Charlotte:struggling to keep our identity (Winston-Salem, Canton: real estate, moving to, wealthy)

[NYC1DAY]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

What in the world does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

As an example of the topic of this thread, Philly & it's metro area has a very strong 18th century identity. Most of Charlotte's 18th century buildings are long gone.

because charlotte will loose its southern identity as it grows. that is the whole topic of the thread

that is why it is loosing its identity. because of transplants

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by NYC1DAY

because charlotte will loose its southern identity as it grows. that is the whole topic of the thread

that is why it is loosing its identity. because of transplants

It won't lose its Southern identity, but the local culture will certainly become diluted--is becoming diluted. I mean, look at Atlanta. It's a fairly cosmopolitan metro area, but still has a strong Southern identity, only in an urban way as opposed to a rural way. Charlotte is taking the same path.

[NYC1DAY]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

It won't lose its Southern identity, but the local culture will certainly become diluted--is becoming diluted. I mean, look at Atlanta. It's a fairly cosmopolitan metro area, but still has a strong Southern identity, only in an urban way as opposed to a rural way. Charlotte is taking the same path.

charlotte will never completely loose its southern identity, but it will slowly go away as the city gets bigger

[mullman]

Originally Posted by NYC1DAY

a less southern charlotte = a better charlotte

Funny I would never move to NY (your moniker) and post in the NY forum that I hope NY loses its identity.

Should Boston be less 'Yankee? Of course not.
Should Bavaria lose its unique flair and be more German? No!
[In case you do not know Bavarians consider themselves Bavarian first, and German second]
Swiss Cantons proudly display their differences in region yet as a whole are Swiss.

Why deny the NC [and the South] any of these similar aspirations in a nation which is made up of 'united' 'states'?

Excuse me, but I find your view extremely myopic.

I would never wish your hometown to be any different than you enjoyed it growing up.

[mullman]

Originally Posted by NYC1DAY

if charlotte is less southern then it means that it is getting bigger because of transplants.

At the core obviously true, but us natives are not sterile, FWIW.

[Native_Son]

Originally Posted by NYC1DAY

because charlotte will loose its southern identity as it grows. that is the whole topic of the thread

that is why it is loosing its identity. because of transplants

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

What in the world does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

As an example of the topic of this thread, Philly & it's metro area has a very strong 18th century identity. Most of Charlotte's 18th century buildings are long gone.

Thank you, SB! Great example and EXACTLY what I am talking about!! Why is it that other cities - let's look at Boston and Philly - have managed to grow and still embrace their 18th C character and identity? Same for Charleston - wh/ to me is a great example as that city is both Southern and 18th C.

Why is it that people move here and want Charlotte to be a Reconstruction city, not a Revolutionary War city? WHY? Is it b/c city fathers have made bad decisions and have abandoned their own roots?

You see - here is the rub. If I moved to Philly, I would not even be thinking too much about that city's identity - cause it is so ingrained in all of us - we KNOW what Philly is all about! And not just the history of the city - but the various little cultural and traditional things that mean "Philadelphia." From the Liberty Bell to Independence Hall to Philly Cheesesteaks . . . people come to that region and they know what the city's identity is.

Not so here in Charlotte. Banking? NASCAR? That's Charlotte?????

[ChelleC]

I couldn't agree more, ani. I can't imagine living in an area and not knowing anything about it or worse yet being so detached from what life really means as to not want to know anything about where you are raising your family. What type of parent must you be to raise a child in a place you know nothing about or, heaven forbid, are ashamed of? Why do it to yourself or your family? The "you would never know you were in the South" thing really hits a nerve with me.

I want to live in a place where my son can grow up proud of who he is and where he came from. I want him to know as much about our family history as he does about the state and region. I want him to be able to appreciate different cultures and enjoy learning new things instead of labeling people. Prejudice is the truest form of ignorance. I can't imagine how lonely a life would be that was lived according to someone else's idea of what you should be or where you live. I am fortunate enough to be able to travel and expose my son to different cultures and opportunities. I hope that he will grow into a man who is able to see past what someone else THINKS he should see.

I am sick to death of hearing about the south and slavery. I have never owned a slave and have never known anyone who has. I hate to break this to people, but there are just as many prejudiced people in the north as in the south and prejudice is a disease that affects people of every race. History books make the Civil War about this issue, but in fact it was only a very small part of what the war was about. In fact, many northerners made their fortunes importing and selling slaves to plantation owners. Do I think slavery was right? Absolutely not. Do I think it should have been abolished? Darn tootin'. Do I feel guilty about it? Not even a little bit.

