North/South Divides

After this post by UKReader, I thought this would be a very interesting topic to start, and apologies in advance to Mindy as it has the potential for getting heated.

Its just that some people seem to think that England stops after Watford Gap (and that includes Englanders!). Just provencial pride I suppose. I'm a northerner, so have some deep seated, ingrained resentment of the South (especially London!). I know its off topic, but is the North South Divide as prevelent in America, or does it take a different form?

I'm not sure how prevalent it is. I was one naive lady when I came up with the name for this website, UK Yankee. While I had no problems being called a yankee, there are some who do, some because yankees were the Northerners during the US Civil War, and some Southerners are quite offended at being called a Yankee. I didn't realize that there were still such undercurrents, and I really don't understand it because I just wasn't brought up that way. I then had to wonder how much the name would hurt the site, but I soon realized that it was a filter of sorts, as those who feel so strongly against it, those people that are that uptight over a little word, aren't here being uptight about everything else in life.

I was brought up to believe the American dream, equality, tolerance and all those ideals (right or wrong), and I still don't understand how or why people perpetuate these notions of North vs South, nor any other cultural, religious, or racial divides. Maybe I'm naive for being brought up sheltered. I don't know. I was just as much surprised that this exists here in the UK too, and again, I don't understand why it goes on.

So how prevalent is the North South divide in either country? Is it about priviledge? Is it about wealth? Is it felt by the resenting party or a party that feels superior to the other?

Can of worms, let thee be opened.

I lived in Florida, which I always considered the Southern-most Northern state, as everyone there seems to come from "somewhere else" - mostly up north and the midwest.  My parents were from Pennsylvania and New York - so am I really a "southerner" because I was born in Miami, Florida?  I never felt like one.  Didn't eat biscuits and gravy until my 20's, don't like grits, and don't even think of using the word "Cracker" in front of me!

All I know about "the South" is that I spent 3 days in Georgia once and it took about 2 weeks for me to get rid of the d r a w l!  

Ah ....the North/South thing .The only place I found it to be still  alive and kicking was in the military and it was quite an eye opener for a 17 year old who up until that time had never been out of Boston. On occasion I found it to be downright frightening, and even moreso because everyone carried a weapon and plenty of bullets. I grew up in a melting pot where I came from but it did'nt take me long to realize that the Civil War was far from over in the minds of some pretty scary characters. I even got paid a visit in the wee hours of the morning one time while on sentry duty by a senior NCO who also happened to be some kind of grand wizard in the Georgia chapter of the KKK who let me know in no uncertain terms that fraternization with people of color was'nt appreciated in his unit. This guy was almost twice my age and his eyes burned a hole right through me that to this day I can still see. Talk about getting a reality check about people's passions . 60 Minutes did a piece some time back about this issue (North/South divide in the military) and although the military denied it existed they also interviewed soldiers who said it was indeed still rife. When I finally shipped out for a tour of duty in the U.K we were all thought of as Yanks by the locals.....oversexed, overpaid and over here  

Interesting question. I'm a westcoast girl and from my experience there is no north south divide in the western part of the country. It's west vs east!  

Interesting question. I'm a westcoast girl and from my experience there is no north south divide in the western part of the country. It's west vs east!  

Oh yes - now let's add that into the equation!

I see it as not N/S or E/W, but based on there being several regions.

I am from Maine, so a true blue New Englander.  SOOO much different from other Northern states in the mid-west and on the west coast, yet also very different from other Eastern states in the South.
Seems like you got New England, the South, Midwest, and West-coast.  However, that doesn't cover all of it, because PA isn't in New England and isn't in the South.

Southern florida may not seem like its part of the South, but Northern Florida seems to.
Who knows.

Interesting question. I'm a westcoast girl and from my experience there is no north south divide in the western part of the country. It's west vs east!  

hmmn really?... I hear a fair amount about the So-Cal v No-Cal rivalry!  

Southern florida may not seem like its part of the South, but Northern Florida seems to.
Who knows.

Probably because it abuts right up to Alabama and Georgia, because I do agree with that observation.

