Rudeness continues on Potomac River

Washington Times ^ | 5-20-07 | Gene Mueller

[PAR35]

DC is below the Mason Dixon line.

So is metro Atlanta. It's full of yankees, too.

[PAR35]

They favor shotguns over grenades and dynamite

You got me on that one. How do you fish with a shotgun?

[NathanR]

And anyone who calls the “Civil War” the “War of Northern Aggression”, is still fighting it.

[Ditter]

This guy will find a lot of rudeness on the ground there too.

[Fiddlstix]

There’s a lot of rural territory in them thar northern states, and the people are every bit as kind and decent as those from the rural areas in the south.

You are right. As a native of the south I am compelled to agree with you.

[angkor]

This story is really about bass guides, tournament wannabes, and bass pros. Just like the writer, normal people don’t behave this way.

I’m not a regular fisherman, but I did keep my boat on the Occoquan for a while, which is where all of this stuff happens. Many - but not all - of the bass people seemed oblivious to boating etiquette and safety, even with us big boat people. They would pass to starboard, goose it to cut in front of you, ignore the no wake zones, etc.

So, yeah, the bass guys did have a reputation as loosey-goosey, all too aggressive boaters among the Occoquan recreational boaters. But I had no idea they were this rude to fellow bass enthusiasts. I guess it doesn’t come as any surprise.

[JimVT]

Well, gol-eee, PAR, that must be a real challenge for a good ol' boy like you!

I spent a good deal of time in the REAL South...grits in Mobile, Baptist Church in Jackson, MS, touring Ponchatrain on the SS President with my brown bag bottle....and ol' "Dink" Archer from 'Mumphus' once called me a 'good ol' Yankee sheeut".

There is enough sectarian crap in the world without the need to continue it in the US of A!

[Texas Mulerider]

I had a gun pulled on me in Frisco Texas simply because I was from the north and met nothing but hospitality in Longview.

Longview is a friendly town. We're even polite to visiting Yankees at our Sons of Confederate Veteran meetings. ;)

[MinimizeGovernment]

Born and grew up in PA, went to school in VA, currently live outside of Atlanta--there is no comparison. Southern schools still teach manners and etiquite. Southern gentlemen hold doors for ladies and the ladies answer "Thank you, sir." Children still are taught "Yes ma'm" and "Yes sir," and it's not that unusual to see a man tip his hat.

As far as marine courtesy, I can only reflect on a very recent experience. I boat nearly every weekend on Georgia lakes, and most years cruise the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Common courtesy on our lakes is that if you're going to pass within 100' of another boat, you slow to at least minimum wake speed, if not to no wake, especially passing sailboats on the ICW. However, I just returned from cruising the Gulf side between Tampa and Naples. The rule there seems to be that if you're going to pass near another boat, you accelerate, pass as close to them as possible and laugh as your wake rocks their world. The marinas were superb and friendly, but the other boaters were among the rudest I've ever seen. I can only attribute it to the fact that most of the people I met there speak with a Yankee accent.

[Clemenza]

I grew up in the Northeast, where people wear rudeness like a badge of honor. That is why so many of us are pissed off by the "polite" transplants who have poured into NYC over the past 10-15 years. Its kinda fun to watch them cry, and eventually adjust when they encounter the natives outside of their "urban theme park."

Regional diversity must be preserved at all costs, even the rudeness in certain parts of the country. Better someone who is an a-shole to you up front than someone who smiles at you as they stab you in the back...

[Clemenza]

Atlanta, GA: A ghetto surrounded by bland, cookie cutter suburbia. No thanks...

Friendliest cities, IMHO are Louisville, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Nashville. Chicago is probably the friendliest city in the world with a population over 1MM.

[RinaseaofDs]

I’m not.

I lived, hunted, fished in No Cal. I now live in WA state, and the rural areas aren’t the warm, fuzzy, courteous places I’ve experienced in the south.

Nothing compares to either NZ or Australia. They define courteous, city or outback.