Is it "bad" to try and learn southern American English? [closed]

I have always been really interested in south American life style, culture, and specially language, a while back, I asked a professional American English teacher, about if it was OK to try and learn southern English, his statement could be summed up into a big NO. And he was acting like it was not ok at all to learn it.

Now what do you guys think? And if you think it is ok, or if it is not give me the reasons why it is or isn't alright to learn southern English as a foreign learner from Iran who is fascinated with southern American English.

Also I would be more than thankful if you could direct me towards some online sources where I could learn southern English. Thank you.

A few thoughts for you

• All-in-all, English is not a very dialectical language. Regional variation between standard Englishes are relatively modest. Tons of speakers speak only in a standard dialect. It is very common for native speakers to speak only a standard dialect.

• White Southern English pronunciation varies a lot by region, and is very seldom portrayed accurately in TV shows or movies. https://thisamericanlife.org/138/the-real-thing/act-three-0 is a fun rant on Hollywood getting Southern accents wrong.

  Many, many speakers (especially non-rural or more-educated speakers) in the South have very standard accents that are hard to distinguish from Americans in other parts of the country.

• To continue the point above, it's important to understand that TV and movies do not match reality. While southern white English speakers are known for their colorful expressions, a stock southern character in a film is likely to have more plentiful, more exotic, and more over-the-top ones than real speakers one will meet.

  If you do really want to learn some colorful southern expressions, consider sticking to ones whose meanings are self-explanatory, or not only might they seem out-of-place, but also simply not be understood. As mad as a wet hen explains itself--even with limited poultry knowledge, I can surmise that a wet hen must be very mad. He's been hung out to dry is a lot less clear to people who don't know the expression. This is especially key, since any resources you find listing expressions might list some that do not have any real use in the wild.

• There is something about colorful expressions where it is usually easy to notice if they do not come naturally to a speaker. This can be distracting at times, but is not necessarily a problem. It's normal enough for people to use colorful expressions in a way that is clearly more distant.

I can't imagine why it would not be okay for you to learn it. After all, it's okay for Southern US Americans to learn it, and it's not like Southern US Americans are better than Iranians.

In particular, if you plan on living in the Southern US, there's nothing wrong with trying to fit in.