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Author Topic:   Home State.
Coragyps
Member (Idle past 734 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


Message 16 of 42 (488634)
11-13-2008 8:15 PM


I self-identify rather weakly as being from Arkansas, even though I was only there from the age of ten to about 22. I think I do that so I can tell Arkansas jokes about people being their own cousins and such. Arkansans do tend to self-identify as such, especially during football season when the Hogs are winning.
I've lived in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas since then and am nearly to the point that I might adopt Texas - but the politics here don't agree with me much. I suppose I think of myself as a commie pinko liberal lost here in the Bible Belt.

  
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 17 of 42 (488637)
11-13-2008 9:00 PM
Reply to: Message 5 by cavediver
11-13-2008 4:41 AM


middle muddle
How the hell is Michigan mid-WEST???
Simple. When the colonies expanded westward (a) they had no idea how big the country was, (b) a major access route was through the great lakes and then over to the Mississippi, and (c) the area beyond the settled areas was "west" and thus anything settled between the original colonies and the undeveloped "west" was in the middle. Ohio (if it really exists), Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin etc.
Michigan, btw, is the state that Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox come from (some other states try to lay claim, but it's really Michigan).
Enjoy.

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


• • • Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click) • • •

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Coragyps
Member (Idle past 734 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


Message 18 of 42 (488639)
11-13-2008 10:13 PM
Reply to: Message 9 by FliesOnly
11-13-2008 7:56 AM


And speaking of neighbors, look who we have to our south...Ohio...
You're aware of the border war between Ohio and Michigan back in the mid-1800's? Michigan apparently won, 'cause Ohio had to take Toledo.
Edited by Coragyps, : No reason given.

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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 19 of 42 (488642)
11-13-2008 11:40 PM
Reply to: Message 18 by Coragyps
11-13-2008 10:13 PM


You're aware of the border war between Ohio and Michigan back in the mid-1800's? Michigan apparently won, 'cause Ohio had to take Toledo.
And for those who are really curious, Michigan is composed of five (count-em, 5) isolated peninsulas, not two.

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Enjoy

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


• • • Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click) • • •

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cavediver
Member (Idle past 3643 days)
Posts: 4129
From: UK
Joined: 06-16-2005


Message 20 of 42 (488643)
11-14-2008 3:35 AM
Reply to: Message 17 by RAZD
11-13-2008 9:00 PM


Re: middle muddle
Michigan, btw, is the state that Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox come from
Ah-ha! I've always meant to look up Paul Bunyan, as all the references in KSR's Mars Trilogy (Red, Green, Blue Mars) never made any sense to me. Thanks, now I know...

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Larni
Member (Idle past 163 days)
Posts: 4000
From: Liverpool
Joined: 09-16-2005


Message 21 of 42 (488645)
11-14-2008 3:52 AM
Reply to: Message 13 by Granny Magda
11-13-2008 5:49 PM


Re: State Identity
Come to Devon and the character is very clear:
Gap toothed, mumbling, limping, half wits.
And in Cornwall the normal laws of physics actually break down and time slows down as you try to travel from well hiddedn town to another.
Edited by Larni, : More vitriol
Edited by Larni, : No reason given.

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FliesOnly
Member (Idle past 4144 days)
Posts: 797
From: Michigan
Joined: 12-01-2003


Message 22 of 42 (488648)
11-14-2008 7:38 AM
Reply to: Message 18 by Coragyps
11-13-2008 10:13 PM


Coragyps writes:
You're aware of the border war between Ohio and Michigan back in the mid-1800's? Michigan apparently won, 'cause Ohio had to take Toledo.
Ah yes...ye ole border dispute. Ohio got to keep Toledo and we got the Upper Peninsula (and Statehood). Ha...just another example of the dearth of knowledge of Ohioans . And also likely to primary reason behind the biggest rivalry in College sports. While some may claim Duke/N Carolina...we all know that no rivalry rivals U of M versus OSU.

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Coragyps
Member (Idle past 734 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


Message 23 of 42 (488650)
11-14-2008 9:13 AM
Reply to: Message 22 by FliesOnly
11-14-2008 7:38 AM


that no rivalry rivals U of M versus OSU.
Indeedy. I spent six years on the banks of the Olentangy. Some kid was arrested there on an obscenity charge because his t-shirt spelled out "F*** Michigan." The judge dismissed the case because, he said, that sentiment is perfectly compatible with "normal community standards" during the Fall in Columbus.

