[kallenfranchise]

Originally Posted by Bass&Catfish2008

I think ol' EddieG is right on the money.

Personally, I think Oklahoma is overtly Southern. Anyone outside of our Metro areas can experience this Southern culture, not just "country" culture in virtually every small town throughout The Sooner State. Heck, Southern/twangy accents can still be heard by the majority of ol' timers and some of our young people even in OKC, and most definitely in Tulsa. Just listen, it's there. And yet, this overt Southern culture is distinct from what one would find in the Deep South. People who assert that the South is just one monolithic cultural land mass without cultural distinctions and differences here and there are just flat out wrong.

Geographically, Oklahoma is South-Central. Always has been and always will be.

I think this post is worth bringing back to the forefront!

[kallenfranchise]

Originally Posted by johnspecial

The AP Stylebook that is a required handbook for journalist but often neglected.

South
As defined by the U.S.
Census Bureau, the 16-state
region is broken into three divisions.

The four East South Central
states are Alabama, Kentucky,
Mississippi and Tennessee.
The eight

South Atlantic states are
Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Maryland, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

The four West South Central
states are Arkansas, Louisiana,
[font=serif]Oklahoma and Texas.
http://www.quarterboundpress.com/qbp...ide%202005.pdf


So whenever you run across a commercial or a article that mentions Oklahoma as a midwestern state you have one of two scenarios in play.

1. They are too lazy to use an approved stylebook
2. Have a bias and want to change the perception(this is the most probable scenario for Tulsa writers)

Very good point!

[teakboat]

So if Tulsa identifies itself as Midwestern to the extent that you take notice, then isn't Tulsa by definition Midwestern?

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by teakboat

So if Tulsa identifies itself as Midwestern to the extent that you take notice, then isn't Tulsa by definition Midwestern?

An interesting discussion is taking place over on the General Forum (Page 2 of the General Forum now if you're wondering).

The OP proposed the thoughtful inquiry: "What city is most like a Midwest city that is not in the Midwest?" or something to that effect.

It was a perfect opportunity for someone to make a case for Tulsa being the epicenter of Midwestern culture as a few (very few actually) on here like to posit. In over four pages of discussion on the topic, Tulsa was not mentioned.

Sorry.

I know the thought might be, well, "Who are those Midwesterners to tell us who/who isn't in the Midwest?!" I think given the fact that they're from undeniably Midwest states, that should count for something.

I know as Okies it's in our blood to be non-comformist. However, in this particular scenario it might be a tad overkill in light of the obvious evidence to the contrary.

Maybe a few of ya'll should get together and go make your case for Tulsa as "the most Midwestern city not in the Midwest." Don't be surprised if there are more than a few who disagree with your position. As I said before, Tulsa needs some love on that thread as there is not one mention of Tulsa in the dialogue. Good luck.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by kallenfranchise

I think this post is worth bringing back to the forefront!

Yeh, folks are sadly mistaken if they think that a place can only be the South where shrimp grits are consumed, mint juleps are sipped, polo is played in front of the plantation, the Spanish moss hangs from the old oak tree, and the ladies speak in a fakey aristocratic drawl from the likes of Gone With the Wind.

*add any other Southern generalization here*

[Rubi3]

Oh, suh! How you do go on.


(Fanning fast.)

[swake]

Originally Posted by Bass&Catfish2008

An interesting discussion is taking place over on the General Forum (Page 2 of the General Forum now if you're wondering).

The OP proposed the thoughtful inquiry: "What city is most like a Midwest city that is not in the Midwest?" or something to that effect.

It was a perfect opportunity for someone to make a case for Tulsa being the epicenter of Midwestern culture as a few (very few actually) on here like to posit. In over four pages of discussion on the topic, Tulsa was not mentioned.

Sorry.

I know the thought might be, well, "Who are those Midwesterners to tell us who/who isn't in the Midwest?!" I think given the fact that they're from undeniably Midwest states, that should count for something.

I know as Okies it's in our blood to be non-comformist. However, in this particular scenario it might be a tad overkill in light of the obvious evidence to the contrary.

Maybe a few of ya'll should get together and go make your case for Tulsa as "the most Midwestern city not in the Midwest." Don't be surprised if there are more than a few who disagree with your position. As I said before, Tulsa needs some love on that thread as there is not one mention of Tulsa in the dialogue. Good luck.

But if the majority of Tulsans feel they ARE in Midwest, and they do, in what way would that question apply?

[#1soonerfan]

Why oh why won't this thread die?

I spent some time with some family in the Birmingham AL suburbs right before I moved out of OK. Granted it was just for a weekend but comparing the two there is very little cultural overlap. Several times, I was asked, so how's everything "out west." I saw more confederate flag decals and "Robert E Lee" this and "Jefferson Davis" that in my weekend in Birmingham than I ever did in my 9 years in OK. Maybe its different to folks in AL because that is the DEEP south, but I got the view that they view us as fellow southerners as someone views their distant cousin. We are technically related, but not really. I am quite OK with this frankly.

I think something really needs to be clarfied. The midwest, also like the south, is not a monolithic region, but can probably be broken up into the Great Lakes Region (Chi-Pitts), Upper Midwest (Minn, Dakotas, IA), and the Great Plains (basically from Kansas City westward). Western and Northern Oklahoma, and even OKC to a lesser extent, have a VERY similar culture to what is found in the Great Plains. A bit more "basptisty" but similar cuisine, attitudes, economic activity, etc. From my travels, people in Nebraska and Kansas have very similar dialects to people in Enid, Woodward, Elk City, etc. Not a nasally Chicago accent, but a somewhat twangy but otherwise pretty neutral dialect. You have to go north and east of Omaha before you start getting the Northern Cities Vowel Shift.

Likewise, Tulsa is pretty similar to Kansas City. After all it is only 3 hours from KC, far closer than any similar sized southern city. KC is NOTHING like Chicago outside a somewhat shared history, and I would argue most lifelong KCers would be more comfortable in Tulsa than, say, Atlanta or Jackson.

Southeast Oklahoma, as in south and east of Ada, are probably the only parts of the state one could say with confidence are southern. Outside of that cultures definitely start fading in and out.

[eddie gein]

Why won't this thread die?

It's too much fun arguing about this. Oklahoma is fascinating in the regard to the amazing cultural nuances it possesses.

[okie1962]

Originally Posted by Bass&Catfish2008

An interesting discussion is taking place over on the General Forum (Page 2 of the General Forum now if you're wondering).

The OP proposed the thoughtful inquiry: "What city is most like a Midwest city that is not in the Midwest?" or something to that effect.

It was a perfect opportunity for someone to make a case for Tulsa being the epicenter of Midwestern culture as a few (very few actually) on here like to posit. In over four pages of discussion on the topic, Tulsa was not mentioned.

Sorry.

I know the thought might be, well, "Who are those Midwesterners to tell us who/who isn't in the Midwest?!" I think given the fact that they're from undeniably Midwest states, that should count for something.

I know as Okies it's in our blood to be non-comformist. However, in this particular scenario it might be a tad overkill in light of the obvious evidence to the contrary.

Maybe a few of ya'll should get together and go make your case for Tulsa as "the most Midwestern city not in the Midwest." Don't be surprised if there are more than a few who disagree with your position. As I said before, Tulsa needs some love on that thread as there is not one mention of Tulsa in the dialogue. Good luck.

Well kiss my grits!