Southerners Roll Call

[Zeldar]

Hey, y’all! Here’s something else I should have had in that OP.

How many of you have had Camp Stew? Not Brunswick Stew, or Burgoo, but Camp Stew.

It was a family favorite but not limited to our family. At Labor Day, July 4th, Memorial Day, and other hot weather cookout occasions, in addition to the barbecue and potato salad and corn on the cob and slaw and other fixings, there was plenty of Camp Stew. Big cauldrons of it.

It had several kinds of meat, several vegetables, all manner of spices and condiments and was between mild and slightly hot in spiciness. Orange-yellow in color. Thicker than soup but not as thick as concrete mix.

Anybody know what I’m talking about? Anybody have a recipe?

[swampbear]

Born and raised in north GA, now living in south GA. Yep, I am a Southerner.

As to the matter of whether or not somebody not born in the south can be a Southerner, sure why not? I got no problem with somebody who moves south, decides he or she has died and gone to heaven and proclaims him/herself to be Southern. Y’all just welcome to do that as you please dahlin’!

My boss, who is as sugah sloppin’, honey, dahlin’, sweetie as you please ultimate Southern Belle, has a (gasp!) Yankee father! She is, however, Southern make no mistake about it.

You are Southern if you see yourself that way.

Besides this is the way it works: A Yankee can become a naturalized Southerner, but no Southerner (as if one would ever want to, the horror!) can become a naturalized Yankee.

[Bruce_Daddy]

*Originally posted by AHunter3 *
**Born in Massachusetts. . .

Me: Loud resounding no to team sports, fishing, fist-fighting, . . .and that male-culture bonding thing. . . .Shrug of shoulders and ::big yawn:: to NASCAR, country music, television in general, jello salad. **

Go home god damn carpetbagger.

[monstro]

I am a Southerner because I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. But I have to admit, I don’t consider myself “hard-core” because 1) my parents are from the midwest, 2) I lived in the city proper, which has more transplants than natives, and 3) because I don’t speak with much of an accent. Plus, hard-core Southerners skeeve me out. Sorry if you fall into that category.

A cute little story: Last week I had an interview for an adjunct teaching position at Drew University. I had to give a 15-minute sample lecture for a small group of students. My first overhead was a picture of a kudzu-covered house under the caption “What is it?” The chair of the department (who was interviewing me) saw the overhead and said, “I know what that is! I’m from Lousiana!” Well, I didn’t hesitate. “I’m from Georgia!” I replied. It’s not all that common to meet another Southerner in the deep North.

Later that day, I learned from one of my references–who the department chair called shortly after my interview–that she was glad that there would be another Southerner in the department (me!). So, I guess the moral of the story is to never be ashamed to tell anyone where you’re from. You never know how it will benefit you.

[plnnr]

"Southern is the damn SEC. "

For football, no doubt. I’ll even grant you that Kentucky counts as “southern” for basketball. Even LSU (once upon a time). Other than that - ACC all the way.

[ecugrad]

Born in Connecticut but have lived in NC since I was 10. Married a southerner from NC. Guess I’m considered southerner but I don’t say ‘y’all’ - never got into the habit

[racinchikki]

Can somebody please clarify, for my own peace of mind, whether I’m a damn yankee or not? unclviny says I am… Is there a test I can take or something?

[Chefguy]

Does Southeast Alaska count? C’mon…let me in the club…I’ll give you three dooollllarrrs…five doooolllllaaarrrrs.

[neutron_star]

*Originally posted by Zeldar *
**neutron star, you quoted a line from my OP and apparently read the part you wanted to see. What I said (with my bolding added so the point is more evident, hopefully) was:

Sorry. I really shouldn’t have even lumped your comment in with Lyllyan’s comment, which is the one I really found to be insular and exclusionary.

Now, you can continue to look for the briar on the rose and the stink on the skunk if you prefer. You can carry a chip on your shoulder if it helps you walk better. But if you’d give folks the benefit of the doubt instead of assuming they hate you because you’re not a natural-born Southerner, you might find it easier to get on with your life.

Now, I never said I thought anybody hated me. It’s just that exclusionary attitudes are what tends to breed hatred, which is why I dislike them.

To clarify further, if you were born elsewhere and were moved to the South by parents who cared for you, you’re not doomed to be a non-Southerner.

Well, there’s at least one person in this thread who thinks otherwise, and I really would like to hear why he/she thinks that way.

I don’t wish harm to non-Southerners. I don’t consider non-Southerners inferior or second-class or anything beyond the obvious fact that they are from other places in the world. Nor do I consider Southerners special or privileged beyond the obvious fact that they/we are from an area of the USA that has beautiful scenery, tolerable weather, good food, a fun-loving culture, and a pride of heritage.

Scorching heat, sweltering humidity, and 9-month-long summers are tolerable weather?

