Accent is the last great redoubt of prejudice. The race relations industry, that inquisition of fairness and sensitivity, doesn’t protect against discrimination by funny voice. You can mock an accent with impunity, and everyone does

“Things have a life of their own,” the gypsy proclaimed with a harsh accent. “It’s simply a matter of waking up their souls.”

Wherever I go in America, I like it when the land speaks its own language in its own regional accent.