Key phrase is ".. adopted home is in the South.."as someone whose adopted home is in the South......well, no, this is bait, I ain't taking it.
On topic: every time I used to get grits they either came plain, or already had butter on them. Most often they were plain and you added butter/salt/pepper to taste (though as I remember, they were ALREADY pretty salty)
I grew up in various places ( AFB Bases) in the South, and my dad was from South Carolina.
Every Southerner I ate with @ Breakast had Grits served with Butter and Syrup/Molasses or Jelly, plus as you said Salt/ most Southerners used too much of this.
YMMV
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