Stereotypes People From The Northern US Have About Southerners That Are Just So Wrong
According to a Texan born to Yankee parents!
People riding horses and holding flags in Texas. Right: People walking through snowy streets in New York.
The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
I was born in Texas to parents who moved to the state together from up north in the '90s.
Despite being a lifelong Texan, most of my extended family members are all northerners living in New York, Ohio, or Wisconsin. So, because of this, my sister and I have had never-ending jokes thrown at us — the only southerners in the family — our entire lives.
Whether it be when I'm visiting upstate or giving them a simple phone call to say "Howdy," I've found northerners love to get their little jabs in at us who live down south because life is just a little bit different here.
However, over time I've found several of these silly stereotypes to be so inaccurate, so here they are.
"You don't know what real cold is."
This is the number one comment I've heard, not from just my family but strangers on social media too. They all say we can't handle it.
Yeah, we may not experience blizzards and freezing temps for days on end, but southerners have a fair share of snowfall, freezes, and power failures, too.
"You southerners are so friendly!"
I agree that southerners are typically friendlier than northerners, who usually have a stiff upper lip, but not by far.
Many times southern cities have ranked high for cheating and experiencing aggressive driving situations, things that make us look a little less sweet than we think we are.
"It's a pleasant 68° though you probably need to wear a jacket."
They say this to you as they utter that this is what their summers feel like, and they wouldn't need to wear a jacket until it's like 32° because they have a higher tolerance for cold than you.
"Saying 'Y'all' is such southern slang."
This is so wrong. It may have origins among cowboys and Texans, but I hear people from all over say it casually in a sentence.
Even more so, I have heard my Canadian co-workers say it in meetings, which had me shocked but made me realize "y'all" is a universal saying because we humans are naturally lazy and inclined to slang.