# Oddly proud to be southern **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 17, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199 "2004-11-17T04:32:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/81 "2004-11-18T20:23:25Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Actually, I’m of the belief that coldly shunning the speaker is the best response. Actually arguing about it tends to get their hackles up, and some people really seem to experience joy in playing the victim of multicultural society. So I deny them that pleasure; part of being involved in civil society, in my opinion, is not being racist. Losing the privilege of involvement in society seems like exactly the right response to racism. There, see? We’re way ahead of all y’all. ---
**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/82 "2004-11-18T22:29:06Z")
The people in the group were _wise_ not to give this woman a platform for her rancor. _Growth in wisdom can be measured precisely by decline in bile. – Nietzsche: Human, All Too Human_ Ws Nietzsche a southerner? Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/83 "2004-11-18T22:48:45Z")
“We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks, We don’t know our ass from a hole in the ground. We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks…” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/84 "2004-11-18T22:50:56Z")
Cute song! What’s the next line? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/85 "2004-11-18T22:53:15Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Are you just _BAITING_ me to sing showtunes from _1776_? Dear God, NO! ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/86 "2004-11-18T22:53:40Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Cute song! What’s the next line? :eek: Email me. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/87 "2004-11-19T04:23:43Z")
A _burro_ is an ass. A _burrow_ is a hole in the ground. > [@](#): > > **plnnr** Go to St. John’s Church and listen to a re-enactment of Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” speech. And you can sit in Washington’s pew, or run your hands along the rim of the font used to baptize Pocahontas. Just around the corner from the church is one of the homes where Poe lived. I love St. John’s Church. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/88 "2004-11-19T05:49:15Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > It’s really pretty in the South. I took a train trip and a bus trip down through the South, and I was awed by the beauty. It’s different from the beauty in California (with its beaches and Yosemite National Park), but it’s beautiful. And I’m picky. If you like the South, and you like California, you should check out New England. We’ve got mountains, hills, _and_ trees that turn colors in the fall, which is a tough combination to find elsewhere. Plus, no oil platforms uglying up the beaches. 😛 Disclaimer: I’m a big fan of the Blue Ridge mountains, but they pale in comparison to even upstate New York. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/89 "2004-11-19T06:00:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Disclaimer: I’m a big fan of the Blue Ridge mountains, but they pale in comparison to even upstate New York. Bless your heart. Try the Cumberland Plateau of north Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. _That’s_ beauty. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/90 "2004-11-19T06:21:02Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Bless your heart. > > Try the Cumberland Plateau of north Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. _That’s_ beauty. Gee, despite your sweet invitiation, I think I’ll pass. I think this whole herd mentality of shunning those in disfavor is ugly in the extreme. Southern hospitality my ass. Southern judgemental groupthink is more like it. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/91 "2004-11-19T06:21:38Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Bless your heart. > > Try the Cumberland Plateau of north Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. _That’s_ beauty. No, the low Blue Ridge around Towns, Union and Rabun county in Georgia. _That’s_ beauty. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/92 "2004-11-19T06:27:12Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > Gee, despite your sweet invitiation, I think I’ll pass. > > I think this whole herd mentality of shunning those in disfavor is ugly in the extreme. Southern hospitality my ass. Southern judgemental groupthink is more like it. Poor child. And **Ilsa** , my mom’s from the foot of Brasstown Bald. Gorgeous country indeed. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/93 "2004-11-19T06:35:20Z")
> [@Lyllyan](#): > > I would like to defend the shocked silence rather than a loud confronting, from a Southern Point of View. > > A collective shocked silence and averting of the eyes is shaming. Extremely shaming, to those in the South. It indicates that you have commited an offense to terrible too speak of, it indicates that you have brought the displeasure of a group upon your head, it means that you will not be welcome (or at the very least, shunned) in polite society until which time you have made your amends by action and word. This sometimes takes YEARS. > > This method does not allow for hasty, non-genuine apologies. It does not allow you to try to make excuses or defend yourself as a collective confrontation would. It also does not allow one to argue “that’s not what I meant” and does not give the one shunned the right to feel their statement justified