Well, quite. So I move we spike this whole storm in a hearsay teacup.
You have a peculiar understanding of geography, Bambi Hassenpfeffer.
I’m trying to puzzle out your map. You show 4 (threeish) distinct areas. Three (twoish?) of them are south of The South, but they aren’t The South. You label central south Florida “Cracker Country,” but that’s not South. Crackers are Yankees, now?
You show some fascinating insights. I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. 
Florida.
AskNott: The South: as in ‘the Mason Dixon Line South’.
The North: Old people moving down.
Quiet, you. When I said threeish, I forgot about the Heartland, which is easy to do. Only 250k people there. Also, the Cracker Country is not “central South Florida”; it is southern Florida. South Florida refers to the Gold Coast, which is Miami, Ft Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.
[list=][li]The red part on my map is much more like south Georgia, Alabama, and other parts of the South than it is like the rest of Florida. [/li][li]The purple part is heavily influenced by the immigration of northerners during the last 100 years or so – northerners like my Hoosier family and the families of almost everybody I know. [/li][li]The bright green part is Miami / Ft Lauderdale, and they are like no other part of the state – so many immigrants from so many places. Orlando and Tampa Bay have very diverse populations, but we are still majority white anglophones. Not so in Miami. [/li][li]The dark green part is where you’ll find the remnants of old Florida, the Crackers. Not just rural, but very focused on agriculture. Much more so than the part of Florida that’s labeled red.[/list][/li]
Also, Ogre, I’m very sorry. I did not intend to disparage your state. I actually quite like Alabama. I was just annoyed at the “typical Florida” sentiment and I failed to prevent myself from employing another stereotype. Sorry.
Suuuure, forget about us Cracker Country people. tsk. 
Though, honestly, Bambi, if you’ll take a look around, you’ll find that agriculture is dying in Polk County. Orange groves and oak hammocks being bulldozed to make room for subdivisions… 
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!
Slowly, the state is becoming one big game of chicken, as developers compete to see who can make us sink into the ocean first…
I’ve heard of quite a few that weren’t at all warranted, but that aside, even if the walk-out is entirely justified, it’s still not a defence against school discipline for being disruptive. Actually, one of the things that bugs me about most student protests is the expectation that righteousness confers immunity to consequences, which is missing the entire point of civil disobedience. Someone who says, “My cause is just, and I’m willing to go to prison (or detention hall) to prove it,” is making a powerful statement. Someone who says, “My cause is just, and I should get a day off school because of it,” just sounds like an entitled brat.
S’OK. I had just been re-reading the “Southern Pride:Why?” thread in GD, and I was all amped up. Sorry to jump down your throat.
See, this is why censorship blows: That’s pretty funny stuff for a high school student. Quality innuendo, no actual “bad” words, “climax” was a little forced, but he recovers for a nice subtle closing. I give it an 8.5 
And of course, as much as I told myself not to, I went and read it and yeah…amped up describes my reaction as well.
If people could just remember there are racist, stupid, mean, hateful, intolerant people EVERYWHERE. For every news article about someone doing something stupid in the South I could find one about somebody doing something stupid in the North.
And I don’t even like grits, so there!
Ungrateful bastard! Do you know how many restaurants serve grits in California? That’s right, ZERO.
Actually, I only even know what they taste like because my day-care provider in Maryland was a Southerner.
ETA: I really miss hush puppies, too.
Here’s a link for a mill in Wilsonville, Alabama. Look about 3/4 down the page, under “STONE GROUND MEAL PRODUCTS & FARM FRESH EGGS” for a PDF order form for their organic, stone-ground grits. They’re really amazingly good. If it means anything to you, Frank Stitt, who runs Highlands Bar and Grill (Gourmet magazine’s choice as the 5th best restaurant in America, 2001) only uses McEwen and Sons grits.
Very highly recommended, and not very pricey.
Very true. Sadly so, IMO. I spent a lot of time over the last two years up and down US 27 from Venus to Davenport and also a lot of time around Winter Haven, Lakeland, and Auburndale. I was shocked by how far down 27 I had to go to see an orange grove and by how many subdivisions had come to Sebring and Avon Park. Even little Lake Placid is getting developed.
They haven’t gotten to the deep parts yet, though. Hendry, Glades, DeSoto, Hardee, and Okechobee are still largely undeveloped.