# Fellow Southerners: Let's Talk **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 27, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145 "2009-11-27T17:50:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/41 "2009-11-29T02:28:51Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > As Lewis Grizzard once explained, ‘nekkid’ and ‘naked’ are two different terms. 🙂 > > ‘Naked’ simply means having no clothes on. _We all came into this world naked._ > > ‘Nekkid’ means you’re naked and you’re up to something. _Tammy and Bobby stripped off their clothes and ran through the forest nekkid._ I’ve heard that joke before, but they are not and never have been two different terms for me. As far as I’m concerned the word spelled N-A-K-E-D is pronounced “nekkid” regardless of context. I was a teenager before I noticed that there was any other way to pronounce the word. I do notice the difference now and can even make myself say “nay-kid” if I think about it, but it still sounds silly to me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/42 "2009-11-29T02:32:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > My country grandmother and at least one sister of hers went from Arkansas to Detroit for a few years in the 1920s to work on the auto-prodiction line. And my Great Aunt Lexie from Tennessee taught school in Detroit for some time. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/43 "2009-11-29T04:04:01Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Wierdest question anyone has ever asked me is if I had an oil well in my back yard with the cattle. Just so happens that last Saturday, on my way to Meridian, MS from Jackson, MS, I passed a pasture full of cows which also had an oil pump in it, pumping away. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/44 "2009-11-29T06:31:37Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Several Confederate ancestors, including some pensions for which we have the paperwork in old family albums. Some Union ancestors. Allegedly also some ancestors who were slaves in the southern states, and allegedly some American indian ancestors, but we have not confirmed either as of yet. Something I’ve heard from talking to the older generation of white Southerners is that it’s an open secret that a lot more Southern whites are mixed than will admit it. There was so much race mixing for so long, and so many light-skinned blacks did _passeblanc_, or passed for white, that inevitably some married into the white population and had white children. Of course, the same people who told me this don’t necessarily like the suggestion that \*they \*have black ancestry. :rolleyes: I recently discovered earlier this year that I have documented ‘mulatto’ ancestors on my grandfather’s side from Robeson co. NC. My COX ancestors variously appear on censuses as ‘mulatto’, ‘other free’, and eventually ‘white’. They also owned slaves. My COX ancestress married a BRITT who was possibly the son of Thomas Britt, an ‘Indian’ (Lumbee?) registered in Bladen co. NC. I had long known that my maternal grandmother was Melungeon, but I was surprised to discover that my maternal grandfather also had some mixed ancestry. I highly doubt that my very racist great-grandfather, a KKK member, ever knew that he was of mixed race descent. No Union ancestors, but seven Confederate soldiers (one each from Alabama and Tennessee, and five from Mississippi). Some of them were slave owners and some weren’t. The Tennessee soldier came home to find his wife dying, and his brother and uncle murdered by bushwackers. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/45 "2009-11-30T03:49:23Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > :rolleyes: Oh, lord. Look, Southerners are famously eccentric. I’ve lived all over this country from sea to shining sea, and I’ve never known any place or any people as eccentric as Southerners. I don’t understand why I can’t even post a happy chatty topic without people being dismissive, insulting, or superior. I wasn’t insulted, nor was I being dismissive or superior(or insulting, come to that). IMO, Midwesterners tend to not display their eccentricities as much. . There are plenty of old Yankee New Englanders who could make any Southern eccentric look as bland as Carol Brady… IMO, the whole Southern oddity thing is overdone. Obviously, YMDV. > [@](#): > > And the question was whether you prefer blues or jazz because those are two uniquely American musical forms that were both born in the South. I was wanting to see if Southerners from any particular state or area felt an especial affinity to one or the other. So much for gospel. How can that not count? Color me puzzled. 😕 I didn’t intend to spoil the fun. It’s an interesting topic. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/46 "2009-11-30T04:10:13Z")
Southern eccentricity is a salient feature of Southern literature. Midwestern literature has as its salient feature the damage of conformity on the human spirit; not just in small towns such as Sherwood Anderson’s Winesberg Ohio and Lewis’ Gopher Prairie Minnesota, but also in Nelson Algren’s and Mike Royko’s Chicago. In reality, there are plenty of eccentics in the Midwest, and plenty of Southerners with biscuit dough for brains. