Saying the entire south in aggregate is "stupider" because of that is plain wrong.
2) I also meant to highlight "some do, some don't" by saying "perhaps 51%". Perhaps 51% is even too high, maybe it's just a vocal minority.
3) By calling them (in quotes) "those people" and "other" I was alluding to a certain amount of xenophobia on the part of coastal dwellers when considering fly-over dwellers. And yes, that cuts both ways.
Educational outcomes are far worse in the South. Teachers make less, schools are funded more poorly, especially for poor folk.