Well, the thing with Florida is, who's actually from there? I'd be curious to see what the statistics for native-born versus the influx of retirees comes out to... and a lot of the latter are almost by definition northerners, so it tends to desouthify (if that's a word :) ) the state's overall image in the collective unconscious.
And now you've got me wondering what I do think about Oklahoma. Is the South a place, or a state of mind? For myself I would have to say that OK is only the Midwest in relation to the "real" west, which would make IL the East by comparison. All I know is that my mind can't seem to place those two states into the same geographical bin no matter how I try... I think "Plains" and "Great Lakes" are more useful divisions as to the reality on the, er, ground, but still annoying. (And I would have to say that the underlying problem is really that our "east/midwest/west/south" terminology is in relation to a much earlier east-centric settlement pattern that no longer holds, which is why we're so confused today... hence the irony of having a school called "Northwestern" in a state now two-thirds of the way to the country's east coast. :) )
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momijizukamori
Re: You Are Here
Date: 2004-02-20 02:48 pm (UTC)And now you've got me wondering what I do think about Oklahoma. Is the South a place, or a state of mind? For myself I would have to say that OK is only the Midwest in relation to the "real" west, which would make IL the East by comparison. All I know is that my mind can't seem to place those two states into the same geographical bin no matter how I try... I think "Plains" and "Great Lakes" are more useful divisions as to the reality on the, er, ground, but still annoying. (And I would have to say that the underlying problem is really that our "east/midwest/west/south" terminology is in relation to a much earlier east-centric settlement pattern that no longer holds, which is why we're so confused today... hence the irony of having a school called "Northwestern" in a state now two-thirds of the way to the country's east coast. :) )