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LOL!!! Here we go again. For starters let's take a good look at these posts. I have yet to read of one person "from" the South that may be moving North post about being accepted. But you read on any state thread that is "The South" and that is all you see. For example you see these all the time:
"How will I be treated being from The North?"
"Are there a lot of rednecks?"
"Do I have to attend church?"
"The Civil War is over."
"Yankee __________"
So the answer that has been repeated a million times to all of these are:
How will you be treated if you move to the south from the north? Fine, just don't make a butthole of yourself. Don't come to somewhere new expecting it to be just like where you moved from. Don't expect it to change overnight and don't expect it to change at all. Remember why you moved in the first place. Keep wanting these changes to make it more like where you came from and guess what? You will want to move again to find a slower pace of life or whatever it was you were after.
Are there a lot of rednecks? I'm a redneck and rightly proud. To use the term "redneck" means simply that we are hardworking and value our family. What many have associated the term redneck to is what we simply refer to as "trash". HUGE DIFFERENCE!!! And you will find both no matter where in the country you are.
Uum none of us hardly ever bring it up but it is usually someone from the north that makes the first mention of the Civil War, lol, honestly. I'm over the war and most of my family was on the confederate side. It was a LONG time ago and it is over with, move on please. Growing up here and even in our history books it painted the South as the "bad, evil" side and the North as the more "compassionate" side. No where in these textbooks does anyone learn that during the war the northern states made it illegal for freed slaves to move there. Hmmm. But back to NOW. No, we don't live in the Civil War and don't go gettin all mad when you do see the Confederate flag or the Stars and Bars. They are our heritage just as much as they are yours believe it or not. And believe it or not most of us Southerners have VERY DEEP roots in the northeast and the founding of this country. Our ancestors first settled there and then after the Revolutionary War they were given land grants in the new areas and they happened to be in the south. There is much learning that needs to be done on both sides of this whole issue.
Do you HAVE to attend church? NO!!! But don't go gettin your panties all waded up when someone asks where you go. They are just being polite and social. Remember that "Southern Hospitality" that you were looking for? Don't mistake it for something else when you see it. I've lived amoung many people that I was the only one that went to church. As a matter of fact the farther you are out in the country the less likely it is for most people there to attend church. I also see MANY people at church (a Southern Baptist church) that have tattoos. So it is NOT a big deal.
The term "Yankee". You call us "rednecks" or "hicks" we jokingly call you a yankee. If you don't want to be called a "d a m n yankee" then don't make a big deal about it when someone says "yankee" to you. I have been to MANY places around this country traveling and the minute someone hears my Southern Texas accent or sees my Texas DL I all of a sudden get the cold shoulder. It is horrible and totally disrespectful and I would NEVER treat anyone like that.
Yankees and Confederates are as old and dusty as the Indians and Cowboys, both have no importance or significance to modern society. The Civil War, Reconstruction, the North economically superior over the South, and the end of slavery, are the issues containing significance.
You'd never have to worry about "reconquista" when it comes to the south, heck, i'd dare Al Qaeda to come and invade the south!
Great post Blue. It has been said that people are afraid that terrorist would come to the gun shows in the south to buy weapons-------------this would be interesting. I would love to see that. As for the {damn Yankee} thing. As the joke goes. A yankee comes south to visit----------a damn yankee stays.
People in the south are passionate about alot of things. The TN Vols are a HUGE deal. People often miss work if the Vols lose as they are so depressed! ROFL We even have cornbread and kudzu festivals. These passions often border on the ridiculous but hey, to each his own. There are civil war reenactments that are very realistic. You may go to a small historic downtown and see men walking around in their old-timey uniforms holding rifles (Chickamauga GA). Some of these passions are not only ridiculous but can be dangerous. Pickups driving around w/large rebel flags waving from the tailgate and we still have areas (mostly very rural) where people of color don't dare tread. It's darn embarrassing to some of us natives! As far as Yankees, I just don't see anything to worry about as long as you are neighborly. I had some jewish friends who moved here from "Joisey" and they were amazed at how welcomed they felt and were truly sad to have to transfer away. That's about it in a nutshell.
