Should Northern Louisiana become a seperate state?

[hdwell]

I have thought about this scenario myself (Louisiana splitting in two). It could be beneficial and at the same time detrimental. Remember Virginia and West Virginia? West Virginia had to pay back a large sum of money to the Commonwealth over a period of 60 years from aftyre the civil war until sometime in the 1920s. North Louisiana would have to do that most likely. In addition, I don't see a great movement for a separatist government here.

On the beneficial side, we could pass laws which would enhance business and adopt a new state constitution which would be based on English common law as the other 49 states are. The state government of La has been a real hinderance in getting things done up here! But I never look for this to happen. As stated before by other comments, many states have these splits. Texas has east and west Texas; two regions which could be hardly more dissimilar.

[hindsight2020]

I have to concur with hdwell. I've lived in GA, AL, IN, OK and LA. Both in Oklahoma and now NW Louisiana me and my fiancé both agree there is a marked "dragging of the feet" when we frequented restaurants and/or retail establishments. This was not the case in Indiana, and north central indiana at that, where people have been labeled to be more dry than those on the southern end of the state. AL and GA were very pleasant as well in that regard, people had a pleasant demeanor about their jobs, in spite of the overt racial tensions that still coin social dynamics on these states.

Both in OK and here, I take it to be a mix of poor work ethic and a Dallas flare for being a little too busy to bother. It's not something to get worked over about in the bigger spectrum of things, but it is certainly not southern or midwestern in nature. I understand your job working retail or restaurant might suck, I did it too at one point, but people had these sucky jobs in Indiana and Georgia as well and they didn't act so overtly disgruntled about it. That said, there are plenty of decent people here and it works for us right now, but it's not inherently friendly nor the epitomy of work ethics.

[Phil75230]

There are definite differences between each region of the state. You can get into divisions and subdivisions of individual areas. I personally divide the state into three primary areas, based on broad cultural similarities

*New Orleans - Speaks for itself, though there are differences between Creoles and Cajuns
*Acadiana - the truly Cajun area..extends from about Houma to Lake Charles, northward to just south of Alexandria.
*North Louisiana/Florida Parishes - The Florida Parishes are anything along I-12 and to the north of it that is still south of Alexandria (Arguably, this includes Baton Rouge, although I grant there's room for dispute here).

As for N. La (where I grew up) - East of the Ouachita River, and especially the Tallulah-Lake Providence-St. Joseph-Ferriday area..that's for all practical purposes Mississippi. This area even gets more TV stations from Miss. than from La (possibly Ferriday gets Baton Rouge stations, but I'm not sure). NW La - I call it a transition zone between Texas and the Deep South areas further east, but I personally still call it (and E. TX) the Deep South.

In the end, all definitions are subjective. But to answer the original question: Should North Louisiana Secede? NO! N. La is poorer than the rest of the state. It can't support itself well (IMO, even Mississippi would do a better job of supporting itself). For those talking about the vast cultural gap -- half the states in the union have their disconnects (Chicagoland vs. rest of Illinois; Seattle vs. rest of Washington; Atlanta vs rest of Georgia; N. Va vs rest of Va; on and on and on).

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Phil75230

There are definite differences between each region of the state. You can get into divisions and subdivisions of individual areas. I personally divide the state into three primary areas, based on broad cultural similarities

*New Orleans - Speaks for itself, though there are differences between Creoles and Cajuns
*Acadiana - the truly Cajun area..extends from about Houma to Lake Charles, northward to just south of Alexandria.
*North Louisiana/Florida Parishes - The Florida Parishes are anything along I-12 and to the north of it that is still south of Alexandria (Arguably, this includes Baton Rouge, although I grant there's room for dispute here).

As for N. La (where I grew up) - East of the Ouachita River, and especially the Tallulah-Lake Providence-St. Joseph-Ferriday area..that's for all practical purposes Mississippi. This area even gets more TV stations from Miss. than from La (possibly Ferriday gets Baton Rouge stations, but I'm not sure). NW La - I call it a transition zone between Texas and the Deep South areas further east, but I personally still call it (and E. TX) the Deep South.

In the end, all definitions are subjective. But to answer the original question: Should North Louisiana Secede? NO! N. La is poorer than the rest of the state. It can't support itself well (IMO, even Mississippi would do a better job of supporting itself). For those talking about the vast cultural gap -- half the states in the union have their disconnects (Chicagoland vs. rest of Illinois; Seattle vs. rest of Washington; Atlanta vs rest of Georgia; N. Va vs rest of Va; on and on and on).

Where I'll hair split on subdividing La up into subgroups is with Baton Rouge/Florida Parishes/River Parishes. My personal opinions: (1) The River Parishes, with their mix of blacks, labor, petrochemical plants, and antebellum homes, are in a world of their own, (2) BR and suburbs (Livingston, Ascension) have a mixture of north, south, and NO, and are also in a world of their own, (3) The Florida Parishes have characteristics of North Louisiana and BR/NO, especially if you're talking about Hammond/Pontchatoula.

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by hdwell

I have heard the opposite from people in this state/region. I don't exatly know what their personal experiences were, maybe the driving. Sometimes first impressions are lasting ones. Have you ever been to a store or restaurant and got less than courteous service? Downright rude worker attitude? Certainly you have. And when people go to another city and don't get treated civilly they don't want to go back. I don't have any problem here personally, but do notice civility could be better in some places. I wasn't trying to denigrate Shreveport-Bossier, but I have lived here most of my 52 years and have noticed the erosion of hospitality. Sure there are plenty of good people around here, but I don't think it is the friendliest place around.

I know you weren't, but I still think it's all relative to where other people are from.