# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/161 "2009-05-07T17:12:46Z")
> [@harry1945](#): > > it’s good to know the old values still hold. Sometimes, i dispair… lol! 😉 ---
**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, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/162 "2009-05-07T17:13:24Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > I’d argue if that is the PRINCIPLE complaint, but it is among them, sure. _Principal_, not principle, although you could have a _principled_ complaint. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/163 "2009-05-07T17:15:59Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Okay, how can I put this: _Shit has changed in the last 15 years_. Well, for one thing, people in Rockville don’t spend time trying to convince others that they are not “part of the South” as part of the present culture. ---
**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, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/164 "2009-05-07T17:20:44Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > Well, for one thing, people in Rockville don’t spend time trying to convince others that they are not “part of the South” as part of the present culture. Well, bully for them. I tend to argue against things that I think are wrong. > [@RNATB](#): > > There’s nothing really wrong with being in the South, you know. Show me one single fucking place where I have said there is. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/165 "2009-05-07T17:23:14Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > There’s nothing really wrong with being in the South, you know. These days, they don’t even make you drive a pickup truck or fly a Confederate flag, and we have integrated lunch counters and everything! Southerners are very welcoming people. Why, when I drove from (south-western) VA into Tennessee, I took advantage of the first rest station, maybe a mile or so into the state to take a leak. Like in men’s rooms everywhere, I was greeted by graffiti above the urinal. I was only there in the state but a minute or so before I was greeted warmly: " Welcome to Tennessee, courtesy of KKK". Wonderful! I have never encountered such polite folks as Southerners, they can really make a stranger or visitor feel welcome! ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/166 "2009-05-07T17:24:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _Principal_, not principle, although you could have a _principled_ complaint. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/167 "2009-05-07T17:26:16Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Well, bully for them. I tend to argue against things that I think are wrong. OK. Has there ever been a case where you did just that and then came to realize that maybe the issue is not as cut and dried as you thought initially? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/168 "2009-05-07T17:27:14Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Cite from earlier in the thread, by **TruCelt** : “Northern Virginia is not the South in that our school system is excellent, our businesses high-tech, our work ethic quite strong, and our society largely color blind.” That was not intended as a backhanded implication. I was trying to suss out the OP’s definition of Southern, and point out that if, indeed, that negative schtick is his definition, then we don’t fit it. Later you’ll notice I made the same assertion about Atlanta’s suburbs. This whole argument really got off base because we are arguing different definitions of “South.” ---
**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, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/169 "2009-05-07T17:28:48Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > OK. Has there ever been a case where you did just that and then came to realize that maybe the issue is not as cut and dried as you thought initially? Yes, but this isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/170 "2009-05-07T17:33:46Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Yes, but this isn’t one of them. You are convinced beyond doubt both that your OP is crystal clear on what your definition of “part of the South” is, and that no other variation is acceptable by anyone, be it your roommate or anyone here? ---
**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, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/171 "2009-05-07T17:36:19Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > You are convinced beyond doubt both that your OP is crystal clear on what your definition of “part of the South” is, and that no other variation is acceptable by anyone, be it your roommate or anyone here? No, but that’s not what I said. I never thought this issue was all that simple, and . . . you know what, fuck it. Nothing I say is getting through anyway. Can we please, please, just end this hijack? ---
**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, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/172 "2009-05-07T17:40:28Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Yes, but this isn’t one of them. Oh, I think the only thing we’ve proved in this thread is that it is, actually. > [@](#): > > Can we please, please, just end this hijack? I’m not sure it’s a hijack. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/173 "2009-05-07T17:40:46Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > No, but that’s not what I said. I never thought this issue was all that simple, and . . . you know what, fuck it. Nothing I say is getting through anyway. Can we please, please, just end this hijack? Sure, I was just wondering when you said you tend to argue against things you think are wrong, which we all do, if you ever came to a compromise in such a situation and agreed to disagree. Not sure why you are so hung up on it unless you are really emotionally invested in being able to mock your roommate at every opportunity. Why not simply say “Oh, yeah, it looks like there are some other ways to think about it I hadn’t considered” and strike that from the list in the OP as being not-so-clear-cut as you thought at the time? ---
**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, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/174 "2009-05-07T17:43:02Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > Not sure why you are so hung up on it unless you are really emotionally invested in being able to mock your roommate at every opportunity. Actually, I