Attitudes toward Northerners ("Yankees") (Knoxville, Mason: vs, moving to, bill)

[Pam& Bill]

Originally Posted by dave1961

Right on, sweetasslady! (Love that name, btw) This is my favorite post! I totally agree with it, especially the part about all the other posts on here asking questions like "Will I fit in? Will my children be picked on?"
When I move to Knoxville next year (God willing), I've already planned to buy a supply or orange shirts and a Vols bumper sticker for my pickup truck. Heck, I might even mount a gun rack in the back.

Ummm Dave- Good for you getting into the Vols spirit! But hello! This is 2009 Knoxville, not everyone has a gun rack mounted in a pick up truck nor does everyone have straw hanging out of their mouth or a hound dog on the porch. Stop stereotyping dude. Just be yourself.
Pam

[dave1961]

Originally Posted by Pam& Bill

Ummm Dave- Good for you getting into the Vols spirit! But hello! This is 2009 Knoxville, not everyone has a gun rack mounted in a pick up truck nor does everyone have straw hanging out of their mouth or a hound dog on the porch. Stop stereotyping dude. Just be yourself.
Pam

I didn't say EVERYONE has a gun rack, nor did I say the other stereotypical remarks you mentioned, which to be honest, I never even heard of before. You're being a tad bit too touchy, IMO! I like guns, so I AM being myself. If I want to put a gun rack in my pickup, I will do it. My Winchester 30/30 and Mauser K98 will look nice back there. Maybe it will be a good way to break the ice when meeting native Tennesseans. I can see a conversation starting like this: "You got guns? Yeah, man. Whatcha got? Oh, I've got a Winchester 30/30, an old German WW II Mauser K98, a DPMS AR15 and Glock 9. You?"
I like to fish, too. Can I say that without be labeled a stereotyper?

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by dave1961

"You got guns? Yeah, man. Whatcha got? Oh, I've got a Winchester 30/30, an old German WW II Mauser K98, a DPMS AR15 and Glock 9. You?"
I like to fish, too. Can I say that without be labeled a stereotyper?

Probably not.

[gnatty8]

I am a yankee, and have lived in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. I have never experienced explicit hostility in any of those places.

[winkles81]

I am from a small town in southern middle Tennessee. Population under 8,000. Seriously, I just looked it up. The kids complain that there's nothing to do, but I have friends all over and that's a fact of life. Kids will always complain that there's nothing to do. I come from a charming little community near a state park and beautiful lake. If you enjoy city life, we're about 90 miles from Nashville. Huntsville is about 60 miles away. I've never heard of anyone I grew up around that hated notherners just for being northerners. No, what we dislike is the stereo types that we are all ignorant, shoeless, overall wearing rednecks. I couldn't tell you how many times I've heard stories of southerners going somewhere up north and they would say as soon as the accent was heard or they were asked where they were from people looked at their feet in amazement. As if to say, Wow you people wear shoes. Yes we do. And I'm so sick of hearing that if you are a southern girl in her early twenties you've already had several kids. Teenage pregnancy isn't funny and last time I checked it was an epidemic all over our great nation not just in the southern states. So my assessment is that most people will prolly poke fun at you a little, but overall be nice. And as long as you don't out right insult us, we won't out right insult you. Maybe call you yankee, but I never knew that northerners found it offensive.

Originally Posted by dave1961

Right on, sweetasslady! (Love that name, btw) This is my favorite post! I totally agree with it, especially the part about all the other posts on here asking questions like "Will I fit in? Will my children be picked on?"
When I move to Knoxville next year (God willing), I've already planned to buy a supply or orange shirts and a Vols bumper sticker for my pickup truck. Heck, I might even mount a gun rack in the back.

I'm not sure I'd ever want to live up north. I'm not down for all that snow. My husband was born and raised in the same small town as myself but he moved up near chicago for about 4 years. His gripes were that while he made friends most people weren't of the please and thank you variety. Of course he had to get used to freezing cold temps and snow. But his biggest gripe was there was only one place to get a glass of sweet tea and he had to add sugar to it. We do love our sweet tea down here.

