do Maryland residents consider themselves as "Southerners?" (Baltimore: DMV, store)

[cpterp]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

I have to call you out on this one Cterp. The ACC is a Southern conference. The history of Good Old Boy Commissioners and segregation prove the claim. UVA is UMD biggest rival, ask any grad over the age of 30 and they will tell you the same.

Rutgers and Cal are short term series, calling them "rivalries" is a big stretch. Our rivals are Duke, UNC, UVA and our other conference foes. If you don't believe me attend some basketball or football games and check the intensity level of the crowd.

KeyserSoze - calling Western Maryland Appalachia is no offense to me, I wear the identity with honor.

Well, the ACC isn't a Southern Conference anymore, especially not with Boston College and Miami. Maybe back in the day UVA was UMD's biggest rival (although I was under the impression that Navy and Penn State were for football), but now it's Duke for basketball and WVU for football. The only home basketball game that I missed last season was the Duke game, because the tickets ran out in a few minutes. I've also never been to a WV game, partly because they postponed the series, but also because I never was able to get tickets for the last home game, but I did hear about the numerous fan fights that broke out (trust me you won't see that when UVA comes over). When UVA routed us in C'ville last year, hardly any students went (from UMD or UVA).

I made the UNC basketball game last season and there wasn't an empty seat in Comcast Center. The UVA games are so lackluster compared to the Duke and UNC games. Maybe it's because UVA sucks at pretty much every sport (even though they always seem to "upset" us). If G'town was willing to play us in basketball they would undoubtedly be our biggest rivavlries. Rutgers is our rival for women's basketball though, as well as UNC. Puke is pretty much our rival for everything since we hate that POS school so much.

Anyways I don't think who are rivals are have anything to do with the state being Southern or not. There are many North/South rivalries especially in the Big East and ACC coastal conferences.

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by johnnyholiday

Having grown up in New Jersey, Maryland is definitely a southern state. Things are just so much different here.... and I live in Montgomery County.

Before I moved to Maryland I had never met a fundamentalist Christian, not once in my entire life. There are so many of them here, at least many more than in New Jersey.

Fundamentalists live EVERYWHERE while there's more of them in the South meeting a fundamentalist doesn't mean you're in the South. Perspective is everything and I think the DC area is pretty darn liberal. Is it as liberal as New Jersey no. That's the thing with folks from further north who come to the DC area or wherever in Maryland and call it Southern. It's different and south of New Jersey but Maryland is NOT the South. I'm from Georgia and I know what the real south looks like and neither Maryland or Northern Virginia are it.

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze

If this is the case for every area around the country, then how come this makes Maryland so different? Like I've said so many times before, you get off the beaten path(the 95 corridor), you'll see that Maryland still retains elements of its native Southern ways. Heck, even within the 95 corridor, you can still find Southern things native to the state. Howard County's seal, for example, has the image of wheat and tobacco leaves, two important crops that were grown in the county and are crucial points of the county's heritage. Wheat was grown everywhere, but in this country, tobacco made its mark in the South. While Baltimore is an unique blend(that DOES have Southern traits, no matter how insignificant or un-cliched to you it may seem), and while Western Maryland is more like Appalachia(no offense westsideboy), an entity in itself, how are you going to convince others that areas of Baltimore, Harford, Cecil, Howard, Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George's counties no longer retain some Southern ways when I've seen it? What about the Shore & Southern Maryland in particular?

Tobacco was grown all over the country particularly in the early colonial days. I'd say that it flourished in North Carolina and Virginia but it can be grown in other places besides the south.

I'm sorry being a southerner I just don't see how Maryland is southern maybe once upon a time but right now in 2009 Maryland is NOT southern. Yes there was slavery in Maryland and yes it was below the mason dixon line but those are unique characteristics that it shared with the South but that doesn't make it southern.

[DomRep]

I don't think Maryland residents consider themselves Southern. It may have its southern aspects. I've got friends who have lived in Maryland for years and don't consider themselves southerns. In fact, they relate more to DC than Maryland.

Now, if you're talking about counties over the bay bridge and the likes of Calvert County, then...that's another story. I've got friends who live in Calvert County and the stories they tell me about having an out house and such...I mean, I dunno. And just to add, has anyone been to Solomon's Island? I have. If that isn't "southern" I don't know what is. So in the end, it has its southern traits, but is it overtly Southern? No.

