I recently got into a heated argument with a friend who was making negative generalizations about my state. I had started it, by complaining about the corruption, cover-ups, provincial attitudes, etc. here. But when he, from another state, agreed with me and upped the ante by trashing my region further, I told him to cut it out - that he sounded like a bigot. He took offense at this and told me I sounded hypocritical.
Why do we tend to do this - to be defensive about our homeland to outsiders? Is it because subconsciously I feel that I am not adding myself into the population I’m dissing and as an outsider, he would be including me in his generalizations? I wonder if it’s because I feel that, as a local, the positive attributes of my hometown/state are implicit and so the complaints are within that context, whereas with someone who’s “not from around here,” I don’t trust that their view is balanced by appreciating the good parts.
It’s just a gut feeling, and a strong one. I live here, so I can judge and criticize it. If you do it, then the same road that brought you here will take you out so larga te, hombre.
I think for me it’s because I feel I know my town better than people who don’t live here, and also since I know I’m criticising it without any malice towards or feelings of superiority over the people who live here. So I can say “Perth is the armpit of the universe” (because it’s true) but if someone from, say, Sydney said it I’d tell them to shut up and go back to their opera house because Perth is awesome, you ratbastard. I guess it’s like having other people criticise your family members. YOU’RE the only one allowed to call them psycho biotches because deep down, you still love them. But if those words are coming from someone else, you can be pretty sure that’s not the case, and confidently beat the crap out of them for dissing your family. Yeah.
Hell, being defensive comes with the territory around here.
“Oh, yeah, ha ha ha, that’s a good one. By the way, ever been out of a 15 mile radius of Newark Airport? Oh…then I guess you have no clue what you’re talking about, do you?”
Any real patriot will tell anyone from outside that it is the best place in the world, and to those inside make sure everyone knows why it sucks so much.
I live in Massachusetts and you can make fun of it all you want. In fact, I would encourage it. However, if you make fun of my home state of Louisiana, that will likely be the last words you ever uttered and your family is probably living on borrowed time as well. Don’t make fun of my town in Massachusetts though or even the overall suburban sector that it fits in. It isn’t all that mockable though.
I never tire of the deer-in-headlights expressions of awe on some people’s faces when they realize that Sussex County and Hunterdon County and Mercer County are in NJ. “That’s NJ? Bbbbut-but…there are cows! And farms…!” :rolleyes:
It just helps me to understand why Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb here and not someplace else.
My son and I recently went to Texas. Being from California, we were subjected to some pointed comments regarding our state of origin at dinner one night, and how we “had too many rules”, and several folks remarked “I could never live there”, and our Governor “was a 2 bit actor; that’s why your state is so screwed up”.
I informed them that I wasn’t involved in politics, and that “although I vote I personally did not make the rules, but I was expected to live by them”, and as for Texas being superior to California “any place that’s this humid and mosquito infested is a shithole that other shitholes look down on”, and for good measure threw in the old reliable “and anyone who doesn’t like my opinions can go suck a fat one”.
Dinner was pretty smooth after that.
I am not criticizing NJ because I have seen beautiful stretches and open country there. But damn, Newark is one of the filthiest airports I have ever been in. I’m not surprised people walk away with a bad impression.
For me, I get NYC’ers making little nasty jokes about living upstate, and in Albany. They say it’s hicksville and backwards. I always respond - hey, I don’t take 40 minutes to cross one 3 mile bridge bridge and consider that the norm.
Oh, yeah. Being from South Carolina is no walk in the park, sometimes. Particularly when the flag thing was going down. It’s like your family, exactly - you only badmouth it to other members. Some people think that the idiots you see on TV are always representative or something.
Not to mention, my relatives up north think we’ve still got Jim Crow or something, when their cities are the most de-facto segregated places I’ve ever seen in my life! I couldn’t figure out what was so weird about those malls in Pittsburgh until I realized everybody was white in them - asked my aunt, a native, where all the black people were, and she said, “Oh, they have their own neighborhoods.” And people turn their noses up at South Carolina, a lovely state full of beautiful things, fertile soil, and friendly people. Also good food. And I’ll have you know I got a perfectly good education in the public schools here.
Someone toild me that in San Francisco, they don’t even have sirens on the police cars. The just have a gay cop sitting on the hood spinning his hand in the air yelling Whooooo…Whooooo… Pull Over…Pull Over."
Is that an accurate statement?
Note: I am very gay friendly in real life but that image always made me laugh.
Oh god. When I read “defensive about your state” I came here to talk about New Jersey. I didn’t expect so many to come before me.
Hey! It was good enough for Einstein. Screw you!!!
Not that I’m defensive.
I’d say it’s a natural human tendency. Because we know the good and the bad so we can talk about the bad (I’ll start a thread about NJ traffic if it’ll help) but “outsiders” just know the sterotypes.
As someone who moved here from NYC I second this sentiment. Poor dear daughter will have to grow with the conflicting feelings that come from being a native. My Long Island sister-in-law has implied I’ve already aquired an accent.
I grew up in Arkansas. You might could say there’s a few Arkansas jokes out there.
So, there’s a list of states that seem to get the short end of the stick. In no particular order:
AnArky, I also think, of the states on your list, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama always seem to get the rudest remarks.
But yeah, to answer the O.P. : I think that if you are happy with your home state, then you feel compelled to defend it.
I used to think about how it would be for inter-galactic travelers … let’s say you entered a contest here, in your home town. Then you win the county contest. There you say: I’m from MyHomeTown!
Then you win the state contest. There you say: “I’m from MyHOmeCounty!”
Then you win the nationals… I’m from MyHOmeSTate!
yes… you get the picture.
Sooner or later, you are “From Earth!” or “From the Milky Way!”
That doesn’t make any sense at all!