Originally Posted by Kitties of Domination

Ok, first of all, the tern Yankee is still used in Australia and Latin America. Apparently the "if I didn't experience it, it doesn't exist" perspective seems to be heavy in your analysis. You are correct in your assessment that the sentiment is more rural. I hear as many non-southern accents daily as I do southern here in Knoxville. Half of my friends are from non-southern states. If it makes you feel any better, I am not much accepted in rural areas either (in fact, nobody is, except the natives). I have darker, Mediterranean features (Are you middle eastern?) and apparently a sterile accent (Where are you from? Not TN I'm sure.). Do I lose sleep over it? Nope. Yes, a sense of humor is important when you are the "Yankee" in the south. It is also important when I travel to California, Michigan, New York, Ohio, etc. It seems to me that you are also carrying some animosity...

Okie Dokie. I'm from a very rural area of Tennessee. Population less than 8000. I use the term yankee alot actually because my husband lived up there for a few years. I only do it to pick on him especially when he says a word that is OH SO NORTHERN like "pop" instead of coke or soda. As for meeting "outsiders" as someone referred to them earlier....I do still use the term because that's my way of poking fun. But I wouldn't have pulled it out if My Yankee friend hadn't made the inbred argument. I don't know anyone who has a child with their relative. And if they did I'm sure it was a matter of unwanted molestation and that's not just in the south and it's not very funny. But this is one of those stereotypes. Anyhow. I've met a few northerners and I think I liked them all. I found out about where they were from because it's different and interesting. But if you've never seen a cow up close before, don't stare! Just act like it doesn't surprise you. We did get lots of laughs at that.

[Pam& Bill]

Originally Posted by dave1961

Right on, sweetasslady! (Love that name, btw) This is my favorite post! I totally agree with it, especially the part about all the other posts on here asking questions like "Will I fit in? Will my children be picked on?"
When I move to Knoxville next year (God willing), I've already planned to buy a supply or orange shirts and a Vols bumper sticker for my pickup truck. Heck, I might even mount a gun rack in the back.

Dave,
No you didn't say anything about about straw or hound dogs, I did and I was being sarcastic as a knee jerk reaction to you saying that when you get to Knoxville, you'll mount a gun rack.
So you like guns. That is a neat hobby, but why don't you mount your gun rack before you move to Tn.? As you wrote it, it sounds like you think everyone has a gun rack in their truck.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by winkles81

But if you've never seen a cow up close before, don't stare! Just act like it doesn't surprise you. We did get lots of laughs at that.

Funny how the stereotypes go back and forth. There are more cows in the rest of the country than there are in The South. And contrary to Phyll's experience, there are plenty of cows in Jersey.

I'm just as country as you; born and raised in a town of about 10,000 in Massachusetts.

I find it exasperating that so many southerners feel that they are looked down upon. I think that's where a lot of the hostility comes in. Contrary to what you think, most people with common sense don't move here with these preconceived notions.

If anything, I brought with me an attitude that people and culture are much better in the south. Then I woke up.

Anyway, there are ignorant people all over the face of this earth and on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.

[leonard]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Funny how the stereotypes go back and forth. There are more cows in the rest of the country than there are in The South. And contrary to Phyll's experience, there are plenty of cows in Jersey.

I'm just as country as you; born and raised in a town of about 10,000 in Massachusetts.

I find it exasperating that so many southerners feel that they are looked down upon. I think that's where a lot of the hostility comes in. Contrary to what you think, most people with common sense don't move here with these preconceived notions.

If anything, I brought with me an attitude that people and culture are much better in the south. Then I woke up.

Anyway, there are ignorant people all over the face of this earth and on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.

An excellent point.

Ignorant people who deride Southerners as hicks, stupid, inbred, etc WON'T move to the South. They stay where they now live and their neighbors get to put up with them.

With rare exception, it is people who like the South and Southerners that move there. Don't look down on them please, as I will be one of them.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by leonard

An excellent point.

Ignorant people who deride Southerners as hicks, stupid, inbred, etc WON'T move to the South. They stay where they now live and their neighbors get to put up with them.

With rare exception, it is people who like the South and Southerners that move there. Don't look down on them please, as I will be one of them.

Maybe you've never been to Florida (which really did used to be the South).

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by JMT

Maybe you've never been to Florida (which really did used to be the South).

Nope. We can't include Florida. It most certainly was part of The South in all of its glory, but that's gone, and ignorant, loud-mouthed people know it. To them Florida is the ultimate in posh paradise. Yikes.

But that is very good for all of us.