NORTHERN NASTY AND NICE (United Way ranks quality of life: Southern states are the worst)

Providence Journal ^ | 11/22/01 | Robert Whitcomb

[Phantom Lord]

We can joke among ourselves and at your expense all we want. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Native southerners love yankee jokes and tell them with glee. But when someone tells a joke about the south its like you insulted his mother and hes running for his shotgun to teach you a lesson. Lighten up a little.

And if I want to make fun of NC for having more operational outhouses than any other state I will do so. If i want to make fun of the guy who rents a single wide trailor for his home and spends $45,000 on a pick up truck I will do so. And I know a guy that does just that! If I want to make fun of those that fit the "Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel" stereotype I will. And trust me, there are almost as many back in NY that fit that stereotype. And if I want to make fun of the guy with a couch, recliners, a refrigirator and a washer/dryer on his front porch, 3 cars on blocks, an engine block hanging from a tree, and 3 dogs living under his porch I WILL!

[Phantom Lord]

mostly hick potato farmers

Not to mention duck farms. If memory serves me right, Long Island NY is still the largest producers of duck in the country.

[yarddog]

A similar thing occurred in the North. The main difference is that Northern Wage slaves were treated worse and lived in poorer conditions.

There is some truth that slavery was partly responsible for the wealth of the South. It is also true that horrible working conditions in the North contributed to much wealth but by a much smaller group.

[Romulus]

The United Way now reports that Minnesota ...is the best state, in economic well-being, education, health, civic engagement, safety and the environment.

Gosh, what swell folks. Why don't you send them a check? ;-)

(I had a great Thanksgiving, and hope you did too.)

[JD86]

I WILL!

Yep....once a yankee, always a yankee.

[Paul Atreides]

It's sad that the nation cannot do that anymore, isn't it?

[Phantom Lord]

I let them know that there is far more to NY than the city and let them know I grew up 4 hours from the city and went to college 8 hours from the city and was still in NY. But Im only one man and can not educate all the NC natives on the geography of NY on my own. And i readily admit to you here and now that i know JACK SQUAT about the geography of NC. But if I were still living up north and met someone from NC I wouldnt ask them "What part of Charlotte?" or "What part of Raleigh?".

[IowaHawk]

These little "quality of life studies" are hilarious. The researcher gives 100 points for 'education,' 80 points for 'affordable healthcare,' 75 points for 'The Arts', etc. Voila! The researcher designates Duluth as paradise, Daytona Beach as Hell On Earth.

Funny, if the North is such a utopia why are I-95, I-75, I-55 and I-35 clogged with southbound U-Hauls?

[#3Fan]

Bigoted?!? All we're doing is refuting the statement of this article and you call it bigoted??What did I specifically say that was bigoted?Why don't you ask my black(his term) neighbor if he thinks I'm bigoted.

Bigoted against Northerners. How many times to you see Freepers post posts on how terrible modern Southerners are? Not very often. You so called "Southern Hospitalitists" are constantly whining about Northerners with your bigoted comments. I've traveled a lot in the last ten years and can tell you there's not much difference in the quality of people in the North versus the South. The only thing that makes the North more liberal is that our cities are larger. Rural Northerners have about the same philosophy as rural Southerners, only we're not bigoted against Southerners like you are against Northerners. It'e all a bunch of self-righteous whining you guys are doing.

[COB1]

This guy should try to drive down Highway 281 South going to McAllen, TX, and points south at this time of year.
It's a constant stream of camper trailers with northern license plates.
If we didn't have so many snow birds coming south, we wouldn't need all the trailer parks.
But then deep South Texas is the only part of Texas that Gore carried, so the snow birds feel right at home with their fellow liberals.

[#3Fan]

You think "sorry couldn't help it" excuses rudeness?

Oh, please. Read this thread again. These "Southern hospitalitist" know that Northerners will be reading this thread and they've been as rude as they can be. Self-righteous hypocrisy.

[yarddog]

You have one hell of a nerve.

You post one snide comment about the South after another then have the gall to protest about Southerners not being nice to you.

[JD86]

If you will allow a sincere question.....how much of the state of NY have you ever seen portrayed on tv or in a movie that was outside the city of NY? And if someone has never traveled to NY...how would you expect them to know otherwise?

I traveled to CT and RI last spring and was surprised to see how much of the countryside is still countryside and small towns. That is not the perception one would get unless they had been there....so why do you expect people in NC to know?

[LarryLied]

If i want to make fun of the guy who rents a single wide trailor for his home and spends $45,000 on a pick up truck I will do so.

Worst cases of this mentality I've seen were in Carmel Valley, California (Leon Panetta's home). The horsey crowd would not even have a home but sleep in the truck they used to tow their horse trailer to dressage events. We used to charge these homeless people big bucks to spray paint their trailer to match their truck.

[FITZ]

that our cities are larger

It's probably really southerners writing these rankings just to keep the northerners where they are. Who wants all those big cities?

[#3Fan]

But it was very close and a lot of cheating went on. Lots of illegals voted.

Ewww. Illegal aliens? At least up here everyone is AMERICAN!

[who knows what evil?]

I love it here and have no plans of ever moving. But after 5+ years of always being asked "What part of the city" you begin to wonder what they are taught (not taught) in school around here.

My wife and I ran into a similar problem when we were travelling out west back in the eighties. We were greeted by blank stares when we told people that we were "from Maine". Only when we mentioned that Maine was " up by Boston" did they smile and nod in recognition.

[Phantom Lord]

Yep....once a yankee, always a yankee.

I guess then it is fair to say Once a redneck hick, always a redneck hick.

[JD86]

only we're not bigoted against Southerners like you are against Northerners. It'e all a bunch of self-righteous whining you guys are doing.

Right, so that is why you bring up slavery in every conversation, like we all personally owned slaves?

[FITZ]

I guess you haven't looked at Chicago or Detroit lately.