because someone was yelling at them. It also allows no understanding when the shunned person was the sole voice of reason. This was not one such case, but there easily could be one. Say, for instance, a gay person came out of the closet. Or a child wanted to be the first person in her extended family to go to college. As I said, this is an ugly custom. One point on NE I forgot to add: > [@](#): > > [New England’s] got mountains, hills, and trees that turn colors in the fall, plus we get snow in the winter. Snow covered trees are truly beautiful, as opposed to a twisted gnarl of bare branches as far as the eye can see. I miss the winters of my youth in the midwest; southern New England can’t compare with that. Vermont, however, may be the most attractive state in the union. But really, you don’t have to go to any particular place or area in New England to find beautiful scenery. Pretty much any time of year, just walk around anywhere and enjoy it. It’s all around you up here. But continue to dismiss me with your condescending remarks. That’s the openmindedness of the south at work, and woe to all who go against the grain; your societal priviledges will be unofficially revoked. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/94 "2004-11-19T06:40:11Z")
> [@](#): > > But continue to dismiss me with your condescending remarks. You got it, champ. As long as you have no idea what you’re talking about, don’t be surprised if we do just that. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/95 "2004-11-19T06:47:29Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > You got it, champ. As long as you have no idea what you’re talking about, don’t be surprised if we do just that. You seem to be assuming that I never lived in the south, despite knowing nothing about me. How’s the snowfall down there? _crickets_ Hey, I think I’m being shunned. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/96 "2004-11-19T07:12:57Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > You seem to be assuming that I never lived in the south, despite knowing nothing about me. Actually, it doesn’t matter if you lived here or not. You still have no idea what you’re talking about in regards to the OP. > [@](#): > > How’s the snowfall down there? _crickets_ Hey, I think I’m being shunned. Thoroughly, blessedly absent. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/97 "2004-11-19T09:51:21Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > If you like the South, and you like California, you should check out New England. We’ve got mountains, hills, _and_ trees that turn colors in the fall, which is a tough combination to find elsewhere. Plus, no oil platforms uglying up the beaches. 😛 I’ve been to New England several times. Oh yes, it is beautiful. But alas, in the winter it has way too much snow, doesn’t it? (I know that parts of California and the South have snow too, of course.) Say, are the art stores any good in New England? (I am sure they are!) 😉 You know, just speaking generally here, I don’t know what the fuss is about with North vs. South. I guess that comes from being from California, which is way too far away to really pay attention, or in my case, to give that much of a damn. All I know is that both areas are very pretty and are lovely places to visit. And if they have good art stores, then hey—all the better. (I know that North Carolina is known for its pottery too. How cool is that?) When I was visiting Atlanta once, I was eating out with a friend, who is a native of the South. When ordering, I was puzzled about what “hush puppies” were. My friend explained to the waitress that I was from out of town and wasn’t familiar with hush puppies (seriously—what the hell are these things?). The waitress then turned to him and said with a knowing smile, “Oh, she’s from the _North_.” So perhaps California is the North too? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/98 "2004-11-19T10:36:14Z")
Hush puppies! Mmm… They’re deep fried corn fritters, usually bite size. Normally, they have corn meal, milk (or buttermilk), eggs, salt, pepper, and most importantly, onions. Often, they’re spiced up with hot peppers, but I don’t care for that. I like the sweeter ones (a bit of sugar in the recipe). There are a bazillion variants (like using bacon grease instead of oil.) They’re crunchy outside and soft inside. They’re a great side dish or snack. ---
**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/99 "2004-11-19T13:28:30Z")
I’m told they get their name from big, outdoor “fish fries” when the dogs would wander up because they smelled the fish cooking and beg. Little bits of the cornbread batter would be thrown into the hot oil and fished out as treats for the doggies. When they tossed them to the pups they would call out “Here, shhh, hush puppy” and thus the name. _“Are you going to eat your hush puppies? No? Well…I’ll take just one…or two…”_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199/100 "2004-11-19T13:45:37Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > But continue to dismiss me with your condescending remarks. That’s the openmindedness of the south at work See earlier comments re: hypocrisy. Think about the whole mote-in-your-neighbor’s-eye principle. Don’t go accusing other folks of closemindedness until your own is open. Of course New England is breathtaking. Sure, maybe you even like it more than the Blue Ridge Mountains. Me, although I love Maine, my heart is here in North Carolina. Why the competitiveness? Daniel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-proud-to-be-southern/275199.md?page=6)