# My roommate knows (and doesn't know) the weirdest things **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496 "2009-05-06T01:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/101 "2009-05-06T23:23:16Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Well that’s true, but only because we went down and blew up all their shit last time they tried. If we hadn’t, there would in fact be a government of the south with officials representing the south and NoVa would be part of it. And so what? Shit changes. I’ve lived in Northern Virginia for nearly 15 years now. I eat grits and I’ve eaten at the Waffle House and at Krispy Kreme, but I did all those things when I lived in Ohio. I don’t feel like I’m in the South, and the people I know and associate with don’t feel like they’re in the South either. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/102 "2009-05-07T01:30:54Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Now, come on. “The South” is not an official jurisdiction. There’s no government of the South or officials representing the South. It’s a cultural concept and, as such, _is_ subject to opinion and shifting social perceptions. You’re wrong. You want “official?” Here’s official: 1. The United States Census Bureau includes Virginia in it’s “South” region. 2. Virginia is south of the Mason-Dixon line. 3. Virginia fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. How on earth can you say that it’s a “cultural concept?” The U.S. government says it’s in the South, for Christ’s sake! I made the same 3 points before, but apparently you didn’t bother to read them. Or, you’re so bent on not being associated with the land of dueling banjos that you’re ignoring simple factual evidence. You can make a case for certain Southern states not being “really the South” because point 3 doesn’t apply. And you can argue it about Texas, because, well, it’s Texas. But Virginia? It’s in the South. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/103 "2009-05-07T01:34:21Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I am guessing that you and your family have not spent much time in the actual North. > [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Actually, my parents lived in Connecticut, California, and France. You realize that only one of those is “the North”, right? ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/104 "2009-05-07T02:33:45Z")
Yes, Northern Virginia is in the South. I think there is a Waffle House in Arlington, but I’m not sure how much that has to do with it. Northern Virginians who do not like to associate with the term ‘Southern’ think that ‘South’ = conservative, racist, backwoods ideals. If you want to hold onto this misconception, don’t visit the Deep South. If you want to keep believing Northern Virginia is ‘the North’, don’t visit New England. Yes our immigrant population is not traditionally Southern, but if you have a walk around a city in Northern VA, if you listen to the radio, if you look at the architecture, you will see all of these things are Southern. And if you think the attitude in Northern VA is not Southern you have a limited understanding of the South. eta: I’m sorry if this post sounds a little disjointed, I’m very tired, just felt the need to add my two cents. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/105 "2009-05-07T02:38:06Z")
Hey, if you believe Sarah Palin, and I hear she’s quite popular in the South, if you live in Northern Virginia you don’t even live in America. Not the “real” one, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/106 "2009-05-07T02:54:57Z")
I must say, I’m REALLY enjoying this thread. As a person who has grown up in what is considered “The South” part of VA (Va Beach, yorktown, Williamsburg), I totally understand where the OP is coming from and I ALWAYS hated it. Virginia is a Southern State. Plain and simple. For the reasons Green Bean mentioned. But when I went to college, almost EVERY person from NoVa had to do this. They had to specify to anyone they met that they were not from “Virginia” but from “No-Va”. It’s a common thing, NoVa special- it’s not a part of the South- the government jurisdiction and history be damned. At least now the State’s voted democratic in the last election so we’ve got that going for us, but it’s always been the same thing- NOVA residents seemed to really hate the association of being associated with “the South” and all that comes with it, as the “South” is a backwards, conservative religious bastion, but NoVa is the breath of fresh air that separates them from the rest of VA. :rolleyes: So yeah, as soon as I read the OP, I understood where he was coming from just because he made that, but I’m glad to see others are pointing out the sheer ridiculousness of the statement. You’re in a Southern State, it’s not the End of the World. You can still point out you’re from NOVA and people at least here in VA will get it, but it got so old, hearing it constantly from the NoVA people in college whenever they had to introduce themselves… ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/107 "2009-05-07T03:05:30Z")
**Ro0sh** , I’ve found that Northern Kentucky has some of the same issues…people from there will make a point of saying they are from NORTHERN Kentucky, lest you think they might be a hillbilly or something. What’s weirder, though, are the people I’ve met who insist that if you are from very north in Kentucky, right by the Ohio River, then you can’t say that you are “from Cincinnati,” even though you live 10 minutes from downtown Cincy, and your town is actually a suburb. Apparently, Northern Kentucky is a very touchy issue for some people! ---
**Author:** ![Harry1945](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Harry1945](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harry1945)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/108 "2009-05-07T03:19:23Z")
> [@](#): > > I was taught never to trust a man who wears french cuffs in the day time. It’s good to know the old values still hold. Sometimes, I dispair… ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/109 "2009-05-07T03:46:14Z")
