The first time I saw opposite direction traffic stop to show respect to a funeral procession (common in the South), I was very confused.

It has never occurred to me that people might not do that.

In Massachusetts, cross traffic doesn’t even always stop…

It's more you trade sets of respects and disrespects. Small towns are great as long as you conform to a narrow set of socially conservative expectations. The south isn't all bad, but the bad escalates faster than in other places the further you are from a major highway.

Definitely agree with this sentiment. My perspective on receiving more respect in the South probably has a lot to do with being a redneck looking white guy.

The south has its own terrible, aggressive drivers. See angry, rebel-flag-waving pickup truck drivers. I’ve lived in the south my whole life, and much prefer it to the rest of the country, but we do have some terrible drivers. IIRC, the Greenville, SC area has some of the worst wrecks per capita in the US (or something like that, when I first got insurance here).

Serious question: are FL and TX not "the South"? Or is it more about rural vs urban?

It really depends. I took an entire geography class back in college called "The South", and a big part of it was defining what exactly the south is. Some people would consider Texas and Florida to be parts of the south, but most do not. Florida and especially Texas, are part of their own thing. You're also right that its partially an urban versus rural thing, drivers in Atlanta or Charlotte can be very aggressive, but its nothing compared to trying to commute in Boston etc.

For what it's worth, drivers in Miami seem even more aggressive and reckless than in Boston.