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Men in pick-up trucks with pro-gun, pro-Jesus and pro-life bumper stickers. This deep-seated mistrust of big government.
By this criteria Pa, Oh, In, Ill, Mo, and much of the rest of the Midwest, Mountain states, and the interior Northwest and California are "the South" as well.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WanderingFar
Technically, no.
But when I was in Arizona recently, it did feel very culturally southern to me. Men in pick-up trucks with pro-gun, pro-Jesus and pro-life bumper stickers. This deep-seated mistrust of big government. Arizona also seems to be getting only redder politically while its neighbors (New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada) get bluer. The only western influences I noticed were in the tourist attractions. Arizona has definitely become a southern "ally" even if it isn't part of the South.
Anti government, pro-gun libertarians exist in the West? Imagine that. . I'm pretty sure you'll find men in big pick up trucks with NRA stickers in every corner of rural America.
As to the pro-life bumper stickers, well plenty of those here in NM as well. But this state is also very heavily Catholic so that's not really something that's unique to the South. I'm also pretty sure red and blue state identities don't necessarily always transcend into regional characteristics either. Religion in the Southwest does not even come close to the influences found in the South.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 05-22-2016 at 08:08 AM..
In a geographic/literalist sense, yes, it's in the southern part of the US. Culturally/geologically? No. My opinion, I know it's a generalization, but start at Mexico, draw a line directly north thru San Antonio's western suburbs, all the way up to Canada. Everything west of that, is the west, culturally and geologically IMO. Now there's a lot of differentiation, but in general, since I'm in the East, and it's convenient to have 4 regions (MW, SE, NE and W), that's just how it is. Just curious, can anyone think of a city that has qualities of all 4 regions? Geologically or culturally. I can think of some that have 3, but not
4.
I think one factor is hispanic immigration, catholicism isnt declining as much as protestantism
A very large portion of Hispanic immigrants aren't Catholic but evangelical Protestant. Mainline Protestantism is probably what's on the decline, but evangelical Protestantism, particularly the Pentecostal/Charismatic strains, is big among Hispanics in particular.
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. I'm pretty sure you'll find men in big pick up trucks with NRA stickers in every corner of rural America. 
