ABSTRACT
The most obvious place to look for cultural differences that might account for southerners' penchant for homicide would be their attitudes toward violence. As it happens, there are a few differences in attitudes toward violence between southerners and northerners that occasionally appear in national polls. The General Social Surveys conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) are national polls covering a variety of social and political issues. The questions relevant to interpersonal violence all have to do with the appropriateness of punching someone under various circumstances. The results are based on analyses for white males and control for income, education, and age. The NORC and rural county data shows that southerners were no more likely to endorse violence than northerners in a variety of specific situations. It was only for situations involving an affront, the protection of self, home, or family, and the socialization of children that southerners were more likely to endorse violence.
