# I'm an official Southerner now! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 26, 2000, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606 "2000-06-26T19:12:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/81 "2000-06-28T13:32:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Butter salt and pepper are all grits need. > \*\* Everyone says that and my thought is this: Since grits have no taste whatsoever, why not just eat butter, salt and pepper without the grits. šŸ˜‰ I lived in the south for two years and they wanted me to become one of them so bad that I got a ticket for not getting my NC driverā€™s license within 30 days. But I was always known as a damnyankee. The KKK rallys on the news blew my mindā€“and I had no idea there were still debutantes in this country. I loved it down there though and really miss it. Well, thatā€™s all before I get all teary. ::sniff:: ---
**Author:** ![ponch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@ponch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ponch)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/82 "2000-06-28T13:37:53Z")
Eastern BBQ, sweet tea and the Wolfpackā€¦some of the best things in lifeā€¦ I never really cared for grits till I went to Charleston and had the best damn Shrimp and Grits in the world. I now seek it outā€¦mmmmmā€¦is it lunch yet? ---
**Author:** ![Needs2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5e925/32.png) [@Needs2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Needs2know)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/83 "2000-06-28T14:07:24Z")
My final opinion on being Southernā€¦ My beloved maternal grandmother was born and raised in Bedford, Indiana. At the age of 19 she met and married a man whoā€™s family originally came from Charlotte County, VA. He brought her home to South Richmond with him and she lived here for the next 60 some years until her death in June of 1994. By the time of my birth in 1958, she had become the epitome of a Southern woman. Everyone who ever knew her adored and admired her. Her home was always open to anyone who knocked. She was the ultimate Southern cook and hostess. (I learned everything I know about cooking at her knee.) The kitchen was the heart of her home. She like so many other Southerners was fiercely loyal to the Southern cause. She believed that her beautiful South had been razed and neglected by a government that was to busy or self rightous to care. She raised her children with a sence of pride for their home. She taught them a strong work ethic, respect for others, and the manners of Southern gentlemen and ladies. With the help from her and my mother, my sisters and I were exposed to the history that surrounded us everywhere. We visited battlefields, museums, cities and plantations. She was a wonderful story teller and kept me occupied many evenings with stories of her girlhood back in Indiana, and the years here in VA while she raised her children. (A great love of college basketball must run in our genes!) I never once thought of her as anything but the consumate Southern woman. After living here 60 years, embracing the essence of what it is to be Southern, I believe she deserved the title of Southern woman. Her youngest child my aunt, moved to Bedford at 18. She married a Indiana boy and has lived and raised two children there since the late 1950s. While she was born here, my aunt is pure Indiana Hoozier all the way. There is a strong and binding connection between the Southern and Midwestern traditions in our family. It doesnā€™t really matter where you are born, what you eat, or how you pronounce your third person plurals. Being Southern like so many other things is so much more, it is a state of mind, and a certain pride in who you are. Needs2know ---
**Author:** ![ponch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@ponch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ponch)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/84 "2000-06-28T14:14:02Z")
Iā€™m married to a Middleton descendentā€¦those from the Charleston area know who they areā€¦I hear great tales of the relatives during the civil war. Itā€™s great to hear the stories from the civil war. Itā€™s neat to hear the stories on the Middleton house tour, and then re-hear them from the family perspective. My grandfather-in-law has this huge arsenal of weapondry, cuz you just never know what will happen. One of the most indicative signs that a woman is southern - she hides her silver. ---
**Author:** ![Modian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Modian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Modian)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/85 "2000-06-28T14:35:31Z")
> [@](#): > > How can anyone who doesnā€™t like 'maters, fried okra, and Tabasco sauce be considered human, much less Southern? No, I said I drink Tabasco straight, love the stuff. My favorite drink is cinnamon schnapps and tabasco, called a fireball, mmmm good šŸ˜ƒ But fried okra and tomatosā€¦ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ponch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@ponch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ponch)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/86 "2000-06-28T15:08:04Z")
my favorite is that oleā€™ Texas Peteā€¦even though it does suffer from an identity crisis. ---
**Author:** ![ultress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7c8e57/32.png) [@ultress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultress)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/87 "2000-06-28T15:21:03Z")
dpr, very good answer. I usually tend to ignore people who make general statements of that nature, we are fighting ignorance here after all. You do not ā€˜becomeā€™ southern. You are born southern. It is much more than a state of mind and presence. Many women have migrated to the south, some have acquired the southern grace, but, that still doesnā€™t make them southern. ---
**Author:** ![Needs2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5e925/32.png) [@Needs2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Needs2know)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/88 "2000-06-28T15:41:46Z")
Thatā€™s were you and I happen to disagree Ultress my friendā€¦ I have met and observed MANY people born Southern, men and women, that I have found to be an affront to what it is to be Southern. They are no more Southern than our friend who just moved here, or the Yankees that migrate here and ridicule our ways. You must remember that where you come from is not so often as important as where you are right now. Needs2know ---
