Hmmm, the dictionary definition of "accent" was clearly flouted. Some of the "interpretations" are actually comical!
Let me share my experiences with accents:
I received an education via the British system - complete with schoolmasters who were descendants of British aristocracy. Naturally, they spoke with (at best) a mild conservative RP accent which we all picked up in some form or another. I was always the best student in all of my classes and received the most attention (isn't that a paradox????), and consequently developed a much stronger accent.
As I grew, I began to notice that people were intimidated by the way I spoke and were always defensive. A few of the people who would later become my friends would tell me, "You know, the first couple of times that we met, I disliked you because you
seemed conceited and snobbish because of your
accent." This perception of me was compounded by the fact that I was an avid lover of Shakespeare, Blake, Eliot, Coleridge, Dickens, Chaucer and the Brontes (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) and would use anachronistic words/phrases in my speech.
On the diametrically opposite-end of the scale...
I had an incredible experience at the 2008 and 2012 Mind Olympics where my European, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Asian opponents found the way I spoke to be endearing. Was I mistaken for a Brit? Yes, 100% of the time. Did anyone say something vapid? Of course not - they were all bridge players.
Initially, my accent used to bother me to the point where I developed a second one just to sound more contemporary and less like a Plantagenet. My true accent always gave me away when I was excited/irked, read aloud or was tired/sleepy.
I would like to believe that people are suspicious of accents because of the way they were raised (never an excuse once someone gains sentience!!!), media, social influence and - the biggest factor - one's own insecurities. Insecure people are simply unentreatable because one (and your accent) will never be good enough because their self-worth would have been eroded.
I never make an assessment at face value, so I maintain that one cannot and should not base one's trustworthiness on one's speech patterns.