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Huh, brother, am I being put into the middle here...lol.
I am German, speak fluent and my own "version" of english....lol..love the north, love the south, and have nothing to do with the civil war stuff, since us germans were to involved and busy with our own nonsense.....lol.
I blend in, take on culture, see myself as a "welcomed legal guest", treat people with respect...and expect the same treatment back.
Call me a yankee, a hick...whatever...I take it as a compliment any time, any day...just don't call me a nazi or a ***** -or you will be toast!
(the edited portion with the cute little *'s is NOT a bad word....rather a reference to us germans being called like a type of cabbage....lol)
"nough said
Last edited by MB2; 06-02-2007 at 08:37 AM..
Reason: edit *'s
People are just people. I think if a person treats others with kindness and respect, he should be liked and respected in return--no matter where he comes from and no matter what his accent is. We should all remember that.
I have been in NY for quite a while for work and this is someone who comes from the South.
My only problem with a lot of Yankeeland is the "Yankee centric" mentality that I also find in California. Sure, there are a lot of beautiful (if not jaw dropping) parts and so many fascinating things about the NE (and Cali for that matter) but why consider everything else chicken feed? A lot people don't even have a clue where my home state is located! When I meet someone I ask them a lot questions about where they are from and about their home b/c I am equally interested in learning more about their home.
Aside from that, no complaints and that is coming from a born Yankee, raised Southerner.
Is Northern culture any different -- why yes. You can find more big cosmopolitan cities, faster pace of life/more exciting for some, live in closer proximity to things, different kinds of restaurants. There are also plenty of strip mall areas, low class/working class people, whiny parents and tax and spend liberals, Mr. BMW on-tail, horn bonker, etc if you want me to throw back some reverse stereotypes up north. However, my preference is that I feel rushed and stressed out in the North and prefer the more laid back feel of the South.
I consider myself about as Yankee as they come- I live in a small town on a small island on the coast of Maine. My ancestors have been in this country since the mid 1600s, and on this island since the early 1800's. So I really have to disagree with you here. I have to drive over an hour to a WalMart, McDonalds or movie theater. I live in place where the only traffic jam occurs at the 4 way stop, because nobody dares go first. It is a slow, community-oriented, neighbor-freindly kind of life.
Quote:
Should you care to examine the fine things available in the South and in Southern culture you would find a lot of things that are impressive and worth keeping? Some of the food is delicious, and a lot of time and care are spent preparing big family meals. I like the feeling of graciousness and meal as a time to talk and relax, give and take, talk to your neighbors. There is plenty of Southern food that is unhealthy also. Many less people fry with lard then before and you can find Thai or Italian cooking in any place.
I'd rather be a Yankee, legally allowed to work in the South than not be a Yankee, but also not be able to stay, like I am now.
Just like there's nothing wrong with being a Southerner with a thick accent, however some people like to joke that there is something wrong or undesireable about it, like maybe they're inbred. But that is not the truth, not even close, and most people know it.
If someone calls you a Yankee, take it in stride; it's probably meant in a playfull way of describing you being from somewhere else, but still American.
I always thought that the Southern accents was a mark of refinement- especially in Tidewater Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina where there's almost a British lilt to it.
vasinger hon, anyone who has read my posts knows that I bear no personal prejudice against whatever accent one has, but if you haven't noticed the way the southern accent is treated in the US media (hint, it isn't usually associated with refinement) then you need to get out more.
I'm not saying this as one who is looking down her nose either, there were a couple members of my extended family growing up that could have given Fran Dresher a run for her money, and no, that isn't considered an accent of refinement either , but those are the facts, the southern accent is often (unfairly) stigmatized, just as many other regional accents in the US are.
Stop and take stock in just what the South is all about. It is a sub culture , I know I lived there 20 years.
Very steeped in family, religion , defending fellow Southerners, don't trust anyone from north of the Ohio river...The likes of Thomas Wolf , and Tennessee Williams tell it well.........inbred, well yes, that went on a lot , especially those remote mountain areas, sooner or later, they ran out of fresh breding stock, and It was make that difficult trip over the mountain , or , marry your sister....
In the town I lived ( western NC), there were many people with the same last name, and , they all denied being related ?
Yup they no longer teach it in schools. You learn for three years about world culture, two on Native Americans, spend months on civil rights, but your basic American history gets little more than a back burner rapid fire one year high school treatment.
I ask some French people while I was there if they learned about American history much in class and they said No. Ditto for Canadians. Its good to know stuff about the world but America comes first and foremost.
EXACTLY. For those of you lost by my American History comments, find for me the one and only English writer that supported Lincoln and the north during the war. Here's a tip, he based his whole argument on the myth that it was a war to end slavery. Then go through the list of European writers whose support and sympathy was directed to the Confederacy. If you want to argue historical facts and fallacies, let's roll. If you want to argue today's culture, you'll find that we agree more often than not. Northern, Southern, makes no difference anymore until someone makes it an issue.
Holding both sides to the same standard here, I would argue that the majority of my Southern brothers are just as historically stupid as those north of the line claiming their ancestors fought to free the Africans. You won't learn the whole truth in a government school.
BTW Wall street, if that comes across a bit cranky, sorry, I ain't really answering your statement other than agreeing with it, I just chose to quote yours, and forgot the other's name that didn't like what I had put up.
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inbred ?
