song and made him cry. He went to his truck and got a .45...

In Shenandoah's account, If Bubba Can Dance, Bubba is the lowest common denominator -- a basis for comparison.

He saw it on TV and ordered that video. He learned every step at home and never told a soul. When I saw him out there the very first time, I knew. If Bubba can dance, I can, too.

But let's not limit him to those roles. Bubba is Forrest Gump's best friend. He must be an athlete, too, because he has played in the NFL, NBA, the MLB and the PGA. Carson McCullers wrote about him. So did Pat Conroy. Bubba even has his own entry in Wikipedia. Some claim he lived in the White House during most of the 1990s, although it's hard to imagine Bubba as presidential material, or as an Oxford scholar like Bill Clinton.

But according to southern sociologist, John Shelton Reed, the idea of Bubba as an intellectual isn't that far fetched. In his 1996 book, 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South, Reed says that Bubba is an equal-opportunity name.

"Bubbas actually come from all classes and all levels of sophistication," he said. "We know one who teaches classics. No lie."

But, he says, that's just a man named Bubba. The term, as it's used these days, isn't usually meant kindly.

"Bubba as a label, rather than a common name, became a near synonym for 'good old boy' during the 1992 (presidential) campaign," Reed says. "... Unlike 'good old boy,' however, Bubba was never used admiringly."

Somehow I think this is the Bubba most naysayers have in mind when they use that term. Personally, I wouldn't mind being thought of as a Bubba -- or maybe as his little sister.