“We Say Grace and We Say Ma’am”

I’m afraid we may be looking at an upcoming generation of Southern children who don’t know what it means to say “sir” and “ma’am.”

It’s an interesting concept, but Southerners are certainly known for politeness, and that includes the habit of saying “sir” and “ma’am.” If a Southern child simply says a terse “yes” or “no,” (or, heaven forbid, a “yep” or a “nope”), a nearby adult will quickly follow-up with, “yes, what?” or “no, what?”

And the child who had momentarily forgotten his manners had better instantly reply with “yes, sir,” or “no, ma’am.” The child can also consider it a good day if the adult didn’t include a resounding thump as part of this exchange.

But here’s the funny part. While we Southerners consider it offensive and rude to NOT refer to an adult as “sir” or “ma’am,” Yankees basically consider it insulting to do so, and think of them as fighting words. Unless they’ve had a military background, Yankee women especially take it as insulting and derogatory to be called “ma’am” by anybody.

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