Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"These people, Yankees from the city, are often rude, condescending, not very knowledgeable about History and culture of the world outside their cities but think they are, pushy, materialistic and not very community oriented."
There's a huge generalization. NYC & Boston obviously have alot to offer including nice stores and the best of everything. You won't find that in the rural South. That does make everyone there materialistic. This is 2007 and if one wants to enjoy nice things, by all means. If one dosen't, go to a tiny town with nothing.
Culture outside their city- I for one have always been interested in and leanred the History of Europe, South America and China. I was never interested in the people living the "simple life" in the rural South.
My main problem with the South is the region is so incredibly backwards with regards to civil rights. Even today, look at the treatment of homosexuals down there. Many Southern states have hateful Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. I doubt a single one will willingly legalize gay marriage. Like all other civil rights issues in the history of this nation, gay marriage will be forced upon them - as it should be.
Like gay rights, most Southerners were once upon a time opposed to abolitionism. The North had to force the issue. Same thing with integration. Same thing with sodomy laws. They've been playing catch up for decades now and the routine is getting old.
The North had to force the issue...whatever we dont need you to tell us what we should believe or not believe. Whatever happened to states rights????? If two homos want to get married in Conn or Mass thats fine let the voters of those states decide that. Thats basicaly why the war between the states was fought in the first place.
I'm a born and bread Southern. I've lived in Virgina, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Texas. I have family in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee and close friends in Louisiana. I've lived in cities from 685 to over 1 million in population and in Metropolitan areas as large as 6 million. And I've visited 33 of the lower 48 states, including all of the East Coast except for Maine.
So I think I speak with some knowledge of the South and it's culture. Hopefully, based on what I've learned in my travels I can provide some enlightenment to those look in from the outside.
There are many definitions for "Yankee", some are simply labels for any American, some refer to non-Southerners, and others Northerners specifically. I won't call you a Yankee, unless I know you, and like you. When I use it, it is intended as good natured joking. I do like to reference the joke about the differences between Yankees and Damn Yankees.
Some Northerns feel the need to knock the South for it's backwardness and lack of education. I would remind those individuals that "culture" is not the be all and end all of existence. That living a rural lifestyle does not effect ones mental capacity. One certain could make the argument that living in a doublewide in "backwoods" Alabama and farming is more ecologically friendly than living in the industrialized parts of the North. Kudos to New England for sticking to their ecological guns.
Educational achievements are not substitutes for common sense, nor is the level of education a guarantee of success. I personally know a Mensa member (someone who scored within the top 2%-ile on a standardized IQ test) with a PhD who can't balance their checkbook, has massive credit card and student loan debt, and who changes jobs every three to four years. (Of course anecdotal evidence is always suspect.) But my point is that regardless of where you went to school or how well the students there performed academically, every school has their success and failure stories. Which to me, indicates that there must be a personal aspect to success.
And just to play the Devil's Advocate, I took a quick look at US Census data from 2005. The results are less than overwhelming.
Table 12. Regional Educational Attainment of the Population 18 Years and Over, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 2005
Region.....HS Grad...Some College or more
Northeast..86.0%.....51.7%
South......82.1%.....49.5%
Midwest....87.2%.....52.6%
West.......83.4%.....57.4%
johnny, the courts in massachusetts had to go around the constitution to install gay marriage, they were afraid of the citizens having the right to vote. At least we gay our people in the South the right to vote for or against gay marriage and we voted in the interest of our culture, our children and our beliefs.
Ask, Mass to do the same and let the people vote, and if they all love it then it will be constitutionally sound, not having the courts do an end round play.
Its not backwards, its forward for our state and region, though it may not be in your state of MA
My main problem with the South is the region is so incredibly backwards with regards to civil rights. Even today, look at the treatment of homosexuals down there. Many Southern states have hateful Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. I doubt a single one will willingly legalize gay marriage. Like all other civil rights issues in the history of this nation, gay marriage will be forced upon them - as it should be.
Like gay rights, most Southerners were once upon a time opposed to abolitionism. The North had to force the issue. Same thing with integration. Same thing with sodomy laws. They've been playing catch up for decades now and the routine is getting old.
Where are you getting your information??
Do you know the largest slave trading city in the U.S. was New York City? Do you think there wasnt segregation in the North, even in the 20th century? Do you think Northerners openly welcomed freed blacks into their homes and towns after the war?
So you think gay marriage "should be forced upon them" That is a scary thought. The thought that is scary is that you think that your views, and yours alone are right and should be law.
News flash: There is not a politician I know of who would ever try to force an unpopular law upon the people down here, so get over it.
Dont even try to equate the segregation of a entire race of people over the issue of gay marriage.
I believe it was politicians and other lawmakers who forced the unpopular civil rights laws "down here". How popular was it to welcome people of color into public schools and universities? Integration had to happen and the only way for it to progress was by force. Interracial marriage was not legal at one time...both of these examples are ones that would have been defeated in a general voting situation.
Obviously same sex marriage is accepted by a lot of people in every state, but maybe not yet enough to win approval in a public vote. It's a minority that is demanding it's right to do something that everyone else in the U.S. can already do. The government must step in when a minority is being denied something due to prejudice. Same sex marriage WILL happen and is already fact in most of Europe, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Israel, Iceland, South Africa, etc...the tide is turning in favor of justice and fairness.
Why is it scary to you Carolina native? Afraid of your inner attraction to men surfacing? The real laugher is that is only affects those who want a same sex marriage.
johnny, the courts in massachusetts had to go around the constitution to install gay marriage, they were afraid of the citizens having the right to vote. At least we gay our people in the South the right to vote for or against gay marriage and we voted in the interest of our culture, our children and our beliefs.
Ask, Mass to do the same and let the people vote, and if they all love it then it will be constitutionally sound, not having the courts do an end round play.
Its not backwards, its forward for our state and region, though it may not be in your state of MA
Heck no Im not from Mass im in Georgia. My point was that the states should all have the right to vote and if a state wants gays to get married..blahhh..then that should be the states right. I just didnt like that one poster saying the north should have to come down here and tell us what we should think. Him and his boyfreind should just stay up north. Its funny though NYC gives the rest of New Yorkers a bad rep. Ive been up in New York in the western side and the majority of people there believe in much of the same values as we do in the south there not all Hilary C**ntins up there.
Last edited by Jammie; 02-07-2007 at 08:04 AM..
Reason: edited word
Its funny though NYC gives the rest of New Yorkers a bad rep. Ive been up in New York in the western side and the majority of people there believe in much of the same values as we do in the south there not all Hilary C**ntins up there.
So it is wrong to lump all southerners together and stereotype them, but it is OK to do that to people who live in NYC? Not sure if you have ever been to NYC, but there's not a bunch of Hillary Clinton clones walking around. With millions of people in a city you get millions of different view points, some even similar to your own.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
