Timothy Egan has a good article in today's New York Times about East Coast Americans' geographical illiteracy about the American West. He cites national broadcasters who can't pronounce Oregon and New Mexicans who are told to go through their own embassy when trying to order Olympic tickets from the US Olympic Committee. Good stuff, but as someone from the Southeast who moved west, I can tell you that geographical illiteracy works both ways.
Texans are Texas-centric and if you doubt it, just ask one about your distant home state. When I have told people I grew up in South Carolina, I have gotten "Hey, I was in South Carolina once, I went on a business trip to Raleigh;" or "You must be really proud of that Charlotte airport;" or "It must be really cold there." Cold? Really? Our state tree is a type of palm.
Then there's "I bet you're glad the Jesse Helms era is over." Yes I am, and the Strom Thurmond era too. My favorite Geographically illiterate response (and I've gotten this more than once) is "Do you consider South Carolina part of the South?" Um, yeah. You might want to read your history books about a little something called the Civil War. It started there. Check it out.
Texans are Texas-centric and if you doubt it, just ask one about your distant home state. When I have told people I grew up in South Carolina, I have gotten "Hey, I was in South Carolina once, I went on a business trip to Raleigh;" or "You must be really proud of that Charlotte airport;" or "It must be really cold there." Cold? Really? Our state tree is a type of palm.
Then there's "I bet you're glad the Jesse Helms era is over." Yes I am, and the Strom Thurmond era too. My favorite Geographically illiterate response (and I've gotten this more than once) is "Do you consider South Carolina part of the South?" Um, yeah. You might want to read your history books about a little something called the Civil War. It started there. Check it out.
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