The whole killing thing though isn't redneck or southern, it's just rural. I too have friends who hunt their meals and they aren't southern or redneck.

Reading through this thread though, I'm not really sure what the intent is of bringing up "well so and so county is the 3rd wealthiest county for populations 65-250k." Does that really matter? What difference does it make if its a rich or poor county?

[KeyserSoze]

Originally Posted by terrence81

Tobacco was grown all over the country particularly in the early colonial days. I'd say that it flourished in North Carolina and Virginia but it can be grown in other places besides the south.

Tobacco was grown in other areas like Ohio and up in New England, but like we both said, it made its mark in the South -- particularly in Maryland, Virginia & North Carolina. In a strictly colonial sense, these areas are the South.

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze

Tobacco was grown in other areas like Ohio and up in New England, but like we both said, it made its mark in the South -- particularly in Maryland, Virginia & North Carolina. In a strictly colonial sense, these areas are the South.

Colonial times it was southern, sure I'll give you that. But in 2009? Not this part of the country Maryland is not southern anymore.

[tercel95]

This thread is just full of people trying to convince each other that their opinion is right when there really is no definite answer...

MD is a diverse state and has elements of both period...

The original question was "Do MD residents consider themselves Southern?"... So if you are/were a MD resident voice your opinion but don't try and speak for the entire state...

When I lived in Silver Spring it felt northern, when I lived in southern MD it felt southern to me... That is my experience with MD...

This problem extends well beyond this thread in that the western/eastern/southern parts of MD always play second fiddle to the urban parts of MD... They really are worlds apart...

[cpterp]

Originally Posted by terrence81

Colonial times it was southern, sure I'll give you that. But in 2009? Not this part of the country Maryland is not southern anymore.

That hits the nail on the head, and sums up one of the two points I've been trying to get across:

-Maryland may have be Southern in the early 1800's and prior, but now it's not.
-There may be some Southern influences on the Shore, and some say Southern MD, but the majority of the State (and it's population) follows a strong Northern culture.

[cpterp]

Originally Posted by terrence81

Fundamentalists live EVERYWHERE while there's more of them in the South meeting a fundamentalist doesn't mean you're in the South. Perspective is everything and I think the DC area is pretty darn liberal. Is it as liberal as New Jersey no.

I would even go as far to say that Maryland is more liberal than New Jersey. It's not as uniformly spread throughout the state like in NJ obviously, but in Central MD (where over 90% of the population lives) it's extremely prominent. New Jersey has conservative enclaves in in their most populated regions. In the current gubernatorial race Christie (the Republican) has more than a 10 point lead over Corzine (the Democratic incumbent). It's highly likely that O'Malley will win next year's race, unless Doug Duncan challenges him in the primaries. The Republican party in MD is effectively dead. Just yesterday:

MD. GOP Chairman Abruptly Resigns


"The Maryland GOP has struggled to stay afloat financially...the last time reports were due, the party had $703.10 in a pair of state accounts...It reported almost $498.58 in a separately maintained federal account...

By contrast, the Maryland Democratic Party had more than $755,000 in its two state accounts as of January and almost $112,000 in a federal account as of July."

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by cpterp

I would even go as far to say that Maryland is more liberal than New Jersey. It's not as uniformly spread throughout the state like in NJ obviously, but in Central MD (where over 90% of the population lives) it's extremely prominent. New Jersey has conservative enclaves in in their most populated regions. In the current gubernatorial race Christie (the Republican) has more than a 10 point lead over Corzine (the Democratic incumbent). It's highly likely that O'Malley will win next year's race, unless Doug Duncan challenges him in the primaries. The Republican party in MD is effectively dead. Just yesterday:

MD. GOP Chairman Abruptly Resigns


"The Maryland GOP has struggled to stay afloat financially...the last time reports were due, the party had $703.10 in a pair of state accounts...It reported almost $498.58 in a separately maintained federal account...

By contrast, the Maryland Democratic Party had more than $755,000 in its two state accounts as of January and almost $112,000 in a federal account as of July."

From my understanding south Jersey near the ocean is more Republican. I met a guy, gay republican, from around there. I remember him saying that area was more republican.