North vs. South - again

This morning, this blog earned me a guest appearance on the “Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins” show on WFAE (90.7 FM). The topic: Northerners vs. Southerners.

The show was picking up on the tensions between newcomers and natives exhibited in the comments on many entries here, as well as on the Letters to the Editor page and “The Buzz” section of the Observer.

On the show, I think we reached a consensus that Charlotte’s rapid growth has indeed caused many under-the-surface tensions, but generally this city embraces change. (Just look at our willingness to tear down historic structures to build shiny new developments).

While someone from the North may write me to say they’re unhappy about being called a “Yankee,” by far most of the people I hear from consider this place very welcoming.

And I’ve heard from many natives who embrace the amenities, restaurants and increased diversity our influx has brought us.

One listener brought up an interesting point: Should the Observer stop printing the views of transplants and natives who resent each other for their attitudes?

My response is that the purpose of blogs, Letters to the Editor and The Buzz are to air the current views of the community. Just because we devote ink or bandwidth to the views doesn’t mean that we, as a newspaper, endorse them. What we do support is informing people of what’s going on out there in their community.

What do you think? Is there more to say on the subject of Northerners vs. Southerners, or have we exhausted the topic?