View Full Version : North vs. South
john gault
10-07-2011, 09:14
I keep seeing posts that pit the southern AT against the northern sections, but it's always in very broad terms and seemingly with some animosity. My question is where is the dividing line? And is there a middle ground that can be considered neither northern or southern?
Not solely a geography question, notice not in that forum, actually more of a cultural question. For many it seems like this issue (and I think I see it in their posts) is about the civil war. Seems like the old hostilities are still present today, which everyone knows exists, but I wouldn't expect to see it so prevalvent on a hiking forum, but I think I do see it.
hikerboy57
10-07-2011, 09:44
150 years is a long time to hold a grudge.what I have noticed here is some surprise from some of our southern gentlemen (and gentlewomen) to find out that people north of the Mason Dixon line can be just as nice as the people on the "wrong side" of the line.I think those from "our side" expect souther hospitality as a given.outside of that though, i havent really noticed any specific post civil war attitudes.just the same "my states better than yours" mentality that we all adhere to to some degree(or why would we live where we do?)
PS NYs better than FL.:)
I started noticing a change when the privy's started disappearing from around every shelter.
4eyedbuzzard
10-07-2011, 10:03
It doesn't seem to have moved geographically or emotionally much, if at all, in 150 years. Pretty much still the old Mason-Dixon line, the southern PA border. There are a few anomalies, Maryland has become more like a northern state, and north-eastern VA around DC has followed. But really it's pretty much business as usual IMO.
.......... the further North you go the less religious material you'll find in the shelters.
max patch
10-07-2011, 10:06
Virginia is South. Pennsylvania is North. Maryland is in the middle and I don't know they are - so I guess thats the middle ground you asked about.
Or just order iced tea. If it comes with sugar - teeth numbing suger - you're in the south.
Or grits. If its cooked properly you're in the south.
If the waitress asks if you want sweet milk to drink, you're in the South.
Emergency numbers posted on a shelter wall in the North are usually prefixed by the word "Warden".
Rain Man
10-07-2011, 10:33
... and seemingly with some animosity. My question is where is the dividing line? ...
I can't agree with your premise (though I freely admit I don't read but a small fraction of threads and posts on WB). My observation is that there is sometimes friendly banter back and forth, but ... animosity? No, ... or only from a tiny portion of the usual suspects.
I enjoy reading about the friendliness and genuine care of trail folk all up and down the AT, even in Yankeeland. I also enjoy reading the naive provincial surprise in posts that announce the discovery that not all Southerners are in-bred cannibals! :D
Rain:sunMan
P.S. If you have to ask where the dividing line is, you don't need to know! LOLOLOL (just pulling yer lag a tad)
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4eyedbuzzard
10-07-2011, 10:38
The south has nothin' on VT/NH when it comes to inbreeding. But unlike the south, many of our inbred are Vegans. After all, you wouldn't want to inadvertently eat a cousin, well, least ways not a first one.
Feral Bill
10-07-2011, 12:09
So what's sweet milk? Milk that's not buttermilk?
Odd Man Out
10-07-2011, 12:21
Ask the guy at the convenience store what the name of the trail is.
If he says "ap-uh-LATCH-in trail" you are in the south.
If he says "ap-uh-LAY-chin trail" or "ap-uh-LAY-shin trail", you are in the north.
If he says "puh-SIF-ic-crest trail", you missed a white blaze a very long time ago.
So what's sweet milk? Milk that's not buttermilk?
Yep, "sweet milk" (white milk) means you don't want buttermilk.
South has better BBQ.
North has better pizza.
Everyone wins!
:)
I tell you one thing, I'm darn glad my celebratory post-hike meal was lobster instead of BBQ (yes, I am a Southerner).
I am a (former) Northerner. Brisket, ribs, slaw, corn bread and beans done to perfection is a wonderful thing.... Mmm!!!!
I tell you one thing, I'm darn glad my celebratory post-hike meal was lobster instead of BBQ (yes, I am a Southerner).
That's because you're stuck with that awful vinegar and pepper stuff they call barbecue in central and especially coastal NC. You need to spend some time in TN to appreciate proper barbecue.
rastraikis
10-08-2011, 09:44
That's because you're stuck with that awful vinegar and pepper stuff they call barbecue in central and especially coastal NC. You need to spend some time in TN to appreciate proper barbecue.
See its not just a North vs South thing. Its just good fun making fun of all areas. I like both types of BBQ. Remember in the Blues Brothers movie at Bob's Country Bunker and the waitress says "We have both kinds of music. Country and Western"
See its not just a North vs South thing. Its just good fun making fun of all areas. I like both types of BBQ. Remember in the Blues Brothers movie at Bob's Country Bunker and the waitress says "We have both kinds of music. Country and Western"
True enough. But I have to admit when I first got a mouthful of coastal Carolina barbecue, it was a true shock to the senses. WAY too much vinegar! I've had some NC q that was quite good. But I still love giving carolina bbq a hard time. Almost as much as this Marine loves giving the Air Force a hard time. You have to have something worth crabbing over.
I don't think the North vs. South teasing typically goes any further than what you get with fans of rival sports teams. But as with fans of rival sports teams, some people might take their loyalty a little too far.
