Poll: Why do some southerners try to pretend TX is the South? (Houston: transplants, living in)

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

I hate to be so dramatic and formal, but here goes:

Sometimes I may not agree with your posts, but this one is dead on the money. After reading such stupidity as the poll options, I hate to admit I used to live there. Then a decent post that makes it clear that not all Texans are such insular braggarts comes along and restores my faith in the State.

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Good post. The only quibble I would make with your very relevant observations are that that the "Great Plains" are not a true region. That is, in the sense of sharing a coherent historical and cultural kinship. Kansas and Nebraska have almost nothing in common with Texas.

Likewise, the "west" as concerns Texas. The true identity of a region is its bond with other states, and even most parts of West Texas (while not topographically "Southern") share more characteristics with the southeastern states than the true Southwest.

Ok, what "true region" do I live in then?

[RangerDuke08]

Ignorance ... on part of the OP. Geographically Texas falls in the South as much as Louisiana does, sure someone can contest it falls in the SouthWest, I'd say both but still geographically it is still Southern. Historically Texas was also part of the Confederacy. Socially well there is a also a good mix of "Southern" and "SouthWestern" trends. In a way Texas is a country of it's own, but one cannot deny that there are many southern characteristics that persists. As for the debate whether the South lacks prestige, well the fastest growing region is actually in the SouthEast, NC/SC/GA/FL and in urban areas in TX. TX is supposedly the anchor of the new North American trade and in a few years down the road may be the unofficial capital of the United States. As the saying goes, "Don't mess with Texas".

[westhou]

Does it really matter if people say that Texas is part of the South, Southwest, or just a region of it's on? I consider everything east of I-45 to be the South and everything west of I-45 to be the Southwest. But that's just me.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by burgerflipper

Ok, what "true region" do I live in then?

Thanks for your kind words earlier.

Anyway, as to what region you live in? Well, don't misunderstand what I was saying when I said I didn't consider the Great Plains a region in the true sense. Topographically, it is. It is roughly deliniated by "Tornado Alley". Which are the Southern, Central and Northern Plains.

However, while the states within share these similarities, they are not bonded by true commonalities of culture and history. Which is the mark of a true cohesive region in the classic sense.

I mean, I can go to Kansas, and many landscape similarties are no different than my part of North Texas. On the other hand, the whole culture changes in Kansas. The language, the general "feel", etc.

Here is a example which might sound silly, but illustrates a bit. My ex wife (my kids' mother) was a Kansas native. I LOVED to go up there and visit. Truly enjoyed it. Her daddy was, like I am, a history buff. And there were afternoons when he and I would go out just driving and such. Sometimes he would go to old rural cemeteries....

We have the same old rural graveyards in my part of Texas. But the difference which I noticed? In Kansas, the older ones were inscribed with GAR on it. In Texas, it is UCV.

Anyway, not to ramble, but I would say that ones personal identification with a region is what might matter most. The vast majority of Texans identify with the South. By one of the same studies, the vast majority of those who lived in Kansas and Nebraska identified with the Midwest.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by westhou

Does it really matter if people say that Texas is part of the South, Southwest, or just a region of it's on? I consider everything east of I-45 to be the South and everything west of I-45 to be the Southwest. But that's just me.

My friend and fellow Texan, I just wish that "Southwest" could be clarified. If there is ANY region more mecurical in definition than "The South", it is the "Southwest" LOL

Arkansas used to be a part of the old Southwest Conference. For good reason. At the time, Texas, Arkansas and even Louisiana (and Oklahoma when it became a state) were considered "SouthWest." However, it was meant to denote a western part of the South. A twin of the Southeast, not a totally seperate region.

When Arizona and New Mexico became states, they too became to be referred to as "Southwest." And the relationship to the South itself became "increasingly unclear"

Texas is Southwest as in "western South". New Mexico and Arizona are Southwest as in "southern West."

At least that is IMHO! LOL

[westhou]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

My friend and fellow Texan, I just wish that "Southwest" could be clarified. If there is ANY region more mecurical in definition than "The South", it is the "Southwest" LOL

Arkansas used to be a part of the old Southwest Conference. For good reason. At the time, Texas, Arkansas and even Louisiana (and Oklahoma when it became a state) were considered "SouthWest." However, it was meant to denote a western part of the South. A twin of the Southeast, not a totally seperate region.

When Arizona and New Mexico became states, they too became to be referred to as "Southwest." And the relationship to the South itself became "increasingly unclear"

Texas is Southwest as in "western South". New Mexico and Arizona are Southwest as in "southern West."

At least that is IMHO! LOL

Hi TexasReb!

The only area I really care about is Southeast Texas (where I live) and I definitely consider it the South. Driving up Hwy 59 from Houston to Lufkin probably looks a lot like all the other southern states. The food we eat, the slow pace (even in a big city like Houston), abundance of Southern Baptist churches, and the Confederate flags you see from time to time. All these things make Southeast Texas very southern to me. I can't really speak for the rest of Texas because I have not lived there.

[NowInWI]

I don't get the problem here. If you go south of Texas, you're in Mexico. How about we give Texas its own classification - South Central. That is more truly where Texas lies.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by westhou

Hi TexasReb!

The only area I really care about is Southeast Texas (where I live) and I definitely consider it the South. Driving up Hwy 59 from Houston to Lufkin probably looks a lot like all the other southern states. The food we eat, the slow pace (even in a big city like Houston), abundance of Southern Baptist churches, and the Confederate flags you see from time to time. All these things make Southeast Texas very southern to me. I can't really speak for the rest of Texas because I have not lived there.

I don't know, exactly, how to articulate it...I can't begin to do justice to it...but I know it is real. Southerners know one another instinctively, even if we cross paths far away from our native states and region.

And too, being born in the South does not necessarily make one a Southerner. A "southerner" (lower case intended) maybe, but not a Southerner.

The South is a state of mind and attitude and outlook as much as anything else. If one thinks of themselves as Southern...then they are. If they are ashamed of being? Then they aren't.

Anyway, I always liked the way novelist Pat Conroy put certain things on this topic. To paraphrase:

A Southerner is, and a Southerner know he is...

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Thanks for your kind words earlier.

Anyway, as to what region you live in? Well, don't misunderstand what I was saying when I said I didn't consider the Great Plains a region in the true sense. Topographically, it is. It is roughly deliniated by "Tornado Alley". Which are the Southern, Central and Northern Plains.

However, while the states within share these similarities, they are not bonded by true commonalities of culture and history. Which is the mark of a true cohesive region in the classic sense.

I mean, I can go to Kansas, and many landscape similarties are no different than my part of North Texas. On the other hand, the whole culture changes in Kansas. The language, the general "feel", etc.

Here is a example which might sound silly, but illustrates a bit. My ex wife (my kids' mother) was a Kansas native. I LOVED to go up there and visit. Truly enjoyed it. Her daddy was, like I am, a history buff. And there were afternoons when he and I would go out just driving and such. Sometimes he would go to old rural cemeteries....

We have the same old rural graveyards in my part of Texas. But the difference which I noticed? In Kansas, the older ones were inscribed with GAR on it. In Texas, it is UCV.

Anyway, not to ramble, but I would say that ones personal identification with a region is what might matter most. The vast majority of Texans identify with the South. By one of the same studies, the vast majority of those who lived in Kansas and Nebraska identified with the Midwest.

Ah, ok. It just seems to be the most disputed region as far as it's name goes. Being from extreme eastern NE we have always identified with Midwest and Plains equally, its always seemed. Anyway....just curious.