Maryland Stereo-Truths

A friend of mine shared article, 10 Maryland Stereotypes That Are Completely Accurate, on the book of face recently. As a life long Marylander, I can say that some of these are truer than others but none of them are false.

1) Accents –  The Maryland accent is a thing but it’s more Baltimore specific. I don’t sound like this but I have relatives who do.

2) Crabs –  We are absolutely crab snobs. If I see a Maryland crab cake on the menu and there’s no Old Bay in sight, I scoff derisively.

3) Old Bay – While most of us don’t carry it on our person, it does go with everything. I’ve used it on fries, chicken, corn on the cob, shrimp alfredo, and mac n’ cheese.

4) Natty Boh – I’m not sure if it’s still brewed locally but it was originally. You can get Natty Boh at any bar in Annapolis or Baltimore and find that mascot on an insane amount of merchandise. I’ve even seen Boh themed t-shirts for all the local sports teams.

5) The Colts – FUCK THE COLTS!!!! They fled the to Indianapolis overnight (literally) and left Baltimore without a team from 1983-1996. My grandfather was a season ticket holder at the time. He never quite landed on a team for too long after that happened.

6) Ravens vs Redskins – I haven’t seen the divide very much first hand. Everyone I know is either one or the other. Most Redskins fans I know are casual whereas Ravens fans bleed purple. 

7) The O – A friend of mine from Boston moved out of the area for work. He went to a baseball game and said it was nice to be somewhere they didn’t yell “O” during the national anthem. It’s a thing.

8) Yankees in a Rebel State – If you ask a northerner, we’re the south. If you ask the south, we’re the north. Honestly, central Maryland is much more like the north and the farther east, south, and west parts are a little like the south. The article states it as well as I ever could.

9) State Flag Pride – While we don’t all have crazy flag pride, we all know what it looks like.

10) Lacrosse – I never got into lacrosse. I know it’s a thing but I still maintain our state sport is jousting. I don’t care if they changed it. Jousting is cooler and it was their first so : P

Music: Metro Song by Go Remy

It's a Southern Thing, Or Not

I had a lively debate with someone the other night about whether or not Maryland is southern. She maintained that the Mason-Dixon Line separates the south from the north. It was an indisputable geographic fact, she insisted. I should note she is from the middle of America.

That may be true on a technical level but it is not culturally apt. Being southern is more than just a location and a label. It’s about a culture and an attitude; about customs and traditions.

There’s the famous southern hospitality. A lot of folks I’ve met from the Deep South will ma’am you to death they are so polite. There’s also more of an authoritative structure to the family. You answer to and respect your elders. The southern matriarch is not just a token movie character; she’s absolutely real. There’s also more of a focus on being a ‘proper’ southern lady or gentleman. 

Food is a huge part of being southern. Go into any book store and I promise you will find dozens of books dedicated to southern cooking. Because of the Bible Belt, you get a lot of country and gospel music. Different regions have their own genres and sub-genres that identify their history and contributions. 

This next one doesn’t apply to everyone but most southerners I know grew up around and have an affection for guns. And when was the last time you saw northerners nostalgic for the Civil War? Not all southerners do it and the north’s got historical re-enactments but it’s different. Another non-universal is the drawl. Not everyone has it and it varies depending on where in the south you’re from. 

Growing up with any of the above is a big part of being southern. Loving them helps convert you but hating them doesn’t automatically take the south out of you. Sometimes being southern is about how we choose to identify ourselves.

Florida is absolutely a southern state but I wouldn’t call a lot of its cities culturally southern. If you go toward the part of Maryland that’s near DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis those are not southern places. If you go far enough west or south, you’ll find it. 

I’ve always considered Maryland a transition state. It’s not completely one or the other.  If you ask New Yorkers, we’re the south. If you ask folks from Georgia or Louisiana, we’re the north. If people from the north and the south can’t agree, we’re definitely not one or the other. Personally, I’m way too aggressive and mouthy to be a proper southern lady. 

Current Tunes: It’s a Southern Thing by Better than Ezra