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I've lived in Northern CA most of my life and don't remember hearing negative stuff about southerners. I've been thinking about this and if it's a Southern CA thing, I have a theory.
During the dustbowl during the depression, lots of folks moved to southern CA from places like Oklahoma looking for work in the orchards, mainly. Not sure if the attitude is an old anti-Okie thing, but it's a thought.
The huge influx of dustbowl "immigrants" wreaked havock on labor and jobs for southern Californians. Anyway, that's all I can think of.
Edit: Just found this online:
"The migrants represented in Voices from the Dust Bowl came primarily from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri. Most were of Anglo-American descent with family and cultural roots in the poor rural South."
So, they weren't just from Oklahoma, they were also from southern states. This is an interesting topic.
One of my roommates was an "Okie" in California. I wonder how much Okies influenced the culture of the central and southern interior valleys of California.
Texas certainly is the most unique of all southern states because of its location, topography and history, but I will let Texas Reb school you on why it is a southern state thru and thru.
Actually I think Louisiana is the most unique state in terms of location, topography, history, and cuisine...
Great post, but I would respectfully mention that -- while I definitely agree about El Paso -- that even the extremes near where the straight Texas/New Mexico border begins, that those cities have quite a bit of Southern history/culture behind them. Well, just for instance, the oldest high school in Midland is named Midland Robert E. Lee...and the mascot is the Rebels. There was a reason for that. Being that most of those who settled that area where Texans and southeasterners moving west. And it makes perfect sense. They must have been proud of it all or it would not exist. Neither would that large parts of western Texas are a couple of the strongest Southern Baptist bastions in the country.
Yes, it is true that (another loss to the idol of political correctness ) that the "overt" motif in schools across the South... is fading out. (That is to say, the old style waving of Confederate Battle Flags and the use of "Dixie" as a fight song, etc) is either being outright banned or else being gradually changed.
For instance, in Amarillo Tascosa High School, what was one a west Texas school proud of its Southern history, has turned loveable "Colonel Reb" into the "Rebel Kid"; which is a parody of a western gunslinger.
The humorous irony is that even with the change, that the Texas Rebel Kid has a real historical solid prototype of being either a Confederate soldier or son of the same. Hell, likely those tough old guys would have probably shot anyone who dared suggest they would be ashamed of their Southern beliefs and values...
Now, I can agree that there is nothing wrong with change over time in some ways. BUT, it seems more and more today that it is NOT gradual and accepted change...but rather, an obvious attempt to become politically correct and distance ourselves from our Southern heritage because it might (gasp!) "offend" someone. Oh lord forbid that we might "offend" someone" if we have the audacity to study and recognize our roots and heritage and culture. (*shrieks with horror*).
Look away, Look Away, Look Away, Dixieland...
Texans want to be known as rough and tumble live and let lives and the South was more dainty sublime sipping mint julips type of people, so most Texans would prefer to be associated with the Old Wild west but hey, you are entitled to think we are associated with the "gingerly" south.
Yes a lot of the history is Southern, but Texas values have aligned more with Western and Southern in recent years.
IMO, Oklahoma is Texas's younger brother, and Arizona is its first cousin.
Why? I don't understand why people think Arizona has some relationship with Texas. They were settled at different times and by different groups. There is really not much crossover between the 2 states and they are essentially in different parts of the country. Arizona has far more in common with it's neighbors i.e. California and Nevada and with it's four corners neighbors-New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado and even moreso with other western states including the PNW than it does with Texas or Oklahoma. Nobody in Arizona considers Texas as part of the same region.
Texans want to be known as rough and tumble live and let lives and the South was more dainty sublime sipping mint julips type of people, so most Texans would prefer to be associated with the Old Wild west but hey, you are entitled to think we are associated with the "gingerly" south.
Yes a lot of the history is Southern, but Texas values have aligned more with Western and Southern in recent years.
The reality? Both Texans and Georgians are most likely living in a suburban development doing a nine to five grind and rarely get outside or sip a mint julep on the porch. Both are watching some sports show sitting on their couch.
LMAO. Yeah, you Sooner you, I figured you would take a slug at me! I can't wait until we kick y'alls butts next year!
Of course, that is mighty big talk on my part, in light of what we got last year, huh?
But seriously, I always sorta looked at Oklahoma as a "younger brother" of Texas (somewhat akin to how Arkansas is bit older double 1st cousin). We might have had a history of sibling animosity in some ways (especially when it comes to college football! LOL), but by gawd and high cotton, we fight on the same side of the creek when it comes to Yankees making the mistake of jumping in!
Amen on all fronts except the Sooners getting rolled! Y'all gotta learn to play some defense before beating OU.....then again, the Sooners need some major upgrading on D as well!
=cBach;30165763]Texans want to be known as rough and tumble live and let lives and the South was more dainty sublime sipping mint julips type of people, so most Texans would prefer to be associated with the Old Wild west but hey, you are entitled to think we are associated with the "gingerly" south.
Well, a lot of the moonlight and magnolias and mint-julips was a product of Hollywood...same as the movie image of Texas being nothing but cowboys and ranches and desert. In reality, cotton was king in Texas and most folks were small farmers, not ranchers or cowboys. Sure, there is a lot to the Wild West aspect of Texas, but it really boiled -- and still does -- down to Southern history, attitudes, politics, speech, religion, etc, as pretty much being the essential South moved into a more "western/frontier" type environment. And that makes perfectly good sense given that the vast majority of settlers to Texas were anglo and blacks from the southeast. And far as that goes, I doubt many of those mountain folk in the Upper South didn't fit very well into that "cavalier" stereotype either! LOL
Perhaps one of the biggest indicators can be found in the two most extensive regional self-identification studies/surveys ever done. In one, 84% of Texans said they considered themselves to live in the South, and some 70% considered themselves Southerners. In another (which was published in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers), when given a choice of regional affiliation, 71% chose "South" over "West". (I have posted both in various threads around the forum, but will send copies via DM if you want to take a look in them.)
Quote:
Yes a lot of the history is Southern, but Texas values have aligned more with Western and Southern in recent years.
Why? I don't understand why people think Arizona has some relationship with Texas. They were settled at different times and by different groups. There is really not much crossover between the 2 states and they are essentially in different parts of the country. Arizona has far more in common with it's neighbors i.e. California and Nevada and with it's four corners neighbors-New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado and even moreso with other western states including the PNW than it does with Texas or Oklahoma. Nobody in Arizona considers Texas as part of the same region.
This is a very good point. I know personal experience is not empirical evidence necessarily, but I honestly never met anyone from Arizona or even New Mexico considering Texas part of the same "West" and/or "Southwest". And with good reason.
It is true both have a large Hispanic population, but even then they they were shaped by different forces. Raymond Gastil in his book "Cultural Regions of the United States" put it it pretty succinctly:
Unlike the Interior Southwest, neither aboriginal Indian nor Spanish-American culture played a central role in the definition of the area. The people of Texas are mostly from the Lower, Upper, and Mountain South and these Southerners easily outnumbered the Spanish speaking and Indian people even before the state joined the Union. Therefore, when we refer to a large Spanish-speaking population in Texas, we are primarily speaking of a relatively recent immigrant population, quite different from the core areas of the Interior Southwest."
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) that the "overt" motif in schools across the South... is fading out. (That is to say, the old style waving of Confederate Battle Flags and the use of "Dixie" as a fight song, etc) is either being outright banned or else being gradually changed. 
fight on the same side of the creek when it comes to Yankees making the mistake of jumping in!