**Author:** ![Myndephuquer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@Myndephuquer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myndephuquer)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/89 "2000-06-28T15:50:02Z")
ponch: > [@](#): > > Eastern BBQ, sweet tea and the Wolfpackā€¦some of the best things in lifeā€¦ Thatā€™s not just a quote, that is wisdom beyond the comprehension of most. **WOLFPACK** BABY!!! AAARRRRR!!-AAARRRRR!!-AAARRRRR!!-AAARRRR!!-AAARRRRR!! (make that sound like a wolf while holding up your hand straight up, extending your index finger and pinky straight up (to look like ears) and extend your middle and ring fingers forward (perpendicular to your index finger and pinky) and touch the tip of your thumb to the tips of your middle and ring fingers to form the mouth. open the ā€˜mouthā€™ each time you say ā€˜AAAARRRRR!!!ā€™) If you disagree, then you are a ram felcher. ---
**Author:** ![ultress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7c8e57/32.png) [@ultress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultress)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/90 "2000-06-28T16:02:47Z")
I disagree. Itā€™s **Blue Devils** all the way. Needs2know, a horse standing in a pig pen is still a horse no matter how much like a pig you try to make it. Sure we have southerners that disgrace us, but then thatā€™s true in most cases. You have Americans that disgrace America, etc. You could go down the list. Anybody that wants to can call themselves southern in some aspect or another. That does not necessarily make them right. You think that Virginian women are a stickler for being able to trace their heritage, donā€™t even step foot in Charleston. ---
**Author:** ![Myndephuquer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@Myndephuquer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myndephuquer)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/91 "2000-06-28T16:38:01Z")
ultress: > [@](#): > > I disagree. Itā€™s Blue Devils all the way. Everyone please step back, as, appropriately enough, a DOOK fan is going to f\*\*ch this ram. Ladies, please turn your heads. Excuse the slight highjack, but this thread does strike a vein of pride. (dook ā€“ talk about a yankee college) (Now would be an appropriate time for a Mr. Yuck Mouth smilie.) ---
**Author:** ![Needs2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5e925/32.png) [@Needs2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Needs2know)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/92 "2000-06-28T16:39:57Z")
I love Charlestonā€¦one of the Southā€™s most beautiful cities. I most certainly will step foot there, next time I get the chance, Savannah too. As for the horse/pig thing, please. Besides I never said my Nanny called herself a Southener. I just felt like she epitomized what it should mean to be one. She was proud of both of her homes the one in the midwest and the one in the south. Perhaps sheā€™s one now not by virtue of her birth, but by the fact that she is buried now in the Southern soil that she embraced for 60 years and loved. Needs2know ---
**Author:** ![ultress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7c8e57/32.png) [@ultress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultress)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/93 "2000-06-28T17:13:42Z")
Needs2know, my post was not directed at you as an individual. I was taking in several posters at the same time. Iā€™m sure your nanny was a wonderful person. My reference to Virginian ladies recollecting their heritage was directed at an earlier post. Charleston is reknown for their ability to trace their heritage and if you arenā€™t from a certain line then you are not a true southerner according to them. I should have explained myself better. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/94 "2000-06-28T17:37:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Well hell, RTFirefly, if you manage to get ā€œyā€™allā€ and ā€œfixinā€™ toā€ right, you are about as close to being a Southerner as one can get without actually having had that honor bestowed upon you by the good Lord himself. Sorry, Amulet, but I canā€™t possibly be all that close to being a Southerner. I still thank the good Lord that the North won the Civil War, and there are a few more current matters of significance where I strongly favor the Northern way. But letā€™s keep the discussion polite. How 'bout them Hokies? šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![labdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5fc32e/32.png) [@labdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labdude)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/95 "2000-06-28T17:50:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Iā€™m a southerner. Iā€™m from South Carolina. Lowest SAT scores in the nation!!! YEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAWWWWW!!! > > šŸ˜ƒ > \*\* well if yaā€™ll wouldnā€™t quit missing all those evolution questions yaā€™ll would do better. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![ponch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@ponch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ponch)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/96 "2000-06-28T18:04:33Z")
> [@](#): > > WOLFPACK BABY!!! AAARRRRR!!-AAARRRRR!!-AAARRRRR!!-AAARRRR!!-AAARRRRR!! > (make that sound like a wolf while holding up your hand straight up, extending your index finger and pinky straight up (to look like ears) and extend your middle and ring fingers forward (perpendicular to your index finger and pinky) and touch the tip of your thumb to the tips of your middle and ring fingers to form the mouth. open the ā€˜mouthā€™ each time you say ā€˜AAAARRRRR!!!ā€™) :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D :shedding a tear: ---
**Author:** ![Modian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Modian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Modian)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/97 "2000-06-28T18:46:47Z")
damn, I forgot all about Texas Pete. That is real good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Needs2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5e925/32.png) [@Needs2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Needs2know)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2000, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/98 "2000-06-28T20:02:30Z")
Texas Peteā€¦goes on scrambled eggs, oysters, fried chicken (the black folks I know do this), bbq, and for some people everything but chocolate cake. Needs2know ---
**Author:** ![\_SILENT-BOB\_NOT\_REALLY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/3ec8ea/32.png) [@\_SILENT-BOB\_NOT\_REALLY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_SILENT-BOB_NOT_REALLY)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-official-southerner-now/23606/99 "2000-06-29T00:33:23Z")
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