I'm a child of the 70's and I'm from a small town in NC. When I say small town, I mean that we had one blinking caution light until the late 90's...and we would have had to drive 10 miles to see it. We drove over 20 miles one way to the nearest grocery store. You still can't see my family's nearest neighbor and we like it that way.

I can remember my great grandmother and her best friend, Bertha, out in the back yard of my grandmother's home killing chickens for Sunday dinner or for whatever special occasion was coming up. Hauling hay and hog killings were a community affair because my grandparents would give part of the bounty to whomever helped. I had never tasted beef, chicken or pork from a grocery store until I was in my teens.

I grew up loving Bertha, Gladys, Ernest, Pete, Pap, Keith, Bob, Ann and all their children like family. They were the ones I'd play with on weekends, who taught me to ride my first dirt bike and who ran out of the woods with me after our camping bravado failed us (we all agreed later that we really did hear a growl but we never could decide who ran first). They were at every birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, special occasion. They were the ones that came to visit my grandmother in the hospital when she became ill and the ones that held me and let me cry when she passed on. Can you tell which ones were black and which were white?

All of my grandparent's friends have passed on now and each loss was mourned by many. Some of my childhood playmates have moved away or we have lost touch, but we still speak when we see each other and I still count them among my friends. We didn't care what color our skin was. It wasn't until I went away to college that I was ever confronted with prejudice and then it was from someone calling me a name that I had never heard before. At 17, I had to call my mother and ask her what it meant. Does it matter that I was called that name for being friends with a black girl and that the person calling me the name was from Connecticut? THAT is the south I was raised in. Other people can be ashamed of that if they want, but not me.

It also might interest some of these "enlightened" individuals to know that slavery still exists today in many parts of the world including China, Islamic countries, parts of Africa and some Latin American countries. In particular, even today, people are enslaved in the Sudan. That's right. The largest population of slaves today is in Sudan. That's in east Africa in case you were wondering. I wonder if it would still be going strong if the people walking around offended by something that was abolished 150 years ago in America would put as much effort into ending slavery there?

A very small amount of southerners owned slaves. Most of us were share croppers or farmers who were just trying to raise our families and survive much as we do today. It was only the very wealthy that could afford slaves and there weren't that many wealthy people per capita. I know "Gone with the Wind" would have you believe that we were all wealthy and laying about in our lacy gowns and riding breeches being waited on hand and foot, but I feel it sadly necessary to point out that Margaret Mitchell wrote this book as a work of fiction. It is not a documentary. By the way, Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara) was an English actress and Clark Gable (Rhett Butler) was from Ohio.

I have often wondered if this hatred of the south comes from true ignorance or if people have become so blind with hatred that they are willing to believe whatever is spoon fed to them. Regardless, there is no law that says you have to be an individual or decide anything for yourself. I suppose that's a good thing since our prisons are already overcrowded.

Thank you for reading my rant.

[vindaloo]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

It won't lose its Southern identity, but the local culture will certainly become diluted--is becoming diluted. I mean, look at Atlanta. It's a fairly cosmopolitan metro area, but still has a strong Southern identity, only in an urban way as opposed to a rural way. Charlotte is taking the same path.

You are absolutel correct. I see Atlanta as very southern despite the influx of northerners. It seems that kids with northern parents often grow up with a southern accent making it likely that we'll always have a southern heritage. My dad was from Russia via Boston. I am a product of that which I speak of. I love an educated southern accent. Mine has always benefitied me. It is well received when I visit relatives in the northeast, and girls in Europe love a southern accent. It sure got me into a lot of bedrooms

P.S. I guess I'm not that ugly either.

[BrianH1970]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Not so here in Charlotte. Banking? NASCAR? That's Charlotte?????

Sure, but it's the only part of Charlotte that requires the least amount of effort to research. Like New York is recognized mainly for it's tall buildings, Philly known for the Liberty Bell and brutish sports fans, San Fransisco is known for a bridge, Haight-Ashbury and Lombard Street, New Jersey for it's beaches (and landfills), etc.. Cities and states tend to be known mostly by the images most frequently presented to them, almost like word association. It's just what's ingrained in us.

Honestly, people outside of any given state only know other states by the most obvious landmarks or activities. That's not a Charlotte-only phenomenon but an everywhere one...states...cities...towns... The only thing left to keep a city or a state's heritage would be it's people...and most recently people never seemed to be more transient than what they were up until this collapse. Figure once things get better and people are on the move again, it'll just chip away everywhere else.