Is Texas part of the South? (membership, coastal, sold)

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by UTHORNS96

Have you ever spent time around Louisianans? They act like very other southern state besides them is bland with no culture just because of a small sliver of their state below I-10 that has an admittedly unique culture. The Louisianans on this forum absolutely relish being the darling southern state of northerners who like New Orleans.

Texas doesn't have the market cornered on arrogance. Look past your okie biases for a second

I'll admit that a lot of my biases are based on the treatment that Okies get on a certain weekend in October. l

When the newspapers feel free to take pot shots at your school and your state, when you take harassment from people on the roadways, and in public before and after the game. Of course it takes all of about two seconds to get a Texan to start dissing you in a conversation. After the game is over you get a lot of "get out of our state, trailer trash" comments, and if Texas wins, then signs and stuff rubbing it in on the way back up I-35. Crap written on overpasses. People standing on overpasses harassing you. People sitting in law chairs by their cars on the side of the roads with signs rubbing it in.

So yes, it's mildly annoying to be called inbred, trailer trash, cheater blah, blah, blah, by people that are no different than you are, live at the same standard as you do, and are is in your face about it as you get it on that weekend. Especially when they actually believe it.

Another example for you not involving Oklahoma.

At the Texas at Ohio State game in 2005, they panned the crowd and somebody had a sign that said "Austin is better than Columbus." Who besides you guys would have somebody worrying about comparing towns at a time like that?

Are we working with stereotypes here or facts?

Mega,

I'd say that you are an exceptional Texan if you cop to admitting that other states have their "pros".

[Ball freak]

Except for West Texas, Texas shares the most in common with Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. So yes it is overall Southern. Ron White is from near the Texas panhandle and he sounds as Southern as it gets.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Bobloblawslawblog

Yes, you are confused. You know very little about Texas. Adobe dwellings are not common anywhere in Texas. Not even in the Trans-Pecos. You're confusing Texas with New Mexico.

They might not be common, but theyre there, Ive seen them around the Big Bend area. You dont see that stuff in Georgia now do ya?

Originally Posted by Bobloblawslawblog

There's Spanish colonial architecture in Florida. Is Florida in the Southwest?

Youre correct, Florida is the sole exception here. The rest of the south? You wont see that style anywhere, unless its replicated.

Originally Posted by Bobloblawslawblog

There are no "red rock" areas in West Texas. It's the Chihuahuan desert, not Sedona or Southern Utah. Totally different geological area. However, there is a lot of red soil in East Texas. Probably a few red rocks as well.

There are red rocks, Ive seen them. Of course its not like Zion National Park or anything, but theyre there. Same goes for Oklahoma.

Originally Posted by Bobloblawslawblog

Speak to what you know, which obviously isn't Texas.

I know enough to say that west Texas doesnt feel southern whatsoever. Those that claim it does have either never lived down South or lived out West... or maybe just ignorant altogether!

[Bobloblawslawblog]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

They might not be common, but theyre there, Ive seen them around the Big Bend area. You dont see that stuff in Georgia now do ya?

I've been to Big Bend several times, and I'm familiar with those buildings. A few ruins from when Texas was still a part of Mexico, in an extremely remote and almost uninhabited part of the state. So what? There's also a built-to-scale mock-up of Stonehenge just outside of Kerrville, TX. Should we call that area of Texas "Druid"? There are old L.A. style bungalows all throughout the Heights neighborhood in Houston. Should we start considering Houston part of the West coast?

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Youre correct, Florida is the sole exception here. The rest of the south? You wont see that style anywhere, unless its replicated.

So I take it you've been everywhere in the South? I haven't, so I wouldn't know. I'll speak to the parts of the South that I'm familiar with, and I'm more familiar with Texas than any of the others. There is more Spanish colonial architecture in San Antonio than there is anywhere in West Texas... and SA is in the part of TX that is very much a part of the South. Just because it has a strong history of Spanish-Mexican settlement doesn't make it non-Southern. Unless of course you're bogged down in those pathetic stereotypes of plantations, Spanish moss, and sweet tea (which is actually served in most local eateries in SA).

Originally Posted by Steve-o

There are red rocks, Ive seen them. Of course its not like Zion National Park or anything, but theyre there. Same goes for Oklahoma.

Where? I've spent extensive amounts of time in Trans-Pecos TX and never saw any areas that even remotely resembled the red rock deserts of AZ, NV, or Utah. Finding a few scattered rocks in the desert with a reddish color doesn't count. I can find even more of those kind of rocks in many Eastern states. You're reaching here.

Originally Posted by Steve-o

I know enough to say that west Texas doesnt feel southern whatsoever. Those that claim it does have either never lived down South or lived out West... or maybe just ignorant altogether!

There are countless Texans who will strongly disagree with you. I have lived both "down South" and "out West", and from where I sit, it is YOU who is coming off as extremely ignorant. What makes you an expert on Texas anyway? Just curious.

[hell_storm2004]

I voted for South. But the problem is direction is relative. From New York Texas is South West. From Oklahoma its South! From California its East!

[TexasReb]

=Steve-o;37216517] They might not be common, but theyre there, Ive seen them around the Big Bend area. You dont see that stuff in Georgia now do ya?

So is Georgia the "standard" of all things Southern? Or any other Deep South state for that matter. How many know that the "Empire State of the South" moniker first referred to Texas in the 1850's? BTW -- this isn't a slam against Georgia by any means. It is a beautiful state and I have distant kin and friends there. It is just an historical fact.

Youre correct, Florida is the sole exception here. The rest of the south? You wont see that style anywhere, unless its replicated.

