Man starts support group for northerners in the South

The State ^ | September 9, 2001 | The Associated Press

[aomagrat]

CHARLESTON (--) Gary Caouette follows Clemson football, has a Southern-born wife and counts NASCAR racing as his favorite sport. But he says being from the North has sometimes been a drawback since he moved from Massachusetts to the cradle of secession.

His Northern connection has cost him jobs and promotions in South Carolina, Caouette said, and he formed the Southern Association of Yankees as a nonprofit support group.

"There just needs to be a voice for Yankees in South Carolina and especially the South," said Caouette, 36, a native of Oxford, Mass.

About 10 people have shown an interest in joining the association. His Web site has received 30 hits since going online in July.

Caouette said he quickly grew tired of all the Yankee barbs since coming to South Carolina in 1990 for a better full-time job with the National Guard. Those "damn Yankees" jokes were not so funny, he said, and he had to fight to keep his administrative job when cuts rolled through his unit.

"I believe I've been held back from jobs and promotions because of where I was brought up," he said. "People should be treated equal no matter what they look like or what hometown they were born in."

Caouette, who lives in Goose Creek, wants Southerners and Northerners to reconcile their differences. Meanwhile, he said his organization will collect other Northerners' stories, especially from those who have encountered discrimination. The documentation could be helpful in lawsuits if necessary, he said.

"First you have to admit there is a problem, then you have to change it," he said.

But Caouette said he thinks people have become more tolerant over the years to non-natives.

Northerners also share in Southern traditions, he noted, mentioning his favorite Web site links go to Clemson University's Tiger football and to NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.

"I don't miss a race," he said.

Caouette also is married to a native Mississippian.

"She says I'm the nicest Yankee she's ever met," he said.

[aomagrat]

I have often wondered where Clemson gets all those fans. Now I know.

P.S. If I had a photo of a baby crying, I'd post it.

[VoodooEconomist]

YAWAC - Yet Another Whiny @ss Carepetbagger.

[VoodooEconomist]

Rule #1 to fit in the south - DON'T BLEED ALL OVER THE PLACE as if the entire world should give a d@mn about your grievances/aches/pains/etc. If you don't like it move. But, for God's sake, shut your whiny @ss pie hole!

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

The AP actually printed this crap? The South has more recent carpetbaggers than traditional Southerners. Tell this guy to find another way to get his name in print.

[motzman]

Well, up north we make fun of southerners of all the time, so too bad....

[The Great RJ]

Us northern guys want to know what is it with eating okra and grits and how do you pronounce "Coca-Cola"?

[aomagrat]

Us northern guys want to know what is it with eating okra and grits and how do you pronounce "Coca-Cola"?

They're delicious and its pronounced "Drank", as in "Go down to the store and git me a drank."

[Irene Adler]

I suspect this guy's problem is more closely related to being from Mass. than from being from the north.

[Don Myers]

""She says I'm the nicest Yankee she's ever met," he said."

Wait a minute. A Southern girl married a yankee? What was she thinking?

[DallasMike]

...how do you pronounce "Coca-Cola"?

I grew up in Texas thinking a "Coke" was generic for any soft drink, or pop, or whatever you want to call it.

Bubba: "While you're up, honey, get me a Coke."

Bubbette: "Sure. What kind?"

Bubba: "How about a Sprite?"

[arimus]

This fella is full of it.
My Pastor calls me a copperhead. Says that's what yanks that fought for the North were called. Many in Indiana left and joined units in Kentucky and elsewhere.
And yank jokes are funny. This guy wears his yankeedome on his sleeve. I wouldn't hire or promote him either!
And Nascar makes you a southerner now ah?

[arimus]

oops, that's "fought for the south",,,,DOH!

[FITZ]

I grew up in Texas thinking a "Coke" was generic for any soft drink, or pop, or whatever you want to call it.

It's very strange the way they do that. I'm trying to teach everyone the advantages of calling generic soda drink "pop", it's much clearer what that means.

[almajur]

Our daughter and her family moved to the Dallas area about 9 yrs ago...when she went out for a job (not college-educated) she was welcomed with open arms. She now has an important with a top food-hotel corporation. She wasn't a particularly good speller but she was a helluva better than the native high-schooler, obviously. As for the schools in her area...they were pretty terrible UNTIL many northern firms relocated their facilities and many of their personnel to Dallas - the parents demanded that the schools improve and they have. Sounds to me as if you're making excuses for yourself...or you're simply going to the wrong places for work.

[Joe 6-pack]

I didn't move from the north, I fled...

[Non-Sequitur]

"First you have to admit there is a problem, then you have to change it," he said.

Lot's of luck. Southerners have been in deep denial for 140 years.

[lonestar]

That damn yank ain't no doodle dandy!

[eddie willers]

Us northern guys want to know what is it with eating okra and grits...

That there my friend, is groceries!

and how do you pronounce "Coca-Cola"?

Dallasmike had it correct that "Coke" is generic for any soft drink.
However, if you wish to partake in Mr. Pembleton's particular concoction, it is proper to ask for a Ko-Kola™.

[cactmh]

To most of my fellow southerners, all "pop" is Coke. It's pretty clear to me. :)