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Asgara
Member (Idle past 2302 days)
Posts: 1783
From: Wisconsin, USA
Joined: 05-10-2003


Message 24 of 42 (488655)
11-14-2008 11:23 AM
Reply to: Message 21 by Larni
11-14-2008 3:52 AM


Re: State Identity
...normal laws of physics actually break down and time slows down as you try to travel from well hiddedn town to another.
Ah yes, there are sections of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (the U.P.) that are like that. Long periods of time just disappear while traveling there.
To answer the original question, being from the U.P. I think we identify with that name MUCH more than we ever identify as from Michigan. And likewise, I don't think much of Michigan recognizes us as a part of the state either.
I remember going off to college a billion years ago, from the U.P. down to MSU (the REAL university system in Michigan). If you hold up your left hand palm out, it is basically the shape of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, where the trolls* live. When dorm-mates talked about where in Michigan one was from, they would automatically hold up their left hand and ask "Where?" When I pointed to a spot above and to the left they would look puzzled and ask if I meant Canada.
If someone from the U.P. (a Yooper) identified with any particular state, it would probably be Wisconsin rather than the rest of Michigan.
* Troll, one who lives under the bridge (Mackinac Bridge, not to be confused with the Mackinaw Bridge)

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kjsimons
Member
Posts: 821
From: Orlando,FL
Joined: 06-17-2003
Member Rating: 6.7


Message 25 of 42 (488658)
11-14-2008 1:11 PM
Reply to: Message 24 by Asgara
11-14-2008 11:23 AM


Re: State Identity
Being a former troll (and a U of M grad) I recall there once was a state tourism campaign with a slogan of "Say Yes to Michigan!". Didn't take long before I saw a bumper sticker with "Say Ya to the UP eh!" .
Edited by kjsimons, : No reason given.

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Asgara
Member (Idle past 2302 days)
Posts: 1783
From: Wisconsin, USA
Joined: 05-10-2003


Message 26 of 42 (488664)
11-14-2008 1:58 PM
Reply to: Message 25 by kjsimons
11-14-2008 1:11 PM


Re: State Identity
ROFL, I had one of those

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New Cat's Eye
Inactive Member


Message 27 of 42 (488666)
11-14-2008 2:12 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Son Goku
11-12-2008 6:54 PM


Do people associate themselves more with a region, such as seeing themselves as a Southerner or a New Englander or is it common to identify with their state?
I associate myself more with my region than my state but I think this might be due to my particular state/region combination.
I'm from southern Illinois very near St. Louis, Missouri.
I don't associate myself with Illinoians as much as I associate myself with the St. Louis region. Most people from Illinois are from the Chicago area and they are a lot different than us down here.

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Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 28 of 42 (488669)
11-14-2008 4:59 PM
Reply to: Message 15 by Son Goku
11-13-2008 6:59 PM


Re: Pacific NorthWest
I've spoken to many Europeans who have lived in America for an extended period of time and I often hear high praise for the Pacific NorthWest. What in particular makes it a special place for you?
Probably because its where I grew up, so it seems most familiar to me. The scenery is gorgeous -- still has a lot of wilderness areas left. There are both mountains and the ocean -- in fact, in Southeast Alaska the mountains come right out of the ocean:
(Thanks to imageshack for free picture hosting.)
Also the politics are much more to my liking -- much more to the left than most of the rest of the US. Not so much in Alaska, but even there when I grew up the conservatism was much a more libertarian, leave other people alone, mind your own business thing than the more hateful religious right bigotry that came in during the Reagan years.
In Washington and Oregon you have your rednecks and your biker gangs and your new age hippies and your high tech yuppies -- a pretty cool diversity of people, if you ask me. (I like the people here in Oklahoma and all, but everyone is so...square.)
Speaking of diversity, there is also a pretty large Asian community (where I grew up, mostly Filipino), and also a lot of American Natives that have retained more of their culture than they have in other areas. Even as a kid I was always fascinated by Northwest Coast Native art (this site has a representative sample of the sort of thing I like).

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Artemis Entreri 
Suspended Member (Idle past 4228 days)
Posts: 1194
From: Northern Virginia
Joined: 07-08-2008


Message 29 of 42 (490120)
12-02-2008 2:36 PM


born and raised in (southern) Illinois, have since moved to Missouri, then to (Northern) Virginia.
Missouri is my favorite so far. definately a midwesterner at heart.

  
bluescat48
Member (Idle past 4189 days)
Posts: 2347
From: United States
Joined: 10-06-2007


Message 30 of 42 (490133)
12-02-2008 3:47 PM
Reply to: Message 2 by onifre
11-12-2008 9:51 PM


You're right in one sense. I identify more with New England than Massachusetts in most areas, possibly due to the fact I was born in Vermont.

There is no better love between 2 people than mutual respect for each other WT Young, 2002
Who gave anyone the authority to call me an authority on anything. WT Young, 1969

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