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Asklemmy @lemmy.ml

1y ago

Non Americans, what province is the "Alabama" of your country?

In terms of having the "marrying cousins" stereotype.

171 comments

Alberta
- Here's a tip for Americans, if you want to annoy a Canadian ask them if they're from Alberta, if they ask why tell them they give of Alberta vibes, if you're feeling sauce just say 'Berta vibes instead of Alberta vibes.
  
  I laughed out loud
- I don’t think Canada has an Alabama. As conservative as they are, Alberta is wealthy, highly educated, and they frequently vote for women and POC. They like “small government”, but also have some of the highest paid government workers in the country. I just don’t see much similarity.
  I think the comparison to Texas is more apt because they’re both conservative petro states with center left suburban sprawl cities.
  
  Ya I would agree likely no Alabama equivalent, but I would say the closest would maybe be Saskatchewan?
- I've always heard that Alberta is the 'Texas of Canada' (presumably for the oil & being politically conservative). But since Canada only has 10 provinces, I guess that would mean each province needs to represent 5 different US states.
  If Alabama and Texas are two of them, what are the other 3 for Alberta?
  
  New mexico, Utah, not sure about the other
  Most of the mid-west would be split between Saskatchewan and winnipeg
  
  Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma
  
  Utah
  
  Also, more importantly, cowboys and ranching. At least back when I was a young'un out in the sticks it was commonplace to see someone wearing a cowboy hat, and rodeos were one of the major events for many small towns. In fact, one of (if not) the largest public events in Alberta is the Calgary Stampede, which is rooted in and still features many rodeo and cowboy type activities.
- Rafael Cruz is from Alberta, so even got enough crazy to export.
- I’m not Canadian, but I had a brief fling with a girl from Alberta. She had just gotten out of an 8 year relationship with a crackhead (her words, not mine) and she herself had just been released from rehab. I think I know exactly what you mean somehow
- I would agree with this answer for the Zeitgeist of how Canadians see Albertans from a stereotypical way, and this is true for our rural population. But politically, Ontario takes the Alabama cake for voting in so many Ford's so many times. How do you guys keep doing this?
- And yet has the lowest religiosity level in Canada, and has elected as more women as premier than any other province.

Iranian here.
All of them.

That's the Saarland for Germany or some parts of Bayern (Bavaria) depending on who you ask
- Bavaria is more like Texas and Saxony is Florida, the crazy swamp part, not the rich.
  
  What do Bavaria and Texas families have in common?
  Something something cream

Tasmania for Australia. At least they are on their own island.
- Tasmania, reputedly home of the diamond-shaped family tree
  
  From one of the songs in the video game Redneck Rampage, "My family tree's a STUMP."

Ask anyone in the UK and they'll tell you the next county over from them
- Yep. Norfolk, full of em.
  
  I'm from Somerset which would be a classic answer but Norfolk is still considered the one county that saves us from being the goto joke inbreds.
  It's a load of bs anyway... I'm barely related to my wife at all!
  
  Don't discount Lincolnshire, a large county with a small population.

England.

The north, in France. Lille is the rumoured capital of cousin-inbreeding.
- Les Ch’tis

In the Netherlands, its gotta be Urk.
- Definitely Urk. Or Staphorst.
  
  Or Volendam.
  
  Those aren't provinces.

In Germany: Saarland
- Bayern
  
  Bayern is Texas
- Nicht die Franken?
  
  Franken ist vielleicht Kentucky oder Missouri, aber nicht Alabama.

Tasmania
- WA coming a close second.
  
  Nah I see WA as Texas and QLD as Florida.
- How do you circumsize a Tasmanian? Kick his sister in the chin.

England
- Hello my fellow Scot!
- False. Alabama siblings never pull out
- Aye but also Kirkcaldy though.
  
  How dare you insult the Lang Toun.

In the Netherlands it's Urk, although it's not a province but a municipality
- There's even a genetic disease specific to Urk. Half of the people who have it are from the the former island and as I understand it the others have their roots there.
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Buchem_disease
- That's ok, your country is the size of a province.

Sardinia is something between Alabama and Scotland (🐑)
- You misspelt England.

Shelbyville
- "why would we want to marry our cousins?"
  "because they're so attractive?"

Every other balkan country except the one i live in.

In Australia it's Tasmania

For the Netherlands: Katwijk, even had a genetic disease named after it.
https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katwijkse_ziekte
- The article actually says the desease is not the result of incest, but instead all people with the decease most likely share a common ancestor.
  
