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Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,557,931 times
Reputation: 6254
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
When I moved from North Carolina to Alabama as a teenager, a classmate told me I was a Yankee.
I don't ever even think of the concept now as an adult.
My grandmother, from Arkansas, used to say "Come give me a yankee dime!" meaning a kiss on the cheek. I never even thought about the meaning or the history of that phrase till I had been an adult for many years.
Depends on where you are at. If you are overseas, then all of us including Southerners are considered Yankees.
I noticed that too when watching news comments from the UK and Australia. They sometimes refer to ALL Americans as "Yanks" or "Yankees".
Since I have an SEC/ACC education in Florida, I view the "Yankee" states as being part of the Big 10 - lol. That's how the southern world of football sees it.
There is a media misrepresentation I have to point out. The "South" is often portrayed by Northerners as a racist, bigoted, segregated region. But I found the modern "South" to be very progressive and tolerant of minorities. By contrast, racial tension in the midwest where I went to college was much worse. The segregation in white-flight neighborhoods of Chicago or Detroit is much more virulent than the Florida Panhandle or many parts of Georgia. Maybe "Chicagoans" are sometimes more "Old South" bigoted than actual modern Southerners - lol.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,557,931 times
Reputation: 6254
Quote:
Originally Posted by grad_student200
I noticed that too when watching news comments from the UK and Australia. They sometimes refer to ALL Americans as "Yanks" or "Yankees".
Since I have an SEC/ACC education in Florida, I view the "Yankee" states as being part of the Big 10 - lol. That's how the southern world of football sees it.
There is a media misrepresentation I have to point out. The "South" is often portrayed by Northerners as a racist, bigoted, segregated region. But I found the modern "South" to be very progressive and tolerant of minorities. By contrast, racial tension in the midwest where I went to college was much worse. The segregation in white-flight neighborhoods of Chicago or Detroit is much more virulent than the Florida Panhandle or many parts of Georgia. Maybe "Chicagoans" are sometimes more "Old South" bigoted than actual modern Southerners - lol.
History is forgotten when convenient, and also held as hard unchanging fact when equally convenient. It's all about narrative and bias.
Fact is, no one region is any better or worse. The trouble spots are just in different areas. No less than three times living in Louisiana was I approached by modern KKK recruiters. That was in the span of two years as well, 2008 and 2009.
On the flip side, in general all races were amicably mixed and mingled in the larger towns and cities down south, whereas in the north you will see a lot more division in many of the cities. IE: This is the part of town where the Chinese live, this is the black part of town, this is the Italian part of town, etc.
Also, screeching self-righteous ideologues are much more prevalent in the north and west coast. They may claim to be liberal, lefty, tolerant people; but they aren't. They are every bit the bigots that they claim to be in opposition to.
History is forgotten when convenient, and also held as hard unchanging fact when equally convenient. It's all about narrative and bias.
Fact is, no one region is any better or worse. The trouble spots are just in different areas. No less than three times living in Louisiana was I approached by modern KKK recruiters. That was in the span of two years as well, 2008 and 2009.
On the flip side, in general all races were amicably mixed and mingled in the larger towns and cities down south, whereas in the north you will see a lot more division in many of the cities. IE: This is the part of town where the Chinese live, this is the black part of town, this is the Italian part of town, etc.
Also, screeching self-righteous ideologues are much more prevalent in the north and west coast. They may claim to be liberal, lefty, tolerant people; but they aren't. They are every bit the bigots that they claim to be in opposition to.
You're absolutely right. Many of the people in those two areas hate minorities.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,557,931 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kswisscarl
You're absolutely right. Many of the people in those two areas hate minorities.
Hatred of minority groups is only part of the problem, sadly. Hatred towards any people for their sexuality, age, gender, or ethnicity is all bigotry. Hating straight masculine white men is no better or more justified than hating gay transgender black women.
I dislike bigots of all stripes, no matter how righteous they believe they are.
I'm from AZ and TN. When I first moved some folks would call me a yank, endearingly. I personally consider New England, NY and most of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest as yankee. Sometimes Cali? It is really more of a mindset hah and no rational basis. At its 'real point' it really is only New England plus NY and NJ, I think? Some of my 'real' southern friends use it to describe anyone not from the south though.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,557,931 times
Reputation: 6254
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazybreakfast
I'm from AZ and TN. When I first moved some folks would call me a yank, endearingly. I personally consider New England, NY and most of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest as yankee. Sometimes Cali? It is really more of a mindset hah and no rational basis. At its 'real point' it really is only New England plus NY and NJ, I think? Some of my 'real' southern friends use it to describe anyone not from the south though.
The most common and factual post civil war definition is anybody from a Union state. Missouri, Kentucky, and WV partially excluded for border-state reasons.
This means the entire Midwest and the northeast as it existed in 1865.
True, but I don't think anyone uses the confederate states and border states to define it anymore? I could be wrong though! But yes, Cookie you are definitely correct on that front!
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,557,931 times
Reputation: 6254
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazybreakfast
True, but I don't think anyone uses the confederate states and border states to define it anymore? I could be wrong though! But yes, Cookie you are definitely correct on that front!
I think it's just an obsolete term now. Other than concerning Baseball, one lake (Yankee lake), and some New England based cultural effects.
Here in upstate NY the terms northern, and northerner are used rather than Yankee. Yankee doesn't start to show itself with pride until you cross the Hudson heading east. Even then it's more of a novelty than anything else (along the same lines as how Florida uses the gator as a local cultural mascot).
Labels come and go like any other fad. And as time has gone on less and less people care about north versus south on an individual scale.
Eventually, I don't think anybody will care at all outside of the obscure bigot or a knowledge of American history.
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