The Civil War wasn't that long ago. My family is from Kentucky, which fought for the Union, and when my grandfather was a kid, he knew a couple people who had been alive during the war, and so I've heard some secondhand stories. I live in Atlanta now, and as a city, it stands out from other cities I've been in due to its total lack of really old buildings. That only happens when a place has been leveled.
There is also one unfortunate aspect of Southern culture. There are some people in the South who are overt racists, but they use images of the Confederacy as a sort of code for it. When someone talks about the war, it's sometimes hard at first to tell if you're dealing with a racist or a history buff. I'm really into learning the history of a place, but it can be complicated around here.
Still, I think there's nothing wrong with staking your loyalty to a place based on its food. I will swoon over a good plate of cornbread, black-eyed peas, and collards, if seasoned right, with a cold glass of sweet tea. As for BBQ, there's a place outside Jackson, GA, that seems to have figured it out.
once you get north of Maryland, you are out of the South. I'd say MD is the dividing line. Going north from the PA line, people start talking normal, are less obsessed with Grits, and realize that the civil war ended over a hundred years ago. They've moved on. Northerners also seem to smoke less than folks in the south, though up here we drink just as much. I think most of the north south conflict is all in good fun, like rival sports teams.
David
Cookerhiker
10-13-2011, 10:39
On WB as well as the AT itself, I only see good-natured bantering, not animosity.
What I do see is pot-stirring trolls on WB who raise non-issues because they apparently have nothing better to do.:rolleyes:
Rain Man
10-13-2011, 11:35
once you get north of Maryland, you are out of the South. I'd say MD is the dividing line. Going north from the PA line, people start talking normal, are less obsessed with Grits, and realize that the civil war ended over a hundred years ago.
Ahhh... detached from reality, eh?! Not to mention, you left out sweet tea!
Rain:sunMan
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Rain Man
10-13-2011, 11:37
On WB as well as the AT itself, I only see good-natured bantering, not animosity.
What I do see is pot-stirring trolls on WB who raise non-issues because they apparently have nothing better to do.:rolleyes:
BINGO!!! We have a winner ... on both accounts!!!
Rain:sunMan
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Old Hiker
10-13-2011, 12:15
.......................... you left out sweet tea!
Rain:sunMan
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Shouldn't that be "ya'll" ??
Odd Man Out
10-13-2011, 12:57
I don't think of MD as being very southern. It's definitely a transition state. I grew up in the MD suburbs of DC. We would say "you guys" and not "y' all", and I don't recall seeing grits ever. For a summer job I drove a delivery van all over the area and it was always quite obvious when you got beyond the Beltway in VA because you would hear the southern accent. But beyond the Beltway in MD, you didn't. In "Balmer Murlin", they talk a bit funny, but not really southern. The Eastern Shore is whole other story (one of my favorite places). I'm not sure about the tea situation. I drink about a 1/2 gal of iced tea every day in the summer, but only unsweetened because sweet tea if EVIL!!!!
Texas Phlox
10-13-2011, 13:05
And then there is Texas where everyone but us are "yankees". Texas is a whole other country but that is a non-issue here. Quite different than the deep south. I am so looking forward to meeting people on the AT from all walks of life and from different states and with different cultures, accents and philosophies. I believe that is part of the fun!
hikerboy57
10-13-2011, 13:09
Here in New Yawk, noone has an accent.
Texas Phlox
10-13-2011, 13:12
Here in New Yawk, noone has an accent.
We do not have accents either.
Rain Man
10-13-2011, 17:39
Shouldn't that be "ya'll" ??
Dang, don'tcha know nuthin'?! "Y'all" is plural. As in, you all, or all of you all, er, y'all. :)
Rain:sunMan
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My brother didn't have an accent when he lived in Georgia, but he moved to New York city a decade ago and had to develop an accent so he could effectively communicate with others while negotiating traffic (walking or driving).
hikerboy57
10-15-2011, 10:13
My brother didn't have an accent when he lived in Georgia, but he moved to New York city a decade ago and had to develop an accent so he could effectively communicate with others while negotiating traffic (walking or driving). i didnt know flipping the bird could have an accent.
4eyedbuzzard
10-15-2011, 10:44
i didnt know flipping the bird could have an accent.It's all in the wrist, Pisan.
atraildreamer
10-15-2011, 12:10
i didnt know flipping the bird could have an accent.
Southerners are very polite. :) They flip you off in such a genteel manner that you actually feel good about receiving the gesture! :D
It's all in the wrist, Pisan.
http://italian.about.com/library/nosearch/blgestures026.htm
Can't be all bad. A certain supreme court justice did it a few years back...
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/2006/04/13/
:)
Sweet Tea, table wine of the south.
And it has to be sweetened before it's poured over ice, otherwise it looks like a snow globe in your glass.
PA is North, Maryland is sort of a gray area but when I went SOBO, I felt like I was in the south when I crossed the Potomac River.
LIhikers
10-16-2011, 23:35
This spring I hiked the C+O Canal Trail and learned a lot about the Civil War along the way.
Know why General Lee was in PA when the battle of Gettysburg happened?
He knew that many of the people of Maryland and southern Pennsylvania were sympathetic to the southern cause and felt if he could cut-off, and isolate, Washington D.C. fron the north that PA and MD would switch sides. Of course that was 150 years ago and things change but I would still put MD in the south.
All of that said, so what.