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I've noticed a pattern on CD where some members equate rural areas as southern. This takes a couple of forms. For example, there was a thread a few months ago where people claimed cities such as Houston and Atlanta are "rural." Conversely, I've also noticed some posters labeling rural areas in the north as "southern." A poster recently claimed a small town in Pennsylvania was southern because (I'm not making this up) he did not see a lot of men in suits or wealthy homes. I can only imagine how folks with that mindset will short-circuit when they encounter images such as this in their travels across New England:
All sizes | Tobacco workers in Connecticut | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/junie_moon_photoshare/2423151755/sizes/z/in/photostream/ - broken link)
Although I doubt anyone one will admit it, I personally believe some folks have trouble acknowledging that there are parts of the south that have a high degree of sophistication, while at the same time, can deny that there are some pretty backwards areas in their own neck of the woods. To try to make sense of this, they revert to the worst kind of stereotyping to make the world fit their pre-conceived ideas. I chalk it up to intellectual laziness, but perhaps that's just me.
I've noticed this too. No, rural does not mean southern. And Southern does not mean backwoods, "redneck-ville" either. There's plenty of Southerners I know who don't fly the Confederate flag, don't hunt or fish, don't go "muddin'", etc. etc. But they do identify with the South as a cultural thing in that they grew up there, eat Southern food, live at a slower pace (despite living in a metropolitan area), speak with a drawl, thrive in the humidity, and so on. They aren't rednecks or hicks... just Southern.
Rural is just rural. Rural areas and small towns make up a large part of every state. Small town life seems to be similar no matter what geographic region.
I've noticed this too. No, rural does not mean southern. And Southern does not mean backwoods, "redneck-ville" either. There's plenty of Southerners I know who don't fly the Confederate flag, don't hunt or fish, don't go "muddin'", etc. etc. But they do identify with the South as a cultural thing in that they grew up there, eat Southern food, live at a slower pace (despite living in a metropolitan area), speak with a drawl, thrive in the humidity, and so on. They aren't rednecks or hicks... just Southern.
Rural is just rural. Rural areas and small towns make up a large part of every state. Small town life seems to be similar no matter what geographic region.
I think sometimes we need to make a distinction between "physically rural" and "shared rural American culture."
Physically rural areas exist all over the country. For example, I can drive ten minutes in most directions and be in farmland. Does anybody here think that those areas, or the people that live in them, are southern? Of course not (I'm in Michigan.) About the only difference I notice is that they get more snow days in the winter.
However, there is a relatively recent development of what I'll call "shared rural American culture." I think it's propagated by country music and closely associated cultural activities (such as cowboy and/or camo gear, NASCAR, or maybe even towns coming together for high school football games.) Those ideals are heavily influenced by southern culture, even in areas and individuals that are not in the South. Not all rural people or Southerners for that matter subscribe to this culture, and there are many northern suburbanites who do. So I think that's where the whole idea that "rural = southern" comes from.
So Maine the Most southern state east of the Mississippi.
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