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/47 "2009-11-30T04:23:46Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I wasn’t insulted, nor was I being dismissive or superior(or insulting, come to that). IMO, Midwesterners tend to not display their eccentricities as much. . There are plenty of old Yankee New Englanders who could make any Southern eccentric look as bland as Carol Brady… IMO, the whole Southern oddity thing is overdone. > Obviously, YMDV. > I didn’t intend to spoil the fun. It’s an interesting topic. Well, you certainly come across as dismissive, superior, and insulting to me. You ain’t got to answer the question, or for that matter you could just answer it honestly (No, my family is not eccentric or insane) without lecturing _me_ about how the Southern mindset works. I would like to make it clear to any future posters that this thread is intended to be friendly and a chance to share and discuss Southern cultural traits, not an opportunity to take Southerners to task for the crimes of our ancestors (and not all Southerners even in this thread even had slave owners or Confederates in their family tree), to tell us how ignorant, backwards, or inbred you think we are, or to imply that we need to claim clearly non-Southern cities, states, or people to make our own achievements look more impressive. If you would like to discuss those things, please do so in your own thread. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/48 "2009-11-30T04:54:50Z")
In that case, I’ll share the fact that I recently took my Canuck kids out for an exploration of their cultural heritage - we went to the convenience store, got a Coke in a glass bottle and added salted peanuts. I don’t think I’ll be able to get them proper boiled peanuts till we get down to Nawth Ca’lina. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/49 "2009-11-30T05:13:38Z")
Pretty funny to see all these northern hemispherians arguing about who’s a southerner. I’ve never been north of the Tropic of Capricorn: you’re **all** northerners to me. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/50 "2009-11-30T05:29:46Z")
Psst, **Mississippienne** , I think you have **eleanorigby** mixed up with **Kimmy\_Gibbler**. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/51 "2009-11-30T08:23:48Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > Psst, **Mississippienne** , I think you have **eleanorigby** mixed up with **Kimmy\_Gibbler**. No, sadly, I don’t think she’s confused us. I think little **Missy** knows exactly how she wants this thread to play out, and she’s not going to brook _any_ deviation if you think different. It’s your call if you want to stick around her popsicle stand or not. I know how I’ve decided. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/52 "2009-11-30T14:25:00Z")
I was hoping she’d see the difference between an honest-to-god zinger and eleanor’s innocuous posts. A girl can dream, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/53 "2009-11-30T15:07:12Z")
**Mississippienne** you seem to be engaging in a bit of junior-modding, here. If you think someone’s hijacking the thread, please report it and let us deal with it. So far I don’t see anything mentioned that should be considered off-limits in a discussion of Southern culture, mores or practices. **Ellen Cherry MPSIMS Moderator** ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/54 "2009-11-30T19:33:32Z")
> [@](#): > > I think its reasonable to define the South as a geographical area extending roughly from Virginia on down to east Texas, including the Florida Panhandle, which areas share a similar culture, cuisine, history, and dialect. I think you also include Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, most of West Virginia, western Maryland & southern Missouri > [@](#): > > your family, eccentric, certifiably insane, or both? Probably a blend of all the above on varying degrees on any given day > [@](#): > > Favorite Southern artists and writers? From the musical end of the spectrum - a long list of delta blues, New Orleans jazz, Memphis Blues, Muscle Shoals R&B, New Orleans funk & bluegrass from the Appalachians > [@](#): > > Got any Confederate ancestors? Grew up in NE Tennessee, which tended to not take sides with either. Do have ancestors that fought at King’s Mountain, but that’s a different war altogether > [@](#): > > Are your parents Southerners or Yankee transplants? Appalachian hill folk from the tri-sate region of VA, TN & NC I consider myself southern enough to know what “Bless your heart” really means. > [@](#): > > Accent after residing in the upper midwest for 25 years, not nearly as strong as it once was, but it’s still there and is quickly rejuvenated by a brief visit home. I can still drawl out southern versions of wash, tires, and oil like the best of 'em > [@](#): > > You more of a blues person or a jazz person? both and refuse to pick a favorite. Actually enjoy the blended version of the two the most. