Regional Stereotypes: Uncomfortably Accurate

When I was growing up, I remember hearing all the stereotypes imaginable about different places in the United States.  I was taught them mostly out of a need to communicate how much a given individual felt disdain for other individuals.  "That's a bible belt-er, you can tell because he's both fat and angry" and "That guy sounds pretty pretentious.  How much do you want to bet he's from New York?"

By the time I was a teenager, I was pretty convinced I had the rest of the country figured out: Texas was full of rednecks, the east coast were all a bunch of angry liberals with high minded ideals and a fascination with pretentious art, the west coast was full of hippies and stoners, and the midwest was full of corn, alcoholics, and people who weren't Christian enough to stay down south but still wanted to be religious. 

I'd like to mention that this is also how most presidential campaigns seem to view the US.
And was probably drawn by someone from California.

You'll notice, of course, that Hawaii and Alaska aren't even pictured in the above picture. Now, if they were, they'd probably be labeled 'Asians and surfing' and 'Eskimos and Discovery Channel TV series' respectively. Maybe just 'Where people honeymoon' and 'Crab Fishermen'. 

So, when I grew up I liked to apply these ideas to how I saw people living.  People in the midwest, northeast, and Alaska understood winter. People in the south probably didn't go outside for their entire summer out of fear of dehydration.  People in the west were either too cowboy to care or too high to notice (I imagined that as you went from the center of the US westward you basically were traveling along a gradient of pot-smoking culminating in California).  When I headed off to college I got to know a lot of people from very different parts of the country and even globe, and I started to try to apply my prejudices accordingly. 

After having now spent at least some time in most areas of the country, it turns out that while I was not wholly accurate, I certainly was not far from the truth. 

It turns out that the south really doesn't go outside during much of summer.  My family in Texas describes a Texan summer as roughly as enjoyable as a steam bath on Mercury (That's hot, by the way). Growing up in Illinois taught me that yes, Chicago politics are pretty crooked.  When I worked in Wisconsin, people really were oddly possessive and proud of their cheese.  Working in California legitimately involved watching people giggle and roll in the sand while seals and sea lions frolicked merrily in the water.  Here in Alaska, it's -25 by the end of October and getting frostbite isn't so much a possibility as it is a likely event.  All of my assumptions were pretty much true.

The problem is, I was taught that stereotypes are bad.  Sure, I was taught that in the context of 'Don't be racist' and 'don't be sexist', but it seemed to be a pretty good lesson in the rest of my life too.  I was told over and over that if I was stereotyping I was being unfair. Even today I try to pretend that when I visit Texas that I'm not surrounded by dangerously conservative Christian zealots.  I try to pretend that my friends from Minnesota aren't so nice they're practically doormats (SIDE NOTE: It must be amazing to live in a state where the main stereotype is they're tough as nails and friendlier than a care bear).  

However as the election season progressed and I saw how my friends lined up politically, I was un-surprised. Frankly, I was bored by it.  Even my previously middle-of-the-ground family in Texas started showing signs of oddly aggressive conservatism.  Suddenly my regional stereotypes map started to shift towards a more politically oriented bias, instead of merely looking at weather and demeanor.

This one included Alaska and Hawaii because I now have lived in Alaska and understand it much better.

I hope that this realization doesn't offend too badly.  In truth, I know that these are just stereotypes, and individuals vary wildly within even closely similar political groups.  I know that Illinois is more than a single city, and I know that Tennessee is more than alcohol and poverty.  But I also know that, as election season has trudged on, each state has done an admirable job of being exactly what you expect it to be if you're using a stereotype. 

In the end of 2012, and as we head into 2013, I'm going to be very interested in seeing how the recent political strife affects our country.  I am interested in understanding, for example, why Arizona suddenly seems more racist than I remember when growing up (When I was a kid, my grandfather who lived in Arizona was pretty darned tolerant....so was he the exception to the rule, or did Arizona change?).

In 2013 we're going to have a lot on our plates. Climate change is going to get bigger in our minds because, well, it's becoming more apparent.  The strife generated by this election cycle is going to stir up change.  And if we're lucky, it might even break some of the stereotypes.  After all, in 2008 Indiana voted blue.  Maybe by 2016 their stereotype won't be 'corn and poverty'.  Maybe, JUST MAYBE, it could be 'Corn, Poverty, and Education' or something nice like that. 

I don't know about you, but when I look at the stereotype map and don't see places known for 'education' or 'friendliness' or 'accepting other people', I look at a map I'd like to see change.  

Except for Minnesota.  They're pretty good already. 

Thanks for reading.  Check out some other fun thoughts on BB+B like "What The Hell Happened To Republicans" and "Kid Rules to Improve the World"

Thanks for reading!
Brian, the Author Guy