Is it a Southern thang?
By Buggheart
@Buggheart (445)
United States
August 9, 2007 12:51pm CST
I have a lot of friends who live in the South. I was with some friends from Texas last week and we started talking about nationalities. Suddenly it struck me that people from my area in the Northern states identify strongly with their nationality. For example, when people ask about me I tell them about my job, my family, etc but I mention that I am Italian, Polish, and Native American. When I asked one of my friends what he was, he said "I'm a Texan." To which I replied, yeah but what is your nationality and he said "Texas".
Now I know that he and his family didn't just sprout from under a rock in Texas. They had to come from somewhere before that but he had no idea and only one person of the five had any idea what their nationality is which I found quite shocking.
So is this a Southern thing or is it just that much more prevalent in the Northern states? Do you identify with your nationality or just with the area in which you live now? I just cannot imagine not being Italian and just being a Texan or an Iowan or whatever.
5 people like this
10 responses
@amz4543 (77)
• United States
9 Aug 07
I'll be honest. I'm from the south, North Carolina to be exact. I do not know my nationality. I can take a few guesses because of my dark skin, dark hair, blue eyes. I really have never thought about the fact that I don't know my nationality before. That just isn't one of those conversations I have had with my family. Maybe it's just us "rednecks" out here in the country, or maybe it is a south thing. Now that you mention it, I want to know! I'm going to have to do some research now! Thanks for the inspiration!
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
10 Aug 07
Being from Houston, Texas, I have to agree with your friend. I'm a Texan. After all we are the only state which was once an independant republic. I was born and raised in the south and moved to Texas over 30 years ago. We do tend to think of Texas as a whole other country. It is a state of mind which is hard to explailn to anyone unfamiliar with Texas.
@lucy02 (5016)
• United States
10 Aug 07
I'm from the south and most people around here don't mention their nationality. I think it depends on how long their family have been here. Probably the more recent immigrant families know more about their roots. I am adopted and only know one side of my birth family. I wish I knew more about my
heritage.
2 people like this
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
10 Aug 07
I think that Texans are a whole different nationality unto themselves, Buggheart. They are very proud of being Texans. I don't think it is the same with all southerners. I grew up in the south and I don't remember people identifying themselves by their roots. I think that this is something that has happened since the 60s. I do believe that people pay more attention to their heritage in the northern states. It's okay to be proud of your heritage, but you should above all be proud to be an American.
2 people like this
@belhaven14 (454)
• United States
10 Aug 07
I am from Alabama and I know my roots. Most people I'm friends with also know where they came from, but there are a few that don't. I'd say from my experience that about 70-80 percent of people I know that are from Alabama know. Texans can tend to be weird about that kind of thing tho. One of my good friends at college is from Texas, and she is always referring to the fact that she is from Texas or pointing to someone famous who comes from Texas.
2 people like this
@richardchen (18)
• China
10 Aug 07
i thingk it refers to politics. we chinese had been taught that we should love our country and love our Party when we were very young, I think every country had its own history, histories decide cultures. people fight for resources often lead to a worldwide war, people in the countries that were invaded would come together, and then nation power was formed to fight with invaders. so nationality would be deeply realized because of the war.:)
2 people like this
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
10 Aug 07
I think there is probably something to that. I don't really know any Southerners personally so I can't test that side of the theory but I can't think of anyone here that identifies with the area. We don't go around saying that we're Pennsylvanians. I, for example, am English, Irish, Welsh, Dutch, French, and Native American, even though my family has lived in this country for generations and even in this state for the majority of that time. I think "New Yorkers" tend to identify themselves as such fairly often though, especially those from New York City.
2 people like this
@Savvynlady (3684)
• United States
9 Aug 07
I have heard that folks from Texas are very crazy for their state, and will identify quickly with it. I don't think it's a southern thing, although a lot of folks down here will claim that it's God's country here and all. I do remember reading some years ago in a class that the trend among some Americans will be that they identify quickly with the state they come from. I believe that was in Future Shock if I am not mistaken and I can see that it's becoming true. As for me, I wasn't born in the south, though I live here. You may can call me a transplanted Southerner with Yankee roots. That is fine. I just feel I'm an African American with southern/yankee/caribbean twists.
2 people like this
@sneese (95)
• United States
9 Aug 07
I think you may be on to something here. I am a hoosier by birth (Indiana), but was raised out in the deserts of New Mexico. I have always known where I was born and what my history is: Englsih, German, and Native American. It was just a fact of life that we knew where we came from. It seems that most of the people I know from the North Eastern area are more in touch with their backgrounds. I now live in a very rural part of Tennessee and if you ask most of the ones that were born in this area, they will respond something like this: "Oh, I don't know...guess I got a little bit of everything in me.."
Sorry, I know that I didn't answer your question.
@wotfpatty (2065)
• United States
10 Aug 07
I don't often tell people my nationality - which is Lebanese, Irish, and English. I think I don't because of the bias against those who have middle eastern nationalities although I obviously am not directly from the middle east nor was my mother. We are Christians and the only thing I knew about my mother's side was that they made funny food sometimes and my aunt could belly dance like crazy. lol.
I don't usually reveal my nationality when discussing things but I do often say I have an Irish temper which I sure do. I am from New York and do feel my nationality is a big part of me though. I am NOT a new Yorker. I am a woman, a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a writer, an animal lover, and then...my nationality. :)
2 people like this