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/55 "2009-11-30T19:48:59Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > I consider myself southern enough to know what “Bless your heart” really means. (snicker!) I said that to someone here one day without realizing it could be an insult. I have since done everything in my power to remove that phrase from my vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/56 "2009-12-01T00:33:09Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Well, you certainly come across as dismissive, superior, and insulting to me. You ain’t got to answer the question, or for that matter you could just answer it honestly (No, my family is not eccentric or insane) without lecturing _me_ about how the Southern mindset works. > > I would like to make it clear to any future posters that this thread is intended to be friendly and a chance to share and discuss Southern cultural traits, not an opportunity to take Southerners to task for the crimes of our ancestors (and not all Southerners even in this thread even had slave owners or Confederates in their family tree), to tell us how ignorant, backwards, or inbred you think we are, or to imply that we need to claim clearly non-Southern cities, states, or people to make our own achievements look more impressive. If you would like to discuss those things, please do so in your own thread. Wow, did you ever read a lot of subtext into my posts that just isn’t there. In no way did I lecture anyone on how the Southern mindset works. I am also not taking any Southerners to task about the crimes of their ancestors (I admitted in this thread that my ancestors were slave owners), or using common stereotypes to elevate other regions of the country. 😕 You certainly are thin skinned–perhaps it’s the mild climate you live in? **Slithy Tove** said it best regarding the “reps” of certain regions–so thank you, **Slithy Tove.** There is nothing for me to add or clarify here, so I’ll bow out. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/57 "2009-12-01T03:31:41Z")
Area: I agree on the Confederacy as a logical basis for defining ‘The South.’ Family: Slightly eccentric, but getting weirder by the year. Confederate/DamnYankees - My great-grandfather fought at Gettysburg with Marse Robert. He was a farm boy from Caswell County, NC, who was a freshman at the University of North Carolina when Ft. Sumter was fired on. He, along with all the student body wentto Raleigh to enlist. Family legend has it that his classmates, upon learning he was a farmer, made him drive the supply wagon, refusing his repeated requests to swap places. After the first skirmish, when his supply wagon doubled as an ambulance, he, in turn refused repeated requests to swap places… 🙂 Other notable Confederates: My wife’s maiden name was Booth. (Yes…she’s related to That Booth. Great (x6 or so) Grand-niece. Not that I approve of the events of April 12, 1865, since I believe The South would have been treated less harshly if Lincoln ran Reconstruction, and frankly, Abe was right about preserving the Union.) Favorite Southern Artists: Well…Twain’s not too bad. 🙂 And REM. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/58 "2009-12-01T12:44:18Z")
Born and Bred in Mississippi. Is my family insane? Hell, yes. They’re evil to boot, but that’s not what this thread is about. My favorite authors are Wm. Faulkner, Truman Capote, and of course, Tennessee Williams. On my mother’s side I have no confederate ties. Her family came here after the slave trade had ended. Mama’s family ain’t transplants, except for being from another country. I’m Southern as far as you can be, and proud. I’m more a blues person because blues is easier to sing than jazz. Jazz is more instrument oriented, which is fine, but I’m a singer. Weird question about my home state? All I can think of is the one time I was out with my friends(back home) aand we met some chicks in the bathroom who were from out of state. One of them said she thought Mississippi was in Minnesota. Mississippienne ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/59 "2009-12-01T12:56:34Z")
> [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](#): > > Born and Bred in Mississippi. Is my family insane? Hell, yes. They’re evil to boot, but that’s not what this thread is about. > > My favorite authors are Wm. Faulkner, Truman Capote, and of course, Tennessee Williams. > > On my mother’s side I have no confederate ties. Her family came here after the slave trade had ended. > > Mama’s family ain’t transplants, except for being from another country. I’m Southern as far as you can be, and proud. > I’m more a blues person because blues is easier to sing than jazz. Jazz is more instrument oriented, which is fine, but I’m a singer. > > Weird question about my home state? All I can think of is the one time I was out with my friends(back home) aand we met some chicks in the bathroom who were from out of state. One of them said she thought Mississippi was in Minnesota. > > Mississippienne The above message is mine, but the signature at end is Mississippiene. This is not her post, I simply miscalculated when i erased shit. I am sorry for any confusion. It’d be nice if a mod could erase **M** ’s name but I doubt they will. Again, I’m sorry. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145/60 "2009-12-01T13:08:09Z")
Okay, I’ll bite. What does “bless your heart” really mean? Disclaimer: I’m a proud northerner who thinks of Indiana as a southern state. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-southerners-lets-talk/519145.md?page=4)