Matthew Orr's Topic - Hometowns

I hope everyone had a good spring break last week. Unfortunately, it is time to get back to the grind and start a new topic for this week.

I decided that it might be interesting to hear a little about where everyone is from, proivde a little history, and maybe some interesting facts about your town as well. Another thing I want everyone to do is to decide whether or not their hometown evokes a sense of "Southernness" or not, which you may define on your own and provide details as to why or why not it is "Southern."

I was born and raised in a town about 15 miles from downtown Atlanta called Mableton. This small town was named after a Mr. Robert Mable who bought a plot of land and built a plantation on the land that would eventually become the town named after him. A fun fact about my town is that former Governor Roy Barnes was born in Mableton, and actually went to the same elementary school as I did. I would say Mableton has some "Southernness" to it, which I define to be rural, quaint, and Gone With the Wind- type flavor to it. I think it evokes this charm because there are about three or four plantation- style mansions, including the original Mable house that still stand in the town's limits. However, for the most part Mableton has become very suburbanized and has lost a lot of its identity with it.

Parmi Shah response to Matthew Orr

When reading Orr's blog about politics, I remembered something I read somewhere: most states that are so predominately Republican or Democratic that voting as an opposing force might not actually make a difference; However States like Georgia where the it can swing either way year to year because it has varied sections of liberal and republican. This means that in Georgia, my vote wold actually matter. In georgia, the South is, like Orr said very religious and conservative, but also as areas like Metro-Atlanta become to industrialize, and immigration and naturalization of new citizens increase so does the liberal population; however Georgia is still preominatly white; a correlation can be seen with immigration population and level of conservatism. When looking at the map shown here and the map of the one Orr posted, you can see that as the population of only whites decreases so does the level of conservatism.

Southern Politics - Matthew Orr

Politics seem to have been mainly one-sided in the South for the past 20 year or so, siding with the conservative GOP since Regan's administration in the 80's. However, this was not always the case, and in some parts of the South has changed from conservative to more liberal pockets in this region of the United States. A basic understanding of demographics and high school government education makes it easy to decipher why this is so.

For the most part, yes, the South is a very red section of the United States. A lot of factors contribute to this, but the main reasons are Protestant religious standpoints in the South and rural populations in most states in the South. However, after analyzing a map of county- by- county results of the 2008 Presidential Election from USA Today, it is easy to see that not ALL parts of the South are red, and the reasons why are easier than one may think.

At first glance, it may seem like the distribution of blue pockets across the South are disorganized and random. However, upon careful inspection, these pockets of Blue counties (voted for Obama in 2008) were very urban counties with major Southern cities. Areas like Charlotte, Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami, Columbia, SC, and Montgomery are all major urban cities in the South, and have very legitimate reasons to want to vote for Liberal presidential candidates. Urban areas are major hubs for minority groups and demand federal funding for many city projects. Thus, Major urban cities favor progressive candidates who can promote minority rights and improve urban areas through federal government interaction, something the Republican Party believes should not be allowed (the federal government should be minimized).

Another area of interest are the lines in Southern Georgia, Alabama, and along the Mississippi and Rio Grande Rivers. These areas have high percentages of minorities that favor progressive candidates who promote minority rights.

For a history of the South's transformation from Democratic to Republican ideals, check out this History Channel article

PARMI SHAH FOOD resonse

I think we can all agree on one thing, food is AWESOME! however of al the things you listed, most of it sounded very southern. I think that is because you have a very southern culture. From the potatoes to everything, your food represents many of the items associated with deep south culture. I find that interesting because that is how culture works. Where you are, impacts who you are. Your tastes are influenced, sometimes even manipulate by where you grow up. However, environment is not the only influence. I am indian, so i tend to love spicy dishes with an ethnic feel to it. But being a southerner, born and raised in Georgia, i love it fried. In fact, i truly believe the saying "everything tastes better fried" now thats the southerner in me!

Topic-Politics in the South-Jasmine Kent

Dear Blog Group,

My topic for this week is different from the food, sports, and southern stereotypes we have been talking about. My interest is now about Politics in the South. I'm from Texas, which is always and will always be a Red state, but how is the rest of the South when it comes to politics?

In the 2008 election, most of the South was Red. So for this blog, I want you to do a little research and explain why the south is so republican, whether its accredited to early immigration, pre-Civil War times, or certain cultural thinking, explain why this is so. Maybe particular attention could be brought to the swing states and what persuaded them one way or the other.

Just a post to get you thinking.

Jasmine Kent

Jasmine Kent's food response

Heyyy what a coincidence! I think I love food just as much as you do! Surprising, I thought it wasn't possible ;). My favorite foods have always been the traditional Thanksgiving food--honey baked ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, and of course, collard greens. My favorite home cooked meal by my mom though is bacon wrapped steak with twice baked potatoes and collard greens. Steak has always been around, but I think wrapping it in bacon was a little twist we added ourselves! Collard greens originated in Africa and were brought over here by the trans-atlantic slave trade. They were a cheap, but abundant source of vitamin C, fiber, and other vitamins that contained anti-cancer characteristics.

Yet, I'd have to say that the twice baked potatoes were an invention of my mom. She would cut open the potato, scoop out all the potato from the skin, put it in a bowl and mix it with cheese, sour cream, bacon, and Season-All, cook it in the oven, then place it back in the skin to serve it. Mmm mmm mmm, I could never get enough!

Here is a video of a lady making twice baked potatoes, yet I think that the portions are not needed, we always eyeball the ingredients.

Danny Sweat's Favorite Food response

This topic makes me extremely hungry. I love all foods, but my favorite is classic southern food. There is a great place about 3 minutes off campus on Ponce De Leon called Mary Mac's Tea Room. Warning, if you go to this website you will become very hungry. It is an amazing collection of food, fun, and southern hospitality.
Mary Mac's was created in 1945 and has changed owners only 3 times. A few of the employees have been there for quite a while including a lovely old lady by the name Jo Carter. Jo has actually been retired for a while now but she comes in everyday to greet costumers and give the best back rubs in all of Atlanta.
Everyone should go to Mary Mac's at least once in their life because it is not just food, it is an experience.