Originally posted by monochrome 'Southerner' is a state of Being, not a State of birthing.
Yes, it is true that where one is birthed does not always establish who they become as they grow and mature. I have several close friends in Charlotte and Chapel Hill, NC, and Lawrenceburg, TN who all tell me that I am a great Southerner, even though I am not from the South.
Even a great friend from Sedalia, MO tells me I am Southern. Of course I then have a debate with her about how the Show Me State really is more Midwest than South. After all, it is almost in the center of the United States (doesn't Oklahoma hold that distinction?). Oklahoma, which surely is more Southern in many ways, is Southwest of Missouri.
And it is North of one of the more truly Southern states, the Natural State. Ever been to Toad Suck, Arkansas?
With the Sunflower State to the West and the most corrupt state in the Union, the Crooked State, er, I mean the Prairie State to the East.
And it snows there.
A lot.
Snow ain't supposed to fall in the South, is it?
She then tells me that her faith in me as a true Southerner is being challenged . . . . . . .
Then again, the Mason Dixon Line is a bit further North than Sedalia.
A little anyways.
Oops, I digress . . . .
And I have known many folks from the South in my years who were far from being Southern.