LOL!!! Here we go again. For starters let's take a good look at these posts. I have yet to read of one person "from" the South that may be moving North post about being accepted. But you read on any state thread that is "The South" and that is all you see. For example you see these all the time:
"How will I be treated being from The North?"
"Are there a lot of rednecks?"
"Do I have to attend church?"
"The Civil War is over."
"Yankee __________"
So the answer that has been repeated a million times to all of these are:
How will you be treated if you move to the south from the north? Fine, just don't make a butthole of yourself. Don't come to somewhere new expecting it to be just like where you moved from. Don't expect it to change overnight and don't expect it to change at all. Remember why you moved in the first place. Keep wanting these changes to make it more like where you came from and guess what? You will want to move again to find a slower pace of life or whatever it was you were after.
Uum none of us hardly ever bring it up but it is usually someone from the north that makes the first mention of the Civil War, lol, honestly. I'm over the war and most of my family was on the confederate side. It was a LONG time ago and it is over with, move on please. Growing up here and even in our history books it painted the South as the "bad, evil" side and the North as the more "compassionate" side. No where in these textbooks does anyone learn that during the war the northern states made it illegal for freed slaves to move there. Hmmm. But back to NOW. No, we don't live in the Civil War and don't go gettin all mad when you do see the Confederate flag or the Stars and Bars. They are our heritage just as much as they are yours believe it or not. And believe it or not most of us Southerners have VERY DEEP roots in the northeast and the founding of this country. Our ancestors first settled there and then after the Revolutionary War they were given land grants in the new areas and they happened to be in the south. There is much learning that needs to be done on both sides of this whole issue.
Do you HAVE to attend church? NO!!! But don't go gettin your panties all waded up when someone asks where you go. They are just being polite and social. Remember that "Southern Hospitality" that you were looking for? Don't mistake it for something else when you see it. I've lived amoung many people that I was the only one that went to church. As a matter of fact the farther you are out in the country the less likely it is for most people there to attend church. I also see MANY people at church (a Southern Baptist church) that have tattoos. So it is NOT a big deal.
The term "Yankee". You call us "rednecks" or "hicks" we jokingly call you a yankee. If you don't want to be called a "d a m n yankee" then don't make a big deal about it when someone says "yankee" to you. I have been to MANY places around this country traveling and the minute someone hears my Southern Texas accent or sees my Texas DL I all of a sudden get the cold shoulder. It is horrible and totally disrespectful and I would NEVER treat anyone like that.
I've lived in the Charlotte area all of my 41 years. I agree with a lot of what this post says. The "church thing" is just a way of being friendly, not trying to "convert" or whatever. I think some just automaticly have their own prejudices about religion and get all worked up. I'm a devout christian and have friends/family who are religious and non-religious. We get along with no problems. But you have extremists on both sides (religion haters and religious people who think everyone's going to hell except them) and they're both wrong. Fortunately, they're few and far between.
Southerners are NOT obsessed with the civil war. That's just a stereotype. The few who are are the oldtimers, like my dad and grandfather. The same way with the "yankee" thing. When it's used, it's usually in good-natured jest, just like when northerners "tease" us about our accents. We take it in stride.
When some of the posters have stated, "don't make a butthole of yourself and you'll be ok, ect, ect", they mean things like not comming here and saying things like, "This is the way we did it in NY, NJ, CA, ect". BIG cardinal sin and considered VERY rude in the south.
If you go to the NC or SC forums, you'll see that most people who have moved here from outside of the south love it here and have been more than welcomed. It's simply the attitude you come here with. It'd be the same if I moved from outside of the south. It works both ways. All of us want to make connections. As long as we don't believe all we see on tv or read, and realize we don't always have to agree in order to get along, things would be soooo much better.
