Indiana: A Southern State of Mind

[indianablue]

Indiana while not located in the south has a southern state of mind. Many people migrated from the south to Indiana.

I am from southern Indiana and here is the best example of this.

My high school up until 1991 had a confederate soldiers as a mascot, had the rebel flag as its school flag and high school paper was call the confederate.

The main reason for this was during the civil war many southern Indiana men fought for the south.

Most 'Southern Hoosiers' have a very distinct southern drawl straight out of Kentucky ot Tennessee.

edit: horrible grammar and spelling.

[izzybeans]

1. Agree, wholeheartedly

I grew up in Southern Indiana as well. I currently live on the east coast. People proudly wear the confederate flag on their head where I grew up. It sickened me as a child as it does today. I guess that's why I left. My family is still there. They feel isolated from like minded individuals and will be leaving as soon as retirement comes around. My father is from a currently "blue" state. He's not real happy about his place in the world right now. My brother actually got ran off the road near Martinsville and had gun pulled on him for having a MoveOn.org sticker on his car. He'll agree with your synopsis as well. I'm pretty down on the state right now.

Are there reasons to come back? Serious question. My wife and I are contemplating a move-we just don't know where.

edited: for being clumsy with the key board

[indianablue]

2. I think most of Southern Indiana has not changed.

9-11 was used to rekindle all kinds of hate.

Martinsville is further north than what I consider southern Indiana thats because I used to live near the Ohio river. Martinsville has had a very very long history of racism, some predominately black school stopped playing their cause they go harassed so much.

Racism is alive in well in Indiana but I think you can handle it without going out of your mind.

[izzybeans]

3. I too grew up on the Ohio

My brother was driving from Bloomington to Indy during college.

Tell me about it. I'm baffled by what I see when I come home for visits.

edited to add: Racism is everywhere unfortunately. The hardest transition for me would be having to drive all the time (and so slowly). I'll get used to it. I suppose we'll probably end up in Indy-though we are debating.

[indianablue]

4. Well most Southern Hoosiers consider....

all Arabs as terrorists they think they should all be killed, along with blacks and Hispanics.

I still have my own prejudices I still have problems with out of control illegal immigration but white trash can be just as bad or worse.

Most think we should kill everyone in Iraq nuke or just shoot them all. Simple minded mentality.

My favorite: 'Nuke their ass, take their gas' when people really mean that i say so how are you going to get the oil out after it has be irradiated? you can not even work there or you will die.

[izzybeans]

5. I just saw that thread...

you really hear that one? I can only imagine.

If your ever in Evansville, I hear the Crazy Tomato could use some business for the very reasons you mention. People are avoiding that place like the plague-the owner is...shoot I forget his nationality, but anyway he is percieved as being arab in southern indiana. He was even detained at some point <though don't quote me on that that may just be a rumor>

[LiberalFighter]

6. I would say anything at least south of Indy to be so called Southern folks

[shesemsmom]

7. Hey did you live in Hanover

and you are right about the southern state of mind. I am personally offended by the confederate flag on hats and shirts, although I've been thinking lately spliting the country may not be a bad idea.

[liberalpragmatist]

8. Indiana's interest politically

The reason it's conservative, whereas the rest of the midwest is either liberal or swing (Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio) is because of the state's unique political makeup.

Southern Indiana is quite Southern - similar to Kentucky and rural Tennessee.

Central and Northern Indiana are where it gets kind of interesting. As a whole Indiana actually isn't as conservative as most Southern states - it's just very Republican. Having lived in Missouri, I'll tell you that most Missouri Republicans are scarier than Indiana Republicans even though Missouri as a whole is a swing state.

The reason the state is so Republican is that Central and Northern Indiana are largely Midwestern-Conservative. They're similar in their politics to much of central Ohio, Michigan outside of Detroit, Eastern Wisconsin, Western Iowa, and Southern Illinois. Remember that the Midwest is actually quite conservative outside the major cities and urban areas. It's just that it's a different kind of Conservatism than the South. It's not as evangelical - more mainstream protestant (Lutheran, Episcopalian) plus Catholic. The thing is Indiana doesn't really have metropolitan areas comparable to the other midwestern states, so the more liberal nature of cities doesn't really rub off on the whole state. Indianapolis is a mid-size metro area which are generally less liberal, and the city's leaders tend to be main street Republicans - mainly pro-business, not really that socially conservative.

In other words, despite the Southern nature of southern Indiana, Indiana as a whole should probably described more as a Republican state than a Conservative state - it's more similar to, say, New Hampshire, then South Carolina. Although the Klan was very powerful in the state in the early part of the century, the state was never dominated by Dixiecrats - it has long been a Republican state from well before the Southern realignment.