really do enjoy that. And in what way am I hung up about this? > [@not\_alice](#): > > Why not simply say “Oh, yeah, it looks like there are some other ways to think about it I hadn’t considered” and strike that from the list in the OP as being not-so-clear-cut as you thought at the time? Forgive me if I don’t find the arguments of people who have never lived there particularly convincing. ---
**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, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/175 "2009-05-07T17:49:21Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > OK. Has there ever been a case where you did just that and then came to realize that maybe the issue is not as cut and dried as you thought initially? Well, hallelujah! Can you apply this your statements in this thread? > [@not\_alice](#): > > Well, for one thing, people in Rockville don’t spend time trying to convince others that they are not “part of the South” as part of the present culture. If this is true, it’s probably because there’s less of a dispute regarding the non-Southernness of Rockville’s character. But I suspect it’s not true. There is an ongoing question regarding whether Maryland should still be considered Southern. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Alright. Find a better one, and we’ll talk. No, because my argument, unlike yours, is not statistical. It’s perceptive. My perception is that this place doesn’t feel Southern in character. That’s not a statistical argument. > [@](#): > > There’s nothing really wrong with being in the South, you know. These days, they don’t even make you drive a pickup truck or fly a Confederate flag, and we have integrated lunch counters and everything! See the defensiveness. I haven’t said one word about the merits of the South. I’ve even admitted to partaking of stereotypically Southern foods. > [@not\_alice](#): > > It is not among the complaints that it changes the history or location of a place though. Again, not one person has tried to “change history” or to physically move a location. > [@](#): > > Maybe that is a certain kind of modernism that suggests that history is not relevant to the current time and place. No, it’s the mere statement of fact that current conditions can be _different_ from history. > [@](#): > > Doesn’t change the tides of history though, although it probably limits how people can benefit from the tide. If history has _tides_ that means _things change_. Paris is not culturally Neanderthal any more. The Northeastern United States are not Algonquian in character. Dublin is not a Norse city. Iran is not a Zoroastrian country. Kabul is not a Greek city. Manchuria is not ruled by Mongols. These are not denials of history. They are observations about current conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/176 "2009-05-07T17:54:23Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > 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. Well, actually, it _is_ true that people from Southern VT are not true Vermonters; they’re all flatlanders from MA and CT anyways, moving up here with their money and fancy cars. They don’t know how to put in a day’s hard labor, by geezum! I think the moral of this all is that we often try to distance ourselves from the ‘wrong’ sorts of people by claiming that they are not any relation whatsoever when in fact they read at our son’s bar mitzvah. Seriously, this is like Christians claiming that anyone who does something awful is not a ‘true’ Christian. You can’t disavow who you are or where you are just because you don’t want to be a part of it. People from Southern VT are just as much a part of the state as those from the Northern part (and certainly don’t all fit the stereotype), just as VA classifies as a Southern state, despite the protestations of some folks from Northern VA who like to poo-poo The South as some general backwater. ---
**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, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/177 "2009-05-07T17:59:24Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > just as VA classifies as a Southern state, despite the protestations of some folks from Northern VA who like to poo-poo The South as some general backwater. Ah, you’ve found me out; I secretly drive down to Nashville and drop poison in the water supply to kill Southerners. Damn, do I hate them and everything they stand for. :rolleyes: > [@Eonwe](#): > > Seriously, this is like Christians claiming that anyone who does something awful is not a ‘true’ Christian. Actually, it’s more like a Jew saying he’s not a Christian. Sure, the two religions have a lot in common, and were essentially the same a long time ago, and there’s nothing bad about Christianity from his perspective, but just the same, he’s not a Christian. ---
**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, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/178 "2009-05-07T18:01:14Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > No, because my argument, unlike yours, is not statistical. It’s perceptive. My perception is that this place doesn’t feel Southern in character. That’s not a statistical argument. Any such argument can be done better with statistics. Find a poll showing how other local residents feel about the area. ---
**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, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/179 "2009-05-07T18:03:50Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Any such argument can be done better with statistics. Find a poll showing how other local residents feel about the area. You do it. It’s not important to me what everyone’s views are on this matter. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496/180 "2009-05-07T18:07:11Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > That was not intended as a backhanded implication. I was trying to suss out the OP’s definition of Southern, and point out that if, indeed, that negative schtick is his definition, then we don’t fit it. I see. You wanted to insult the South just as a way to determine what the OP meant. I understand that. So I’m safe in saying that you’re ignorant, ugly, and yo’ momma dresses you funny. Just to see if that’s also how the OP views you. Right? I can’t decide if you’re intentionally obtuse or just slow. Bless your heart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-roommate-knows-and-doesnt-know-the-weirdest-things/495496.md?page=10)