Save us from the glut of ugly statuary » « A seismic change

Upper Midwest, Unite!

Maybe you aren’t aware of our local biases, but Minnesotans do look down a bit on Wisconsinites (could the reverse also be true? Unthinkable). And then I hear that there have been anti-ICE protests in Green Bay, and that that’s where Alex Pretti was from, and suddenly I feel fellowship coming on.

Never thought I’d fight side by side with a cheesehead
How about with a fellow anti-fascist?
Aye, I could do that

That’s a relief, especially since my daughter has become a Wisconsonite. I can live with that.

Save us from the glut of ugly statuary » « A seismic change

Comments

  1. crivitz says

    Hang on a minute. Wouldn’t Minnesota with it’s (in)famous Scandinavian immigrant community be better represented by the tall, slim Elf, Legolas with the short, stocky miner, Gimli representing Wisconsin? It is the Badger State after all due to the lead mines in the SW region of the state.

  2. Reginald Selkirk says

    Maybe you aren’t aware of our local biases, but Minnesotans do look down a bit on Wisconsinites…

    and Iowans, and Dakotans. The only neighbors they don’t look down on are Canadians, whom they envy.

    @1 crivitz
    Hang on a minute. Wouldn’t Minnesota with it’s (in)famous Scandinavian immigrant community…

    You fell for that one, did you? Yes, Minnesota has some Scandinavian heritage, but the number one ethnic background in the state is German. German was just harder to sell after two world wars. You do remember when the Nazis were the bad guys?

  4. crivitz says

    @2 Reginald Selkirk
    Yes that’s right about the ethnic make-up of the state and as a Minnesotan with both German and Norwegian ancestry, I knew about that and was just basically playing along with the stereotype of “Scandinavian Minnesota.”
    Anti-German sentiment was common after WWI which caused that the people of Berlin, Ontario changed their city’s name to Kitchener. That anti-German bias might be the why I don’t recall my German ancestors boasting about their heritage, but got plenty of it (too much?) from my Norwegian ancestors.

    Also as a former North Dakota resident, I agree that Minnesotans tend to look down on the Dakotans who themselves tend to look down on Iowa as well.

  6. ladnar says

    #5: I (from Michigan) have had cheese curds (both here and in WI, and they are very good.

  9. birgerjohansson says

    Geography. Wait a minute, if a Canadian border state was to join USA they would get two senators… Naah, there is no way we could convince them to do that.

  11. John Morales says

    I was mildly amused by the specificity of it: “Upper Midwest”, implying a Lower Midwest and maybe even a central Midwest. Of course, that’s in the middle of the west. ;)

    Anyway, I remained mildly curious, so I looked: https://themetropole.blog/2020/10/13/where-the-waters-reflect-the-clouds-examining-minnesotas-indigenous-history/

    Minnesota has always been a Native place. The state takes its name from a Dakota phrase, Mni Sota Makoce, which translates to “land where the waters reflect the clouds.” While the state’s capital is the other Twin City (St. Paul), Minneapolis is the largest city in the state. Its English name also draws on the Dakota word for water, mni. When added to the Greek word for city, “polis,” the city became Minneapolis. The city’s Dakota name is Bdeóta Othúŋwe, Many Lakes City. For the Ojibwe, it’s known as Gakaabikaang, At the Waterfalls.[1] The city is known for a number of things: it’s the setting of The Mary Tyler Moore Show; it’s home to the state’s professional football, baseball, and men’s and women’s basketball teams; and it’s where Prince was born and honed his musical career.
     
    Minneapolis, though, also has a long history as a home to Native activists and organizers. It’s the birthplace of the American Indian Movement, which was founded in the summer of 1968 as a response to continued targeting by police officers and continued instances of police brutality. It’s been home to American Indian survival schools, and it boasts a number of Native owned and operated businesses, community centers, and housing developments. In recent years, Native activists in and around the Twin Cities have led the charge to restore the original name of one of the city’s most popular lakes, and they’ve toppled a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus that had stood on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol since 1931. This post draws on the Indigenous history of what’s now Minnesota to highlight this rich history of Indigenous activism.

  12. birgerjohansson says

    Iasius @ 9
    Wisconsin flag. I would suggest something minimalist.
    A blue field with a white disc in the center, presenting a big “W”. Add some minor flourishes.
    .
    For states with a lot of ammosexuals, I recommend a big grizzly holding an AK.

  17. asclepias says

    My mom grew up in Green Bay and was somewhat shocked to see the protests. She was also surprised to find that Alex Pretti attended the same high school she did (albeit some 30-40 years later). I know of one Wyoming transplant there-one of my long-ago classmates got her PhD in geography and now teaches at UW Madison.

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