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Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#123026: May 20th 2016 at 1:36:56 AM

Like Virginia's voter ID laws being upheld?

The GOP is really trying to screw over everyone they don't like, are they?

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#123027: May 20th 2016 at 4:44:06 AM

It's the work of a party that finds itself teetering on the brink of losing its social identity: it's not for anything, just against stuff.

Regarding the EgyptAir flight that went down, while there's no proof of terrorism yet, it would statistically be the most likely cause of the crash. All fatal commercial aviation incidents that led to fatalities in recent memory have been due to malfeasance of some sort.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#123028: May 20th 2016 at 5:15:07 AM

"Scuttlebutt is that all these bathroom bills are an attempt to distract attention away from something bigger or otherwise more controversial."

That's probably true, but I don't doubt that many of these Southern GOP types are pursuing the transgender witch hunt with absolute sincerity. They need some avenue to redirect all that pent up homophobia, now that that bigotry is becoming unacceptable.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#123029: May 20th 2016 at 5:45:20 AM

Well, with all of the bullshit over transpeople in bathrooms here in NC lately it's allowed the state government to quietly push several insane proposals through. Most recently, we're looking at a possible blanket ban on wind and solar energy, and a proposed axing of support programs for critically disabled children.

speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#123030: May 20th 2016 at 7:13:08 AM

[up] Ugh. I think some states have crossed the line from regular villainy into Cartoonish Supervillainy.

EDIT: Here's an article that the previous poster was alluding to.

edited 20th May '16 7:18:17 AM by speedyboris

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#123031: May 20th 2016 at 8:27:12 AM

I didn't realize people typically thought of Oklahoma as "Southern". But anyway, I can understand the thing with solar and wind power, stupid as it is, but what's with the disabled kids bill thing? Who lobbies for something like that to happen; what do they get out of that?

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#123032: May 20th 2016 at 8:32:55 AM

[up] If they didn't consider Oklahoma "Southern" it's probably there now

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#123033: May 20th 2016 at 8:35:33 AM

Not really sure why stuff like this should change that, but whatever.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#123034: May 20th 2016 at 8:39:21 AM

"Southern" is both a cultural and a geographical concept. Demographic or political shifts can result in one place shifting from the one to the other culturosphere.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#123036: May 20th 2016 at 8:44:50 AM

Yeah, but is this really a "cultural shift" for Oklahoma? Not that I think about Oklahoma that much but hearing it called "Southern" still strikes me as odd. I guess it doesn't really matter, though.

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#123037: May 20th 2016 at 8:46:26 AM

It's always been midwest to me. But then I also don't consider Texas as southern, despite being of the Confederacy back in the day.

megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#123038: May 20th 2016 at 8:59:41 AM

Oklahoma might not really be "Old-School South", but it's probably about as capital-S South as Texas.

538 did a survey about what is the South a couple years ago.

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#123039: May 20th 2016 at 9:01:23 AM

The absolute minimum for the "Deep South" is Alabama, Missisippi and South Carolina. Usually Georgia is also considered, as is Louisiana if memory serves.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#123040: May 20th 2016 at 9:02:07 AM

Georgia most certainly is deep south. More so than SC, frankly.

PinkElephantOnParade Since: Apr, 2016
#123041: May 20th 2016 at 10:29:37 AM

I've always hated the idea of "cultural Southerness". It seems to be reliant entirely on stereotypes and confuses politics for culture. It's almost as nonsensical as the idea of cultural decades.

EDIT: That was poorly worded. To be clear, I don't like the idea that southern culture consists entirely of rural conservatism and that Oklahoma's reactionary swing somehow makes them Southern, while Maryland and Florida's progressive stances somehow make them Northern.

edited 20th May '16 10:50:33 AM by PinkElephantOnParade

"I wish that Mark Twain was still alive so that I could say 'oh hai, Mark' to him."
TotemicHero No longer a forum herald from the next level Since: Dec, 2009
No longer a forum herald
#123042: May 20th 2016 at 10:44:22 AM

Georgia is a weird case. The Atlanta area is a Democrat stronghold, through and through. The rest of the state, while quite conservative, has a much more libertarian (in the classic sense) slant than the rest of the "South", from what I recall. A lot of that can be attributed to the popular presence of Neal Boortz, whose radio show was very influential on Georgia politics for a few decades. The very northern-most part (the bottom of the Appalachians) tends to be a religious right stronghold.

Obviously, I can't speak nearly as well for other Southern states, but I don't doubt they have their own complexities in their political makeup.

Expergiscēre cras, medior quam hodie. (Awaken tomorrow, better than today.)
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#123043: May 20th 2016 at 10:45:33 AM

Incidentally, the Atlanta region and its ongoing growth is part of why I qualified Georgia in my description of the "Deep South".

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
PinkElephantOnParade Since: Apr, 2016
#123045: May 20th 2016 at 10:56:46 AM

[up][up]To me, the Deep South has always been South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The Upper South, meanwhile, is North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and sometimes Missouri (Its position on the other side of the Mississippi and protruding from the rest of the region makes it difficult to categorize).

"I wish that Mark Twain was still alive so that I could say 'oh hai, Mark' to him."
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#123046: May 20th 2016 at 11:11:08 AM

I've always hated the idea of "cultural Southerness". It seems to be reliant entirely on stereotypes and confuses politics for culture. It's almost as nonsensical as the idea of cultural decades.

EDIT: That was poorly worded. To be clear, I don't like the idea that southern culture consists entirely of rural conservatism and that Oklahoma's reactionary swing somehow makes them Southern, while Maryland and Florida's progressive stances somehow make them Northern.

Well, we're talking about trends, not absolutes — which you can dismiss as "reliant on stereotypes", but that doesn't mean that the trends don't exist, just that not everyone fits the trend (which is true regardless). That said, the idea that there's no such thing as Southern culture is sort of silly — it's not strictly or perfectly defined, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's also important to remember that "Southern culture" refers to more than just rednecks flying Confederate flags from their pickup trucks and fondly reminiscing about the good ol' days when segregation was the law of the land. The reason why Hillary Clinton overwhelmingly won in the South was because of Southern culture — non-white Southern culture, who hate Republican politics as a rule but also don't trust Sanders' "all that matters is economics" policy positions. Nor is "the South" a purely rural phenomenon — though more densely populated areas tend to be more Democratic, being Democratic doesn't mean they're not Southern.

Basically, you're defining "Southern" as stereotypically as possible and then rejecting that stereotype, while ignoring the fact that that's not what everyone means when they talk about "the South".

edited 20th May '16 11:12:11 AM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#123047: May 20th 2016 at 11:12:05 AM

The thing with Atlanta is relatively recent though. Historically, Georgia is part of the deep south core. And you don't have to go too far from ATL to see it (Macon, Rome, I'm looking at y'all).

A better example of a state thats south but not deep south is Tennessee.

EDIT- I say this as a long time resident of both states. How I've managed, I do not know.

edited 20th May '16 11:13:16 AM by FFShinra

Bat178 Since: May, 2011
#123048: May 20th 2016 at 11:54:34 AM

Oklahoma is part of the South, specifically the West South Central along with Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, in the Census regions of the US.

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#123049: May 20th 2016 at 11:56:01 AM

Usually, I define "the south" as the former Confederate states.

Leviticus 19:34
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#123050: May 20th 2016 at 12:02:10 PM

[up][up]People don't usually go with census definitions when talking colloquially. Like, how many people think of Maryland or D.C as "the South"?

I could also say something about unilaterally declaring all things Southern bad, but I understand context, so I won't.

edited 20th May '16 12:03:27 PM by LSBK


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