One thing I do notice a lot about Southerners. We take a lot of shit from non-Southerners. Somehow the rest of the country considers us stupid, slow, dirty, immoral, inbred, prejudiced, backward, lazy, unable to keep pace, and all sorts of things that are just plain wrong.

That’s very true. In fact, I was guilty of it myself in my more ignorant days. I’d guess most of it comes from the accent. To be honest, it drives me crazy how slowly some folks down here speak. It doesn’t make me think they’re stupid, but it does make me want to scream “FINISH THE SENTENCE!” Southerners must think I’m a damn motormouth, because my speaking voice is faster than even most Northerners.

*Originally posted by Misha77 *
Well, neutron star, I’ve lived in LA all my life, and my definition of a Southerner is really not strict. I don’t think it has much to do with where you’re born. If you’ve lived here long enough to understand most of the colloquialisms and you consider yourself southern, that’s good enough for me. I can’t imagine ever hearing someone describe himself as southern, only to smugly think to myself, “Who does he think he’s kidding?”

Thanks for your comments. I guess the definition of a Southerner is pretty loosely defined, depending on who you ask.

Now then, Lafayette? Wow. Where have you been hiding the last four years? This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone from the Hub City here on the SDMB. Cool.

If they say Cajun, however, that’s a whole different story.

Well, my wife is Cajun - from the good 'ol Smoked Meat Capitol of the World, Ville Platte. Does that make me part-Cajun by marriage? Will your answer change if I tell you I don’t like boiled crawfish?

[Zeldar]

neutron star, I should have said before, once I spotted your location, that we have some fine Cajun friends from your fair city. Spent a Mardi Gras with them several years back. Went over to Mamou to hear some bands and got there after things were breaking up – couldn’t have been any later than 3:00. The street was two or three cans deep as far as you could see. Beer cans! Passed one guy riding backwards on a horse down in one of those ditches on the shoulderless road to Opelousas. He had a chicken with him so I guess he got supper for the night.

If you can be from that crazy country and not know what Southern means, you must spend a lot of time indoors. And, yes, there are some parts of the South where tolerable is not the right word for the weather. Southern Louisiana is one of them.

We had a crawfish boil with our Cajun friends on that trip, too. Must have had 60 pounds of them for maybe 12 of us. Fun eats but I could save them for special occasions. Etouffe is good enough for me.

Laissez le bon temps roulez!

[Bruce_Daddy]

racinchikki, Here’s a test that doesn’t seem to be condecending but has too many car/motor/fishing references for my taste. I got 40 right. 2 caveats, there are some mistakes in here and I’m sure many non-southerners can answer many of them.

[Bruce_Daddy]

And I know how to spell condescending, as well.

[jackelope]

Bruce_Daddy, that’s Southern culture test was fun; interesting. I got 51 of 64 (I know nothing about car engines, though I do know a bit about NASCAR).

originally posted by neutron star
**Now, I never said I thought anybody hated me. It’s just that exclusionary attitudes are what tends to breed hatred, which is why I dislike them. **

I think you’re taking this a little too seriously, like the guy who wanted to report the joky waitress to health department. In my experience (others may disagree), most of this is fun talk, and not much more. Yes, the South is beautiful, and yes, the weather is pleasant (I’ll take our summers over northern winters), but most of the “Southerners are special people” talk is just for fun. It’s a way of expressing pride in one’s home, but very few of us are seriously trying to exclude anyone on the basis of where they’re from.

And part of it probably stems from defensiveness; as pointed out above, most of the country is perfectly comfortable in its ridiculous and ignorant notions about the South. We’re constantly mocked in TV, movies, just about any place you look. I can think of very few characters with Southern accents who were portrayed as intelligent, educated, or in any way enlightened. I’ve had friends come from California to visit and look around in amazement: “My God, you have tall buildings!” I am not making this up; people really believe those stereotypes.

We talk about how great the South is in a rather Sisyphean attempt to counteract all the bad press we get, but maybe it’s better this way; maybe our reputation keeps the Yankees out.

[Zeldar]

*Originally posted by jackelope *
**We talk about how great the South is in a rather Sisyphean attempt to counteract all the bad press we get, but maybe it’s better this way; maybe our reputation keeps the Yankees out. **

jackelope, This (your whole post) is so well said. Back when my wife and I were courting, we took some day trips around Tennessee and Alabama just checking out the sights and scenes. She’s a Tennessee girl and hadn’t spent much time in Bama. When I took her to Guntersville and Scottsboro she was amazed at the beauty of that part of the state. She had her image built on some of the movies and documentaries she’s seen with nothing but dirt roads and shacks and kudzu and slop.

Even though Alabama’s motto (at least the one on the signs along the interstates going into the state) is “Alabama The Beautiful.” (and it really is), the sad thing is that not all that many people get to realize that since they just use Bama as a passageway to get to the Gulf.

It’s a damn well kept secret!

[jackelope]

Alabama is a beautiful state indeed, Zeldar. I thought their motto was “Stars Fell on Alabama”? That’s what’s on their license plates, anyway.