  So, incest?

Probably Saskatchewan.
It's not Alberta, right guys? Right?
- I mean, you could argue that Alberta is more comparable to Texas
  
  I'll take it.
- I meaaaannnn...
- Only because Alberta is the Texas equivalent

EVERY SINGLE ONE. Marrying cousins is more than common, its prrtty much standard.
- India?

Loving all the Scots embracing the United Kingdom in this thread by describing England as a part of their country 😉
- If they're gonna be forced to be part of the UK, they can also enjoy the privilege of shitting on it like the rest do.

Either Skåne or anything far up north in Sweden.
- Skellefteå
- Not enough banjos in Skåne.
- No no, Dalarna or Värmland has the vibe down much more. And "raggar" culture is full of cousin fucking vibes.

Mexico: Nuevo León (specifically Monterrey)

What is Alabama?
- The US incest state.
  
  One of the incest states.

Speaking only on the incest stereotype, Spanish Wells in the Bahamas. They’re known for strictly dating and marrying other fellow islanders, which at this point is basically one large family.
Edit to remove the double “at this point”
- Wait, at which point?
  
  This one, this one, this one.
  
  Haha shoot I need to proofread!

Podlasie in Poland, definitely. My friend's parents have both the same maiden name despite not being closely related. Their whole village has basically the same surname.
- Polish friend of mine says Radom and Kielce are a bit of a shit hole.

South mountain in Nova Scotia, Canada. There was (still is?) a family (the Goler clan) famous for poverty, sexual abuse, and inbreeding. A bunch of them were arrested for sexual abuse in the 1980s. Rumor has it, they inspired the Xfiles episode "Home".
- People wanna say Alberta, but this is the real answer.
  
  Yeah, there's a lot of drunk oil hicks here, but I haven't seen much inbreeding. Though the last time I attended an event in Rumsey I couldn't help but wonder.

The south. It's always the south.
The question is: does it flip after passing the equator or is the law universal for both halves of the globe?
- Nah, in the UK it's the midlands. Coventry, Birmingham, Leicester, and Loughborough can all go in the bin.
- I've heard Australians say this about their northern territories.
  
  Nah the Aussie equivalent is probably Tasmania.

The Netherlands? Urk.

Alberta, and definitely traces of it in the Maritimes
- There’s a whole lotta cousins that I ain’t met yet So you can imagine the shock I get There’s one of them I think I mighta dated back in school But that’s alright, in Alberta that’s cool
  Corb Lund - Family Reunion

In Costa Rica its a subdivision of a province, San Carlos. Very famous for incest (not being taboo). In the costa rican subreddit there was a long thread about it not too long ago. The thread mostly contained anecdotal but has interesting comments; a doctor that sees lots of teenage pregnancy cases, a story of a priest that refused to continue marrying cousins in a small town.

Portuguese here. I don't think we have that at all. I guess rural areas in general get that wrap a little bit but not really.
- Portuguese immigrants in Canada from mainland Portugal say this about people from the Azores. I heard it a lot growing up.
  
  Oh I'm Azorean so maybe that's why I didn't think of that... We're not inbred!!!!

@vis4valentine nota close equivalent but Alberta would be high on the list

The fact we have an idiom "sent to Coventry" meaning to deliberately ostracise someone should tell you all you need to know.
I went to uni in that city; there isn't enough money in all the world to make me go back there. City of 300k people with over 3k homeless. Utter monstrosity of brutalist architecture (the university library is based on a panopticon prison, I kid you not). And the ring road! Taking your life in your hand just merging into it!
Absolutely insane amount of crime, with one of the highest rates of child sexual abuse in the country (for context, it's crime index is about 20% higher than London's). And I've never seen so many street walkers in my life! Plus they charge, I am not joking, £20 a go.
- The fact we have an idiom "sent to Coventry"
  yeah but that was because Coventry was a roundhead stronghold where they imprissoned captured caveliers
- As an American that as been to Alabama and also Coventry, I agree
  Also the ring road is an absolute death trap. I've never felt more unsafe on a road
- I guess it's "Coventrated" after all.
- Outside of UK, Coventry is mainly known for the bombing, is there some connection to its current bad state?
  
