Do Southerners realize they are the only ones who use the term "Yankee?"

[yoyoniner]

No where else is the term "Yankee" used to describe/stereotype people but in the Southeastern U.S. I am originally from Wisconsin and some guy from Alabama, when I was visiting a buddy in Florida, said I was just a "Yankee" after he heard me talk. This was used in a very derogatory manner and to say the least, I was not only shocked as if I stumbled upon some secret American culture I was unaware of, but the only time I have heard the word "Yankee" my entire life was during baseball highlights, like most people in America. My initial reaction was to say "I hate the Yankees" (meaning, the baseball team), so why would I be a "Yankee?" It was only after I dug deeper that I found out that this is a common and mostly deragatory slur used against anyone from the "North" whatever that means. I have even heard it used online against people from the West Coast (?) so I guess to some it means anyone "not Southern."

To say the least, people from every region (Mountain, Central, West Coast, Northwest, Northeast, Midwest, etc.) do not use this term and would be shocked at how often it is used in the South, and how it is basically a negative slur against millions of people.

It sounds completely backward and does nothing to help any negative stereotypes other regions have of the South. How much longer will this outdated slur stick around?

[Mantas]

Where does this term came from? Are the "rednecks" still in use?

[teshadoh]

Well thanks for sharing that with us

[nyxmike]

Yeah, I have gotten the same thing too. It's really a matter of how and the way someone says it rather than the actually word. There is a lot more resentment - some people are still stuck in the civil war I guess, and it's pretty pathetic. Maybe it has to do with all the people from different regions, particularly the North and West, moving South? While some people take the growth and the fact that people want to visit and live in the South as a positive thing, some take it negatively (and maybe that has to do with the fact that those people don't like change, though, in the larger cities in the South, most people do enjoy the changes). It does seem backwards, but not everyone from the South says it.

[jmancuso]

yankee is not a slur.

[LSyd]

so, how many times have you called or thought of a southerner as a redneck?

ever been overseas? it doesn't sound like it; i've been called a "yankee" in the uk. it's also been used in the south to describe my accent.

thanks for yet another thread of enlightened genius.

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[Raleighmark]

Although the term Yankee can be said in a derogatory manner, I have to agree that it is not a slur. Just because you take offense doesn’t mean it is meant to be offensive.

And like LSyd said, you and I are both Yankees to the rest of the world.

Yes the term redneck is still very much alive. But again it really is not automatically a derogatory term, at least in the south.

[Service Lift Attendant]

People in Boston use the term "yankee" as a slur against people 200mi to the southwest of them to describe local baseball players.

[The anti-cheesehead]

Originally Posted by Raleighmark

And like LSyd said, you and I are both Yankees to the rest of the world.

The term "Yankee" as it is used in the rest of the world doesn't have the same meaning as it does in the southern US.

To the rest of the world, "Yankee" means an American. In the south, "Yankee" means a northerner.

I learned this when I was very young because I had neighbors from Alabama. I realize all southerners aren't like my neighbors were. My neighbors were something else and I know that they are not the only ones from the south who are like that. I'd eat dinner or lunch over there and it wasn't uncommon to hear the "n" word during conversations, even from the otherwise very friendly mother. One of the kids had a model Civil War battle field in his room where all of the Union troops were dead and all of the Confederate troops were still standing.

There are southerners who believe that being a "Yankee" isn't a good thing and believe that the south will rise again ala the Civil War.

[Talbot]

I guess the outdated yankee slur will go away when the outdated rednick/hick slur goes away. Hell I would rather be called a yankee than a hick.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by jmancuso

yankee is not a slur.

Who asked you ? Yankee.

[Style™]

people all around the world use the term 'yankee' or 'yank.'

[AubieTurtle]

I don't think it is going to go away. Heck, I still use the word "Carpetbagger" and I'm originally from Detroit.

[Tony P]

In Australia we seem to call all USA citizens "Yanks" regardless of whether they're from the North or the South. We might even call you "Seppo's" which is short for Septic Tank. For some reason in our early development (cockney heritage, perhaps), Aussies became enamoured to using rhyming slang for knicknames and alternative words for things, so:

Yankees was shortened to Yanks,
which 'rhymes' with Septic Tanks,
Which is shortened to Seppo's.

You can call us 'Kangaroo Fuc|<ers' in return

[Blazer85]

As someone of native american descent, I can tell you the word "yankee" came from the Cherokee who referred to the white man as "yanqui."

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by AubieTurtle

I don't think it is going to go away. Heck, I still use the word "Carpetbagger" and I'm originally from Detroit.

You can call us 'Kangaroo Fuc|<ers' in return

i thought you preferred shagging koalas?

yankee doodle went to town
riding on a pony
started a stupid ass thread
and called it macaroni.

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[TarheelsCubs]

A Yankee, as we call it in the United States refers to someone from the northeast. Starting in New Jersey. Someone from Wisconson or Chicago are not Yankees.

[texasboy]

I can honestly say in all my years living in the south, I cannot even remember when or if I have ever heard someone use the term yankee. Maybe one of my European friends did once.

[The anti-cheesehead]

Originally Posted by Style

people all around the world use the term 'yankee' or 'yank.'

Like I said before, the meaning of the term isn't the same though. To the rest of the world, it means an American. To a southerner, it means you wear shoes, have all of your teeth, and speak proper English.

Originally Posted by TarheelsCubs

A Yankee, as we call it in the United States refers to someone from the northeast. Starting in New Jersey. Someone from Wisconson or Chicago are not Yankees.

A "Yankee" refers to anyone from a Union state during the Civil War, which would include Illinois and Wisconsin.

[LSyd]

A "Yankee" refers to anyone from a Union state during the Civil War, which would include Illinois and Wisconsin.

yup. more specifically though it's the northeast region, but also works w/civil war.

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