What do you love about the twin cities? (minimum wage, live)

[Cubs2015]

You all just proved my point...

[mr roboto]

Originally Posted by Cubs2015

You all just proved my point...

I'm afraid this may fall on deaf ears but I will try to explain why your confirmation bias is so strong. You make a factual and interesting observation - that Minnesotans can get defensive of criticisms against their state. And that there is a passive aggressive nature to the culture. You're absolutely right.

What I think people are responding to in your proclamation of these observations is 1. Hyperbolic declarations that far overstate your point (and are generally unhelpful in making your point) and 2. The lack of ability to concede that you may have overstated your opinion when getting called on it.

I grew up in a small MN town. Went to college in the TCs. Moved to Chicago area for 10 years (had kids, married, started a career) then moved back to MN about 2 months ago. As soon as I got back here I defaulted to my cultural learnings from childhood (Minnesota nice). I am an opinionated and talkative person who isn't afraid to debate or disagree but I've learned that most of the time, most people don't really care to debate or argue most things. There are cultures and cities and regions where there is an acceptance of direct and oppositional communication. This isn't one of them.

I have met a certain type of person who simply can't stand MN culturally. Outspoken, direct, argumentative and loud people. I am prone to some of these descriptors. I've learned to concede point in conversation, to use accurate and measured language that I can defend when in a debate or disagreement, to seek common understanding even in the midst of conflict.

Minnesota nice makes for a relatively calm and functional social atmosphere. I prefer it as an overarching ethos vs. communities with more explicit and direct forms of communication. If you want to continue to confirm your bias around every corner, keep doing points 1. and 2. above. If you want to discover maybe a more nuanced way of being yourself that will endear you to more people and show them respect (especially in this culture in MN) maybe learn, as I had to in my younger years, that most things aren't really profitable to argue and most people don't want to be proven wrong. And often you aren't nearly as right as you think you are.

All this is said with charity and sincerity and lots of personal experience and reflection.

[Cubs2015]

Originally Posted by mr roboto

I'm afraid this may fall on deaf ears but I will try to explain why your confirmation bias is so strong. You make a factual and interesting observation - that Minnesotans can get defensive of criticisms against their state. And that there is a passive aggressive nature to the culture. You're absolutely right.

What I think people are responding to in your proclamation of these observations is 1. Hyperbolic declarations that far overstate your point (and are generally unhelpful in making your point) and 2. The lack of ability to concede that you may have overstated your opinion when getting called on it.

I grew up in a small MN town. Went to college in the TCs. Moved to Chicago area for 10 years (had kids, married, started a career) then moved back to MN about 2 months ago. As soon as I got back here I defaulted to my cultural learnings from childhood (Minnesota nice). I am an opinionated and talkative person who isn't afraid to debate or disagree but I've learned that most of the time, most people don't really care to debate or argue most things. There are cultures and cities and regions where there is an acceptance of direct and oppositional communication. This isn't one of them.

I have met a certain type of person who simply can't stand MN culturally. Outspoken, direct, argumentative and loud people. I am prone to some of these descriptors. I've learned to concede point in conversation, to use accurate and measured language that I can defend when in a debate or disagreement, to seek common understanding even in the midst of conflict.

Minnesota nice makes for a relatively calm and functional social atmosphere. I prefer it as an overarching ethos vs. communities with more explicit and direct forms of communication. If you want to continue to confirm your bias around every corner, keep doing points 1. and 2. above. If you want to discover maybe a more nuanced way of being yourself that will endear you to more people and show them respect (especially in this culture in MN) maybe learn, as I had to in my younger years, that most things aren't really profitable to argue and most people don't want to be proven wrong. And often you aren't nearly as right as you think you are.

All this is said with charity and sincerity and lots of personal experience and reflection.

Minnesota nice is a derogatory term to describe how passive aggressive and back-stabbing people here are. Its very difficult for people on the outside to make friends here. There are articles written on this everywhere. Go to www.google.com and search for "Minnesota Nice Myth" and you will find a plethora of other "opinions". But since they are not pro-Minnesota, you wont agree with them and downplay them, which is exactly how you will prove my point AGAIN.


The Outsiders: Is Minnesota Nice to Newcomers? | Minnesota Public Radio News
Newcomers say it's 'nice,' but not warm | Minnesota Public Radio News
https://www.reddit.com/r/TwinCities/...t_happened_to/

[mr roboto]

Glad you read what I wrote... Good luck with everything.

[Cubs2015]

Originally Posted by mr roboto

Glad you read what I wrote... Good luck with everything.

I see you did the same thing

[chessgeek]

Originally Posted by Cubs2015

I see you did the same thing

You certainly have a right to your viewpoint, but it would clearly be better and more effective to state it in a forum that is either open ended...asking for the positive, negative or neutral like "How would you characterize the Twin Cities" or a thread that is critical of the TC.

This thread is specifically asking for "What do you love about the Twin Cities" and nothing else. There are other threads on this forum and others that allow and even ask for criticisms. It would be far more effective for you to post these viewpoints on those, rather than try (but fail) to derail this one IMO.

Please also keep in mind we are trying to show respect for people that are considering a move and that means trying to answer the question they asked instead of disrespecting it. Friendly reminder: They asked us what we love about the Twin Cities.

[iama30something]

I love Minneapolis. I lived there for 25+ years.

Quickly approaching my 6th year away from it... the winters aren't worth it.

[Miley Cyrus]

Watching drunken fights unfold along Hennepin and 1st ave on the weekends. Bruegger's aint bad either.

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

I met a young guy in my cab in Boston tonight who had visited Minneapolis, and really praised.it. (I was born in St. Paul but left at age 6 -- but still like like to check the posts here!)

I think we leave a good first impression, especially in the summer.

By the way, driving a cab in Boston? Brave

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by Cubs2015

Minnesota nice is a derogatory term to describe how passive aggressive and back-stabbing people here are. Its very difficult for people on the outside to make friends here. There are articles written on this everywhere. Go to www.google.com and search for "Minnesota Nice Myth" and you will find a plethora of other "opinions". But since they are not pro-Minnesota, you wont agree with them and downplay them, which is exactly how you will prove my point AGAIN.


The Outsiders: Is Minnesota Nice to Newcomers? | Minnesota Public Radio News
Newcomers say it's 'nice,' but not warm | Minnesota Public Radio News
https://www.reddit.com/r/TwinCities/...t_happened_to/

1. If you google "Moon Landing Myth," you will also find articles about how the moon landing was staged. If you google "9/11 Conspiracy," you will find articles about how Bush orchestrated 9/11.

Thus is the drawback to selective googling.

2. Two of your links are from Minnesota Public Radio, and one is from a redditor who apparently thinks that it's not ok for somebody else to get mad at him after he splatters yoghurt all over the poor guy's "dirty, ratty pants" (wow. classist much?), but does think its ok for him to be mad at a grocery store stocker-- who likely makes near minimum wage to do a lousy, manual job-- for mistaking his abandoned shopping cart as, oh....I don't know....abandoned?

My point being, the idea that Minnesota Nice is not literal is nothing new to us. Seriously, I grew up around some seriously passive-aggressive people, and that is partly cultural. You are not telling us anything new, like some prophetic voice of reason in a wilderness. We've known that there is a somewhat valid criticism of Minnesota Nice since we invented the term. Sorry to dig into your sense of self-importance, but....what was your point again?