Oh, for fuck’s sake, I don’t hate the South. I just don’t identify with it. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/110 "2009-05-07T03:51:45Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Oh, for fuck’s sake, I don’t hate the South. I just don’t identify with it. Get out then, ya damn yankee. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/111 "2009-05-07T04:07:40Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Get out then, ya damn yankee. I never considered myself to be _in_ the South. Obviously. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/112 "2009-05-07T09:06:03Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > The classification of Northern Virginia is not a matter of your opinion. All of Virginia is, in fact, a southern state. If you want to argue otherwise, please support your position with facts and cites. My first impulse is to tell YOU to cite that the opinion of someone who ACTUALLY LIVES THERE has no bearing on the classification of a region, but then I realize that we are in IMHO, not GQ, where cites are not required. Perhaps you didn’t notice? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/113 "2009-05-07T11:40:59Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Perhaps you didn’t notice? Oh, I noticed. But, the fact remains that we are here to fight ignorance and the OP clearly needs guidance in this matter. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/114 "2009-05-07T11:54:17Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > My Spanish roommates and their friends didn’t know that Japan was involved in World War II, and they wouldn’t believe me when I told them that this was so. I mean, I know Spain sat WWII out, but it was only the biggest event of the 20th century and you might want to have some knowledge of it! Come on, Spanish educational system! What the hell did they think Hiroshima and Nagaskai were about? They are the only places that have ever had nuclear bombs dropped on them with the intention of killing a huge number of people. Did they think that the Americans chose those cities for fun? Or are they just the sort of dipshits who can sail through life without absorbing **any** of the large amount of information that has been and continues to be provided about two of the most horrible things that have ever happened (irrespective of whether they were justified - that’s not for this thread)? ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/115 "2009-05-07T12:04:02Z")
> [@Beadalin](#): > > Hey I’m not sure if anyone’s mentioned this yet, but Tolkein said that LotR wasn’t an allegory for WWII. I think it’s in the foreword, or something. Actually I think you’ll find LOTR was NOT an allegory for WW2,I think that some one may have mentioned that Tolkien wrote about it in the foreword but I’m not sure… Or maybe he said something about it in the foreword? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/116 "2009-05-07T13:54:57Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > 1. The United States Census Bureau includes Virginia in it’s “South” region. That’s not a jurisdictional definition. It’s merely a region marked for the convenience of data collection. > [@](#): > > 1. Virginia is south of the Mason-Dixon line. Which has absolutely no official implication. > [@](#): > > 1. Virginia fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. That’s no longer official as of approximately a century and a half ago. > [@](#): > > How on earth can you say that it’s a “cultural concept?” Actually, because it is. Everything that is identified with Southernness has to to with cultural perceptions. > [@](#): > > I made the same 3 points before, but apparently you didn’t bother to read them. Or, you’re so bent on not being associated with the land of dueling banjos that you’re ignoring simple factual evidence. And you’re taking this so personally that you’ve lost your sense of perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/117 "2009-05-07T13:58:10Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > That’s no longer official as of approximately a century and a half ago. I’ve heard of revisionist history, but claiming that Virginia didn’t join the Confederacy is a bit much… ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/118 "2009-05-07T14:37:56Z")
Are you being intentionally obtuse? A jurisdiction that stopped existing in 1865 stopped being official as of 1865. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/119 "2009-05-07T14:44:02Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Are you being intentionally obtuse? A jurisdiction that stopped existing in 1865 stopped being official as of 1865. Of course I am. You responded to this: > [@](#): > > 1. Virginia fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. …with this: > [@](#): > > That’s no longer official as of approximately a century and a half ago. …which sounds like you’re saying Virginia didn’t officially fight for the Confederacy. Just sayin’. If I wanted to be _really_ obtuse, I’d point out that the Confederacy never officially existed as a jurisdiction since secession was ruled to be illegal - and thus never happened. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/120 "2009-05-07T14:56:41Z")
I’m trying to imagine how this thread would go if someone were claiming that a certain part of Vermont wasn’t really New England. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496.md?page=7)