89% (Dixie). Did you have any Confederate ancestors?
Which only proves this thing to be 11% off.
As to the debate about where Dixie starts and the rest of you stop...if they went with Lee in the War of Northern Aggression, they're Dixie to me so long as they're east of the Miss'sip. West of there, it's all the same except Cali, the land of fruits and nuts. North of Dixie, it's to be generally avoided at all costs. And God willing, I will nevermore venture further north than Harper's Ferry WV again, unless I get to hike the AT end to end someday.
As to the Tennessee thing...Tennessee, as any resident will tell you, is in reality three states. East, Middle, and West. West is very Democratic leaning, and has its own accents and culture. Middle is the melting pot in more ways than one, and tries for the most part to be anything except what it really is. East is Republican, conservative, and more succeptible to the ages-old stereotypes. To the naked eye at least. I still dare any one of you to come around here and tell some of my neighbors what lazy hillbillies they are.
As to accents. My first real job was as a radio announcer, and I won several public speaking contest in high school, so I most assuredly know the proper way to speak. I choose not to employ it. I am immensely proud of my Southern highlands/Appalachian heritage, and no PC stupid ass school teacher is gonna sit on her well-rounded donut fed ass and tell me my diction is wrong. As long as I am where I am, I talk just fine. And I intend to spend every moment possible right around here, so I ain't too worried about accents.
Lastly, to all the Europeans afoot: To you, all Americans are properly called Yanks. That's OK. Over there. Park yer ass at a Dixie waterin' hole, and call the locals Yanks, and it might be the last time. Emotions still run high in places, and thankfully in more every day. I see more and more of my neighbors getting more and more fed up. Now know that I live in a very rural area, and our Southern cities, shamefully, are so homogenized that a casual visitor might wonder if he is in Nashville or Hartford CT these days. Shame really.
Just my thoughts, I could be wrong. But you'll have hell trying to convince me of it.