This whole region of the country has some incredible scenery, from the Appalachians to the Delta (I think I’m writing a song without knowing it). I love to go photo hunting out in the countryside; you never know what you’ll come across.

Example from Mississippi. (By the way, any amateur photographers should definitely check out Fotolog.)

[sewalk]

*Originally posted by tomyoung *
**Whoops, sewalk, didn’t see your post. … I’d like to learn more about what you think makes Oklahoma Southern, and definitely would like to learn more about OK generally. I look forward to having any of my misconceptions about your state cleared up. **

Accents and idioms, food choices in local eateries, politics, rednecks, architecture, weather/climate.

While each of these things individually don’t make Oklahoma a Southern state, taken together, they sure give it that feel.

Those who live in Oklahoma City or Tulsa don’t notice these things too much but living in rural Oklahoma (I split my time between McLoud, Dustin, and OKC) brings me in contact with them every day. Also, the western parts of Oklahoma and Texas are definitely more Western/Southwestern that are the eastern parts. Take a Texan from Paris, an Arkansan from Mena, and on Okie from Idabel; they’ll be pretty damn hard to tell apart.

[roadrunner70]

I was born in DEE-troit, lived in Ohio 'til I was 12, been in NC for the last 28 years.

But I like NASCAR, hate huntin’ & feeshin’, don’t own a ball cap, but I have slept with my cousin, and I do have a pick-up truck, but no gun rack, so I dunno…

[Slainte]

*Originally posted by An Arky *
**:dubious: Where in Arkansas have you been that isn’t southern? With the possible exception of parts of the Ozarks, which is rather like Appalachia…but that doesn’t make VA, NC, TN, SC or GA questionable…Is it that it’s west of the Mississippi?

I don’t want to have to tell my family and friends back in Arkansas people think they’re all yankees!:eek: **

Eh, sorry, An Arky. Arkansas just doesn’t feel Southern to me. It seems more Ozark-ish, I guess. Do they readily serve sweet tea there? If so, I’ll concede on Arkansas, as sweet tea is my empirical measurement of “Southern”.

[neutron_star]

*Originally posted by Zeldar *
**neutron star, I should have said before, once I spotted your location, that we have some fine Cajun friends from your fair city.

Wow. I had no idea. I noticed one guy from Breaux Bridge and a couple from New Orleans, but not much else. Too many people don’t mention their locations in their profiles.

The street was two or three cans deep as far as you could see. Beer cans! Passed one guy riding backwards on a horse down in one of those ditches on the shoulderless road to Opelousas. He had a chicken with him so I guess he got supper for the night.

That’s quite funny, but not at all surprising.

If you can be from that crazy country and not know what Southern means, you must spend a lot of time indoors.

Well, yeah, I’m guilty on that count. But can you blame me? I break a sweat in the 20 feet between my apartment door and my car door!

I think my point (if I have one) is that the cultures, accents, food, and land vary so widely from one place in the South to another (even within single states!) that I find it hard to lump them all together. The only thing I can really see that they all have in common is that unfortunate war 140 years ago.

*Originally posted by jackelope *
I think you’re taking this a little too seriously, like the guy who wanted to report the joky waitress to health department. In my experience (others may disagree), most of this is fun talk, and not much more. Yes, the South is beautiful, and yes, the weather is pleasant (I’ll take our summers over northern winters), but most of the “Southerners are special people” talk is just for fun. It’s a way of expressing pride in one’s home, but very few of us are seriously trying to exclude anyone on the basis of where they’re from.

I was starting to get that impression from this thread, but had trouble putting the question into words. You’ve done me one better and put the answer into words. Thanks!

[AncientHumanoid]

Sewalk, you are so right about rural Oklahoma. In my job, I get to go to a lot small towns, farming communities, and extremely rural homes.

Often, I’m reminded of the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Man, we’ve got some wide open spaces out here. And acres of grasslands, orchards, ranches, streams, rolling hills, lakes, forests, etc… And that’s in OKC! When you get to the rurals, wow!

But, big city Oklahoma, like you said, tends to be very MidWest. Also, it’s hard to tell apart a farmer near Alva, OK from one in rural Nebraska.

One thing about all Oklahoma, though, that may make it very Southern in its leanings is in the matter of sports. Not pro sports. School sports. OU and OSU are joined by smaller colleges UCO, SWOSU, and high school perrenial powerhouses like Jenks, Tulsa Washington, the Midwest City Bombers, and others. What happens in school sports is VERY important to the average Oklahoman.

Hunting and fishing are very big here. And how about noodling?

One of the running jokes that some of my friends and I have, is that OK is more Texan than Dallas.

So, in many ways, despite the state’s “official” view (sold through the local news media, mostly) of being the “Heart of the Heartland,” Oklahoma seems Southern.

So, I’ll side with you, even though I also stick to my first post. I love waffles.