Just as most of the ones in Texas are replicated. It has a real estate appeal. That was brought up earlier.

I know enough to say that west Texas doesnt feel southern whatsoever. Those that claim it does have either never lived down South or lived out West... or maybe just ignorant altogether

I am not trying to be intentionally rude by any means, but could it be you are just being a bit arrogant and condescending...?

Anyway, it has already been discussed about how that, certainly, west Texas definitely doesn't have the topography that does the more eastern parts of the South. However, for all this knowledge you claim to possess on the topic, how much time have you actually spent mixing with the natives? I definitely have, as my grandparents lived in Lubbock (named after a Confederate figure, BTW), so I am no stranger to those parts. And among the people who resided there, it was not much different in native mannerisms and all, that I have experienced with natives of Mississippi or Alabama, or Tennessee. Which should be no surprise as that was where their ancestors came from to begin with.

West Texas was overwhelmingly settled by pioneers from the southeastern United States, and they didn't just lose their attitude and customs and traditions and religion just because they located in a physical environment different from where they migrated.

They had to adapt and adjust to it to make a living, certainly, but the rest stayed fairly constant. One of the strongest -- if not the strongest -- Southern Baptist dominated areas of the country is in West Texas. Same with the linguistic patterns and dialect, etc. And most west Texans -- I grant that the trans-pecos is an exception -- still consider themselves to live in the South and think of themselves as Southerners. It is no accident that so many west Texas counties are named after Confederate figures and have monuments to the Confederacy on their court-house grounds. A

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Bobloblawslawblog

I've been to Big Bend several times, and I'm familiar with those buildings. A few ruins from when Texas was still a part of Mexico, in an extremely remote and almost uninhabited part of the state. So what? There's also a built-to-scale mock-up of Stonehenge just outside of Kerrville, TX. Should we call that area of Texas "Druid"? There are old L.A. style bungalows all throughout the Heights neighborhood in Houston. Should we start considering Houston part of the West coast?

Youre missing the point, man. Mexicans/Natives/early settlers/etc utilized adobe bricks because that was the regional thing to do! Trees and grass arent abundant like they are down south, so thats what they used for homesteading instead. Its not southern style, its solid western style. Is that so hard to understand? And mentioning modern homebuilding thats designed to mimic styles found elsewhere and comparing it to original/native styling is odd. Very odd. But hey! Whatever floats your listing boat.

Originally Posted by Bobloblawslawblog

So I take it you've been everywhere in the South? I haven't, so I wouldn't know. I'll speak to the parts of the South that I'm familiar with, and I'm more familiar with Texas than any of the others. There is more Spanish colonial architecture in San Antonio than there is anywhere in West Texas... and SA is in the part of TX that is very much a part of the South. Just because it has a strong history of Spanish-Mexican settlement doesn't make it non-Southern. Unless of course you're bogged down in those pathetic stereotypes of plantations, Spanish moss, and sweet tea (which is actually served in most local eateries in SA).

Ive traveled all over the south, visited pioneer sites and battlefields, and even lived there for awhile. Im quite familiar with the south and its architecture/history. Am I an expert? No. But I wouldve thought it was readily apparent just how vastly different the south and west are, and how painfully obvious just how different the homebuilding styles and materials are from one another.

And did you just really mention sweet tea? Really? Yeah, any place that serves sweet tea automatically shows its southern roots. Next time I grab a sweet tea in Chicagoland (which there are several places that do), Im gonna have to remember this swell conversation of ours.

Originally Posted by Bobloblawslawblog

Where? I've spent extensive amounts of time in Trans-Pecos TX and never saw any areas that even remotely resembled the red rock deserts of AZ, NV, or Utah. Finding a few scattered rocks in the desert with a reddish color doesn't count. I can find even more of those kind of rocks in many Eastern states. You're reaching here.

There are areas of the Llano Estacado (sp?) that have red rocks, no different than right across the border in NM. And look at the Gloss Mountains in Oklahoma. Lots or red rock, dirt, etc, in those areas. Im not reaching here, Im just observant and well-traveled.

Originally Posted by Bobloblawslawblog

There are countless Texans who will strongly disagree with you. I have lived both "down South" and "out West", and from where I sit, it is YOU who is coming off as extremely ignorant. What makes you an expert on Texas anyway? Just curious.

Im not an expert on Texas, never said I was. However, I know enough about it, and have visited it enough to have a good idea what its all about. Ive seen the sights, talked to the locals, etc.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

It is no accident that so many west Texas counties are named after Confederate figures and have monuments to the Confederacy on their court-house grounds. A

Thats because TX, uh, you know, was, um, part of the Confederacy.

Confederates invaded AZ and claimed it as theirs, too, but theres no Southern feel here whatsoever, thank goodness. Confederates tried to claim KS as pro-slavery, too, but we all know how that ended for them. There are gravesites and monuments to Confederates in KS, as well as strong rivalries that still exist to this day (albeit peaceful ones), but I would never say KS is southern in feel, even in its far SE section of the state. And just like TX, the difference between far eastern and far western KS is like night and day.

[Taiko]

I remember a pop geography book The Nine Nations of North America. It said something to the effect that the line between the west and the south ran right along the line of Dallas (south) and Fort Worth (west)

[slingshot]

You folks are beating a dead horse. Every state has a center, a north, a northeastern, a northwestern, a south, a southeastern, a southwestern, yadda yadda yadda. But Texas, which is the state to which the op was referring, is in the south. Just so yall can keep having fun, why don't yall break it down into counties?