  OH god, in Coventry it's all they talk about. But a tentative yes. It was flattened in WW2, but didn't have the clout of London so it was rebuilt as the utter hell hole it is now. However, there was still a lot of industry there (mostly cars) until the Thatcher era. And then that went away as well. Now there's two unis and that's about it

It's either the Free State or Limpopo. Though if I had to pick one it would be Limpopo, it's the only province where the majority of white people voted to keep and continue apartheid during the referendum in 1992. While I've never been to the US, that sounds like it would fit the Alabama stereotype. Though jokes about dating cousins is usually aimed at people from Brakpan and Danville, but those are specific towns which have their own character.
- Limpopo is definitely more backward. But Free State does have that small town redneck vibe going for it in many places. Also dont talk shit about my Brakpan. It gets that reputation because Springs people holiday there

What is Alabama?
- A utopia for the inbred
- The armpit of the United States.
  
  I thought Ohio was the armpit? A cess pool, none the less.
  
  And why are we supposed to know the armpit of some country?

Here in México is Nuevo León for sure,
- I know nothing about Mexican culture. That being said, why that state? Is it poor or very rural?

West Vlaanderen. They even talk like they have a hot potato in their mouth!
- At least west-flemish language is UNESCO protected! In Charleroi they can't talk normally either and the city has been in a forever mess

Costa Rica: Not exactly a province per se, but the canton of San Carlos

Mississippi

In France that would be the north (Hauts-de-France)

"Dan denk ik aan Brabant."

For Austria it's definitely Burgenland

I don't know. There is multiple possibilities here. Maybe Appenzell Innerrhoden where you're at a low degree cousin of one of the members of the council at the head of the Canton. AI has just 16k inhabitants.
But if you ask a French speaker, it will be Jura. It remember me once I went there. I saw a young woman not older than 25. She was definitely not rich. She already had 3 pregnancies and was outside in a cold foggy morning with the 3 kids walking around the small town. The region has the reputation of alcoholism too.
- Ah c'est pour ça qu'ils l'appellent le crémeux du jura!

etelä-pohjanmaa

In Denmark the closest we come to the "marrying cousins" stereotype would be southern Jutland although that trope can be used about all rural areas.
As for being backwards and reactionary, rural Jutland is the place to go.
As for rural poverty and hopelessness an area stretching from northern, western and southern Jutland, over southern Funen to the islands of Lolland and Falster is known as "the rotten banana". Rural poverty is worst on the northern Jutland island of Mors and the island of Lolland.

Monterrey in the state of Nuevo Leon in Mexico.
Everybody's last name there is Garza.

In Québec, I would say that Hull, is probably one of most trashy city. I actually love it there.
- Kinda want someone to expand on this - I only know Hull as the place 18 year old Ontario kids go to get legally trashed.
  ...which might be the answer here, idk. I also personally like Hull/Gatineau, it's a nice change of pace v. wandering around Ottawa sometimes.

Santiago del Estero.
- Venía a comentar esto mismo

Võru province in southeastern :estonia-burning: because it overwhelmingly voted for the Fatherland party, which is basically the Conservatives but worse because they are a huge kiss-arse for Isnotreal and want to kill the public healthcare system.
- That actually sounds pretty much like standard issue Conservatives to me.

Define "Alabama", please.
- Probably meaning backwards, highly conservative, people from there are seen as "hicks" or "red knecks," have an abnormally high rate of incest and child marriage compared to the rest of the country, and any person part of a marginalized group would probably want to avoid.
  
  Drug addicts would be Porto. The city was pretty clean for decades but CoViD and an asshole of a city mayor effed things up, to the point they want to pass city ordnances that go against national law. Won't fly; pure populism, good for sound bites.
  Hicks, incest and child marriage not really a thing here. Yet, we do have a strange saying about cousins that I can't really translate. The gist implies cousins tend to be an understanable first opportunity to explore but not one to carry through as a true romantic relationship.
  Conservatives, all across the territory, mostly on rural areas but not hardcore. But we are a liberal nation as a whole.
  Lisbon is a bit under pressure because of high tourist influx but you don't get to see violence towards non-nationals, except for rare events.
  This is a pretty interesting question.
  
  Why did you add a k to necks?
  
  In that case the question should be about Louisianna or Mississippi. Alabama is a beautiful state. It's a stark contrast driving the back country highways from one to the other.

Nuevo León
- Or basically anyone from the Mexican North. To the point where "norteño" is almost a synonym with "cousin-kisser".

171 comments