Calling oneself "a Southie" — Being from Boston, I've never heard anyone do this. "Southie" is a place, not a demonym. People from Southie would say "I'm from Southie" and not "I'm a Southie." (Not that this hasn't been done in fiction, but it's done by scriptwriters who don't have a clue.) It would be like saying "I'm a Brooklyn." Or "I'm a Queens". (Which people might do, but not for that reason.)
Edited by KeithTyler Hide / Show Replies
Also: Anybody who lives within 50 miles of Southie knows that:
a) Dorchester is NOT part of Southie (in fact, Southie, at least the small part that was above sea level back in colonial days, was part of Dorchester);
b) Dorchester is most definitely part of Boston;
c) If you find yourself surrounded by working-class Irish-Americans, yeah, you might be in Southie - or in Charlestown;
d) Nobody confuses "Southie" with "South Boston," since they're the same place. Some outatownas, however, do confuse the South End with South Boston, but nobody ever calls the South End "Southie."
Checking out social media responses to the hideous Boston Marathon bombing, responses from Britain are no less sympathetic and shocked, but a very common theme has been to add a caveat or a slightly snarky response which can be summarised as
"NORAID is based in Boston. This so-called "charity" funelled lots and lots of Irish-American dollars out to fund terrorist bombs in Northern Ireland and Britain. We're really sorry about the people who were killed and maimed. We know what it feels like. Believe us, we do. Now Boston has, just once, had a taste of what used to happen every day in Northern Ireland and every so often in Britain. No fun at all, is it?"
Or, simply:
"Karma".