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To start off with, this is not a troll thread and only respectful replies need be made. I am inspired to write this question based of things I have seen in real life and from many of the threads I have read on cd. It seems like some people have a real dislike for people from certain areas (for example NYers, Californians, and Texans, among others) and some people will be openly rude or hostile to a person because of where they are from without getting to know the person first. I have seen this when I was in the military and afterward, and the funny thing is, the people that act like this generally speak out against forms of prejudice (racism, sexism, etc.). My question is, since a person has no choice in where they came from, why is such open prejudice and hostility somewhat acceptable?
People living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan often refer to those living in the Lower Peninsula as "trolls". It's kind of the same thing everywhere, but mind the line between ribbing and demeaning. That's an important one.
There seems to be a lot of open hate or hostility in the south against northern people. Granted I never seem to hear the Northerners speak ill of the southerners.
To some extent we all have an "us vs them" mentality. Whether that is an attitude towards people from a large group, or towards the menacing (insert group here) guy crossing the street and coming towards you.
When I was in sales I found that many people from various groups often behaved in a way that made my ability to earn my pay much more difficult. When I encountered people from these groups, I tended to shy away from them in the hopes that I could work with someone more likely to be a good customer. In that situation, it was financial survival.
In the case of the guy crossing the street, we subconsciously connect what we know about that group, and make decisions accordingly. Where it may directly affect us, many of us forgo getting to know an individual, and (at least at the beginning of the "relationship") respond to that person as being from whatever we group them to be. In this case, it may be actual survival.
As for being openly rude, I would never intentionally convey a bad attitude towards anyone, just because they're from a certain group. That's something a New Yawkah would do.
It's socially acceptable because the complainers are in the midst of their own group. Others in the group may agree or disagree, but we aren't generally likely to speak up to one of our own when they complain about an outsider. The "us vs. them" mentality mentioned by vmaxnc.
I disagree that this behavior is more prevalent in people who reject other -isms. It's a mix. The people I know who do this come from all ideological stripes.
The apparent hostility can stem from things as minor as a "friendly" state rivalry or as significant as resentment against a group that has threatened local culture by moving to an area en masse. And plenty of complaining flows in the other direction as well...ask a Californian or New Yorker in South Carolina what they think about people there. It's all unfair generalization. People should be treated as individuals. That having been said, I'm a transplant myself and am not immune to making generlizations sometimes after being irritated by some of my new neighbors.
Edit: It's also the case that some states have a general reputation, often perpetuated by the media but also by overly state-proud transplants, that has spread like mold to those who like to generalize. If you're from one of those states, best prepare to be pigeonholed elsewhere.
Last edited by Slithytoves; 10-14-2013 at 02:35 PM..
As for being openly rude, I would never intentionally convey a bad attitude towards anyone, just because they're from a certain group. That's something a New Yawkah would do.
There seems to be a lot of open hate or hostility in the south against northern people. Granted I never seem to hear the Northerners speak ill of the southerners.
How come you capitalized northerners and wrote southerners in lower case? If you have not heard northerners speak ill of the south you must live in a cave.
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