I think there is always a bit of healthy rivalery and that's a good thing.  The problem arises when that rivalry turns deadly like it often does with the East/West rappers and racist issues here in the South.  I cannot speak much for any other parts of the nation since my "aware" years have all been spent in the South.  Though really the Hamtpon Roads area of Virginia is not really typical south.  There is a divide and it is very personal for some.  There are real tossers here that cannot get over the fact that great grandpa Smith fought in the war against them darkies.  It's sick and twisted, but it is still alive.  A professor of mine once told me this about Georgia, "When you leave Altanta remember you are still in Georgia."  It is so true.  You have in Atlanta a fairly happening place with a mix of people and a predominately African American city with a high percentage of middle and upper class people and many Northern transplants.  You leave the city limits (which are huge) and you get smacked with a dose of reality.  People out here are still sensitive to the north, they still are pissed about the war, they still use "yankee" as an insulting epithet.  

Just as there are ignorant people that assume that every body in the south marries their cousins and lives in a trailer and goes on Jerry Springer.


I honestly feel though that most normal everyday people might do a bit of ribbing about the regions, but they are not serious about it.


I personally don't see the term yankee as a bad thing unless it's used in an insulting way, but that goes for many fairly harmless words like American.  It depends on the context.  Those of you who have heard someone emphasis the word American and roll their eyes or a comment like, "that's just like you AMericans" know what I mean.

It's just like I can use almost any label to insult someone.  It depends on who is saying it and how.  I also want to add that the term Yankee is outside of the US used as a term to describe us so it is not sole property of the northern part of the US.  

So how prevalent is the North South divide in either country?

Being born and raised in Maryland, right on the North/South divide, I never considered myself one or the other, so I suppose I never really took noticed of the divisions within the US, but was aware they existed.

In the UK, I have a hubby from the Northeast who has lived half is life up there and half his life down here in the South.  He is keenly aware of the divide, but holds no real bias.  I've often heard from him and others that the North starts above the Watford Gap.

Is it about privilege? Is it about wealth? Is it felt by the resenting party or a party that feels superior to the other?

From what I've seen over here, yes, it is about all those things.  Southerners tend to be more wealthy, with all the privileges that brings.  The North has lost many jobs over the last few decades (coal, manufacturing, call centres, etc) which has put a strain on the economy.  From the research I've done at work, the North has the highest and most dramatic instances of social deprivation (the South has pockets too, but not as many or as bad as the North), which I feel partly contributes to this us versus them mentality.

I think I see it most right at the divide in the east. Virginia...anyone who lives in the DC area is emphatic about living in Northern Virginia, to separate themselves for those in the south (not "Southern Virginia" just plain "The South").

My fiancee thinks people are a bit nicer in the North.  *Everyone* thanks the bus drivers, whereas this isn't the norm in the South.

Having lived all my life in Arizona, as Ashely said, it really isn't even an issue out west, and it's hard to comprehend that people would still hold that mentality so strongly.  Something that most states out west don't even give a thought to, can very much make up your identity in other parts of the country.  I never realized it until speaking with some of my mom's family from Tennessee a few years back.  Wasn't pleasant, and I really had no idea people were that prejudice still.  They even slightly begrudged the fact that I'm half mexican.  :-\  Anyway, it was a real eye-opener to speak to them, and to also spend some time in Florida and hear people freely use certain terms that I would never dream of saying and consider extremely offensive.  Very different attitudes throughout the country.  Again though, being out in the west it's much more of an eas/west coast 'rivalry.'

Being from Kentucky alot of people assume that Iam from a "backwards" state or  that I eat alot of KFC LOL

I think the best way to understand a thing like the North/South divide is to try and get to know people from a different part of the country then where you live.

Only way to overcome all of our own stereotypes of people.

Being from Kentucky alot of people assume that Iam from a "backwards" state or  that I eat alot of KFC LOL

I think the best way to understand a thing like the North/South divide is to try and get to know people from a different part of the country then where you live.

Only way to overcome all of our own stereotypes of people.

Had a great mate from Kentucky years and years ago. Funny thing is, he could'nt understand a word I said when I spoke and I could'nt understand a word he said either. He grew up in the mountains and he was without a doubt one of the funniest guys I ever met and a real class act to boot.... and he HATED chicken!