Primarily, it is generations of withheld guilt that cause northerners their greatest discomfort when travelling to the Southland. Personally, I have forgiven you of your forefathers' sins, but I will not forget.
The terms "yankees" and "northerners" are the same thing to most of us, not necessarily a derogatory term. The one thing that gets on our nerves more than anything is the loud mouthed, rude, pushy, demanding yankees who think they are smarter, better, more sophisticated, and demand that things be done a certain way because, "back in Long Island, THIS is how we do it!!!!..."
That's nice, but we don't give a *&^%$#@ about how things are done in New Jersey or Long Island. If ya'll don't like the way we do things, then pack up your crap and head back up I-95.
I've seen this in Florida. Hard working rural folks, who live in a small home or trailer, just trying make a decent life.......only to have some pushy yankees who've cashed out their homes up north (for lots of $$$$$) move in and be able to afford a really nice place. Then, the northerner gets pissed because of the small home/trailer...."doesn't look nice...I want nice" so they lobby for zoning and other changes, that force out the natives.. All because they don't think it's "nice" enough.
Or another time, when I like to go out near the swamp and shoot my shot-gun. A new "neighbor" from New York gets pissed at me for shooting because, "I don't like the noise" and they call the local cops on me. I said, it's my property and I'll shoot all day if I want to. Don't even get me started on the rude way they treat waitresses and store clerks....demanding and pushy.
Bottom line....if ya'll come down here, then please respect our slower pace of life and our hospitable nature. Be respectful of your new home and we'll more than likely, respect you as well. Don't come down here rude and demanding that we change for you just because you did it a certain way up in Boston. We don't want the northern "stuff" that ya'll tried to escape from in the first place.
Yes, some of us like to study the civil war. My family has a long, proud heritage of war vets from the old Florida infantry. Good ole' boys, hard working, tough, and proud. It's got more to do with family history for most of us. Having civil war records from the courthouse in Tallahassee is how I learned about many of my long past family members.
I've always perceived the term 'yankee' to be a good-natured rib rather than an insult. It is heartening to read that is the case.
I'm a northerner with a great-great-great grandfather who was 'invited' to join the Union Army as he stepped off the boat from Ireland. His Civil War/War Between the States/War of Northern Agresssion discharge papers are still in the family, as is his army-issued rifle (!). He was injured by a minee ball, discharged, and died in 1869. What happened to the Confederacy was a tragedy for both north and south, especially when one thinks that slavery would probably have collapsed under its own weight eventually, but that's another debate for another day.
White southerners have had much to answer for. Even during FDR's presidency, southern opposition to an anti-lynching law was so strong that FDR wouldn't initiate one, for which Eleanor never forgave him. Let's hope this entire country has evolved well beyond those dark days.
I may not understand present-day southerners much, but I respect them.
I just have to put my two cents in on this one, because I was raised in both North and South. My perspective is torn.
When I talk, I definitely sound Northern which my Southern cousins constantly remind me of. Sigh. This is not meant to be a compliment in their eyes.
And, no, Yankee is no term of endearment and, if anyone says so, then they are just foolin' ya.
Listen, Northerners make fun of Southern speech styles; and Southerners hate our fast clipped Yankee speech styles. Goes both ways.
My son worked as a waiter in college, and used the Texas y'all to his favor up North. When he would come up to people he would ask, "Hi, ya'll. How can I help you?" This made the Northerners ask where he was from, why he was here and so forth. Made him alot of money as they liked his story. He used it to his advantage. Trust me, he does not say "y'all" at home...ahhh...salesmanship. The Northerners he waited on were incredibly nice when he said he was from Texas actually.
Regardless, the North destroyed the South for many, many generations. I can see why they deeply distrust Northerners. And, yes, some are just downright hostile and rude towards Northerners.
On the other hand, alot of Northerners still have the idea that Southerners are dumbass backwoods hicks. Not.
This is one of those Rodney King situations where you want to say, "Can't we all just get along?" He was an uneducated man who said the most basic thing, but he nailed it on the head, didn't he?
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