Good Morning, 99%'ers!

Sometimes an entry starts off as on one subject and somehow veers in a decidedly different direction. Such is today's Open Thread subject matter. Often I will be looking up a definition or a spelling or information on something that piqued my curiosity and then along the way, get diverted into something else. It is either curiosity or a lack of attention. Whatever the cause, it can lead to interesting things to learn.

Here is beautiful western North Carolina, we are entering leaf peeper season. It is the time of year when all the Floridiots (and others from the far south and flat lands) descend en masse upon the Appalachians. For some reason, the Floridiots seem to be in the majority during leaf peeping season.

The urban dictionary (linked above) provides a number of definitions of just what is a Floridiot, but this one directly below is the broadest of the many definitions and sadly it fits far too often. And I guess I should know since I am from Florida and still live there part time.

Floridiot: derogatory term used to describe people from Florida
"Go back to Florida you fucking floridiot!"
by blueridgenative September 28, 2006

While not quite accurate, I even found this song that describes Floridiots.

So what is it that makes people from Florida called "Floridiots?" Around these parts, there are a number of things about people from Florida that rub the natives the wrong way. Number one, based upon my observations and own experience, is how Floridiots drive. I most often see it in the grocery store parking lot, but it shows up nearly every where.

People around here are generally very friendly and courteous. Most are not particularly in a rush. I see that courtesy nearly every time I go for a walk downtown. Folks will stop their cars and wave me across the street. People will take the time to be courteous to perfect strangers. We greet each other (perfect strangers) as we pass by with a "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon." To strangers, that friendliness is often puzzling. But there is a certain gentility here that accompanies a lifestyle that is not dictated by heavy traffic and the dog eat dog world of high speed freeways and interstates on a daily basis. Not so for Floridiots, especially those from the densely populated southeast Florida area.

At the grocery store, cars entering into the parking lot always stop for pedestrians crossing the lanes to enter or exit the store. It is an absolute given for locals. When I see a car barreling through the parking lot and failing to yield to pedestrians, my immediate thought is that must be a Floridiot. Most times, I am right and usually the tag will indicate a driver from the east coast of Florida. Yesterday when I went to the store, there was a big SUV parked right outside one of the doors, blocking traffic entering into the parking lot. I looked at the tag and it was a Floridiot. Surprise, surprise. As I was leaving, there was another big van parked in the traffic lane outside the door. And guess what? It was another Floridiot!

Another definition from the urban dictionary expands on the reasons why so many people from Florida are "Floridiots."

Someone born in Florida. Subject to massive amounts of fluoride in their drinking water, thus making them do retarded stuff and having low IQ's. They are notorious for not knowing how to drive and causing insane amounts of unnecessary traffic accidents. They like to drive 90 miles per hour on the highway riding your butt when its foggy as all hell out, but when its clear as day they like to drive 10 miles under the speed limit, thus causing massive amounts of unnecessary traffic wasting massive amounts of your time. Someone who does not understand what the passing lane is.
"Look at this dumb Floridiot holding up all this traffic, THE LEFT LANE IS THE PASSING LANE... LET ME BY!!!!"
by logicaliforn April 12, 2011

One of the first things we did when we came to North Carolina was to purchase a North Carolina tag for my car (a PT Cruiser) which is the car we drive most often. I told my husband that I did not want to be automatically identified as a Floridiot every time I drove around town. For a long time, I avoided telling people where we came from, but eventually it comes out which leads to the second reason why so many natives and long time residents dislike Floridiots.

Far too many very well to do people from Florida come to western North Carolina and buy land high up on the side of a mountain, often where the slopes are the steepest and the environment is the most fragile. It is there that they build gigantic McMansions perched up on the side of the beautiful mountains that surround the towns of this area. Many times, these environmentally impacting houses are used for only a couple of weeks each year while spoiling the natural beauty of the mountains all year long. Occasionally one is lost to a landslide because some of these slopes are so unstable. There is a lot of hostility among the natives towards this type of development of the mountainsides.

From the very beginning, we had no desire to live upon the mountain, but wanted to live in town. I found that once the locals learned that we were not up on the mountain, we were far more accepted and were no longer considered Floridiots.

So how does one become NOT a Floridiot? It is the same way one avoids being labeled an ugly American. It is by learning and respecting local customs. But most Floridiots will never learn. I may be from Florida, but I hope I will never do anything to make others label me a Floridiot.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWdgiFzpolA]