When I lived in Los Angeles anyone with a southern dialect was thought of as a Texan and considered "slow" and aggressive.
They feared rednecks far more than they did gang-bangers... it was hilarious.
I have some great stories, one short one is that I used to do a redneck character voice around an office I used to work in, mostly gay men and women worked there (they thought I was gay because I was an actor and mentioned it in my interview, they were unhappy when they found out I was not, lol).
I was told to stop using "the voice" because it was scaring people.
