Identity

I have been thinking about what it means to be Southern and what it means to be American. Scare quotes! This is probably because I am back home in the South, and because I will be leaving the U.S. in the spring. Also, I am reading a history of the English language, which also deals with questions of national, local, and class identity through linguistics.

Miscellaneous Thoughts, Not Deep:

++The first time I really thought of myself as Southern was when I moved to New Orleans and everyone told me that I wasn't, not really.  My grandmother said: "Virginia is the South... but you. You're not Southern". I made up my mind then, very firmly, that I was. And I think I am. But I am not sure of the qualities that put me in that camp except for the South is my home.

++Roanoke is not really Southern the way even other places in the Virginia are Southern, and the way that people from the Northeast conflate the different regions is disconcerting for someone who grew up here. It's really a railroad city made of transients more than it is a traditional Southern city... and its hit or miss whether you have a Southern accent here (I don't). Also, Virginia (and North Carolina) have also traditionally been more moderate and less like other parts of the South... for instance, large plantations were the exception rather than the rule.

++Visited Charleston this weekend. It was beautiful, like always. It reminds me of New Orleans.

++Brent is surprised by how much he likes it here (& he hasn't even seen Chapel Hill!). Well, it is sooo beautiful here, and people are more relaxed and friendly (in general). The recent politics of the South obscure what a great place it can be to live.

++There is a view of the U.S. that I think isn't always reflective of the whole. Like when conservatives talk about 'real America', it makes me think about how much I must be considered a fake one. And yet, I was also born here. I come from a tradition of progressive politics that is American in origin, and I am even from 'real Virginia' -- the Appalachian, more conservative part of the state.

++Arizona seems to have many more corporate chains, etc. than the places I am used to living. By far. It does not compare favorably with where I am from, but at the same time, it isn't a bad place to live. The weather is usually very good -- its only this time of year that's awful. And Tempe is relatively green.