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Your first mistake is in assuming that people outside the South are not socially conservative, are not religious, and whatever ridiculous stereotypes you're conjuring up.
I agree with this, parts of the West are just as if not more religious and socially conservative as the Deep South, states like Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, parts of Arizona and New Mexico.
big cities like Raleigh are anything but Southern these days, you hardly even hear southern accents down there these days, by the way Raleigh has lost its southern Character not because of immigration but because of massive amounts of people from New York, Chicago etc. moving there.
So does that mean Atlanta has lost all of its southern character? You'll find a hell of a lot more outside transplants in the Atlanta metro. You'll also find transplants around Richmond, the Hampton Roads of Virginia, Charlotte, maybe Columbia and the SC Upstate, Nashville, etc. Do you honestly think these transplants are overpowering and outnumbering the natives? I seriously doubt it. Maybe Raleigh is less southern than it used to me, or isn't stereotypically southern these days, but it's still the south. Natives still live in Raleigh, and they still have accents. Even if you won't run into people that sound like Goober Pyle. We might have transplants, but Raleigh can be both southern AND East Coast. These transplants can give it the East Coast vibe, many are coming from the northeast.
There is definitely some degree of homogenization that has occurred and will continue to occur. As time goes by regional differences may be less sharp, but they still exist and IMO will continue to exist.
Something I think you are failing to consider: it is true that when "outsiders" move to a new area they bring traditions/beliefs/culture with them which changes their new location, but those new arrivals also adapt and they take on some of the characteristics of their new location. In addition to the weather and cost of living, some people move to the South b/c they like cultural aspects of it. Maybe the slower pace of life.
An example: People have been moving to New York City by the thousands for centuries. Is New York no longer New York? Of course New York is still a distinct place with its own culture. That culture has changed, but it is still its own thing. IMO your question is like someone in 1880 asking if all these immigrants to New York are going to make it the same as Europe.
big cities like Raleigh are anything but Southern these days, you hardly even hear southern accents down there these days, by the way Raleigh has lost its southern Character not because of immigration but because of massive amounts of people from New York, Chicago etc. moving there.
Raleigh is still very much a southern city. It's just not the sleepy town that it once was.
The OP's premise is that every transplant to the south is a liberal Democrat. Republicans do in fact live up north and midwest. A lot of these transplants are moving down here to escape the high taxes and cost of living associated with blue states.
I have gathered from many people here that the South isn't a locale, but it's a mindset, it's traditions, it's culture, it's race. These things are not static so it follows that the South can't be static, either.
Are you saying the South is racist?
Pretty sure South just means geographic south. Almost everybody in south has family in other parts of country. Also think there are tranplants who are pro life. Lot of transplants come here to escape blue state politics.
The South, in its traditional sense, will continue to exist for many generations. But the question is where it will exist. The region IMO will become increasingly polarized between its low-density rural areas, and its increasingly cosmopolitan cities and college towns.
Last edited by JMT; 11-15-2014 at 08:20 AM..
Reason: Removed offensive and inflammatory language.
I have gathered from many people here that the South isn't a locale, but it's a mindset, it's traditions, it's culture, it's race. These things are not static so it follows that the South can't be static, either.
Here's an imaginary scenario. State X experiences changes in its Southern aspects because of immigration, whereas other states around stay the same for the most part. Now, over time State X becomes less and less Southern. It might keep a few Southern aspects, but what are traditionally called Southern aspects are less and less. Now State X is considered not a Southern state.
Now, State Y borders State X. Maybe in 50 years the same thing happens to State Y. Now State Y has taken the aspects of the Northern states just like State X. Both states are now not Southern because their Southern characteristics faded. They are Yankee states. Now, let's say State Z is south of both states but experiences the same thing in 100 years. Now State Z looks a lot like X and Y and all look like the North. The Southern culture is gone, the accents have faded, and there is no hint whatsoever of Southern character in any state.
With this example being said, isn't it fair to say that eventually the South will become a distant memory? As more and more transplants move South, as more and more people become less religious, as more and more people become more socially liberal, Southern values fade and fade away from society. Does this mean that eventually the South will be a thing of the past?
Your stereotyping aside, sure, the South will eventually change....as will the North, the West, and the Northeast? All things change over time but, as it relates to the culture of the South???? Well, the more rural you get the more resistance to change you will probably feel. Same goes for everywhere else.
What will California, the most likely largest recipient of the soon-to-be-free illegal aliens, do when the lid comes off? Will South Central change? From what I hear, they aren't waiting, they are pointing guns at blacks and telling them to move, or else? Will the laws change in California to where almost 70% of your gross pay goes to support he infrastructure necessary to support them?
Then, how about all them gays in San Fran (figure it was fun to throw an ignorant lob at you in as much as you did the South)? Will San Fran eventually become non-religious full of gays going at it with one another?
Things change my friend and no one knows just how much or when. Look at South Dakota....5 years ago you couldn't pay people to move there....now?
In all seriousness, how many transplants and Yankees are moving down here? It's not like half the state of New York is moving to the South. Honestly, are there really that many Yankees moving to the South?!?! I feel like this assumption is way over exaggerated, especially for the area I'm from (Raleigh/Durham, NC). We still love our Bojangles, we still love our Tobacco Road ACC basketball, we still attend Tar Heels and Wolfpack football games even if they're terrible, we still visit the State Fair every October and knock ourselves out over the VERY southern food, we still eat excellent NC pork BBQ, some of us still drive down to Charlotte for a NASCAR race, etc. No, we don't burn crosses on people's lawns all night, we don't all fly Confederate battle flags, we don't talk like Goober Pyle, we're not illiterate and marry our cousins, and this last one is for some of y'all, we DON'T speak in New Jersey/New York accents. Raleigh is still a southern city, but like many others, it's not too stereotypically southern.
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