Steve Hamm (steehamm@mars.utm.edu) from 208.47.6.80 at 10/08/00 11:34PM
comment
    Through my experiences of living north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line, I have been given the opportunity to evaluate the different lifestyles. The most affecting difference is the politeness. When in the North, it is considered a personal threat to make direct eye contact with a stranger. "Minding your own business" is a policy that is a way of life, in the North. When in the South, people making eye contact and small talk is a way of politeness. The Southern culture tends to bond people together. In general, a southern person is more apt to have concern and help a total stranger in dire need. Larger crime rates, in the heavier populated North, have instilled a fear factor in the people which in turn, causes people to look the other way. Living in the South gives me a sense of comfort, and feelings of belonging to a community.