Reading Response Essay Minnesota is often known as a kindness for all, help thy neighbor kind of state. It even has its own term “Minnesota Nice”. But how far does Minnesota Nice really extend? While reading People Like Us by David Lawrence Grant, I felt defensiveness, curiosity, and gained beneficial knowledge.
People Like Us by David Grant had a specific section that made me feel upset and defensive. Throughout his essay, Grant discusses many ideas about bias and racism in Minnesota. He brings up a point about how the “Minnesota Nice” treatment of helping immigrants properly assimilate only extends so far. He also mentions ideas that even though the state of Minnesota is generally nice and welcoming, there is clear underlying racism. The …show more content…
I had always grown up thinking Minnesota was a neutral, safe, and welcoming state. I had no idea that crack cocaine epidemic and the coined term “Murderapolis” were even a thing (Grant 195). I was even more surprised at the mentioning that most of the victims and instigators were people of color and when a white woman named Anne Dunlap was murder, that was when it seemed people cared (Grant 195). In his essay, Grant says Minnesotans are usually surprised to find out that there was still slavery going on at Fort Snelling until 1850 (202). This surprised me because I thought the North part of The United States of America was not a slave state. I could not believe this had happened in my state. The information provided by Grant made me really contemplate two things: the history of this state and how these ideas aren’t more well …show more content…
In this section, Grant tells when he met a supposedly racist auto-shop owner, Bud, but quickly he realizes that he is not who they say. This situation gave me ideas of how I would react if I was in both situations: the owner/store clerk or the customer. This section of People Like Us, showed me that a great way to fix a tension, whatever it’s caused by is to just get out there and start the conversation. For example, Grant says that after talking to Bud about the part and purchasing it, he felt the need to grab Bud’s attention and catch him off guard, even if just for a moment (211). All these ideas of the racial bias behind Minnesota Nice, racism and anti-immigrant violence intense to read about. Specifically, the historical parts of racism in Minnesota. I think, in conclusion, this was a very thought-provoking essay. The concepts of reducing tension between races, the actual meaning of Minnesota Nice, and more a really beneficial to me. Although some parts of this essay were hard to read as they either seemed accusatory or because I was ashamed of my own state’s past, I gained very valuable useful information for my
People Like Us by David Grant had a specific section that made me feel upset and defensive. Throughout his essay, Grant discusses many ideas about bias and racism in Minnesota. He brings up a point about how the “Minnesota Nice” treatment of helping immigrants properly assimilate only extends so far. He also mentions ideas that even though the state of Minnesota is generally nice and welcoming, there is clear underlying racism. The …show more content…
I had always grown up thinking Minnesota was a neutral, safe, and welcoming state. I had no idea that crack cocaine epidemic and the coined term “Murderapolis” were even a thing (Grant 195). I was even more surprised at the mentioning that most of the victims and instigators were people of color and when a white woman named Anne Dunlap was murder, that was when it seemed people cared (Grant 195). In his essay, Grant says Minnesotans are usually surprised to find out that there was still slavery going on at Fort Snelling until 1850 (202). This surprised me because I thought the North part of The United States of America was not a slave state. I could not believe this had happened in my state. The information provided by Grant made me really contemplate two things: the history of this state and how these ideas aren’t more well …show more content…
In this section, Grant tells when he met a supposedly racist auto-shop owner, Bud, but quickly he realizes that he is not who they say. This situation gave me ideas of how I would react if I was in both situations: the owner/store clerk or the customer. This section of People Like Us, showed me that a great way to fix a tension, whatever it’s caused by is to just get out there and start the conversation. For example, Grant says that after talking to Bud about the part and purchasing it, he felt the need to grab Bud’s attention and catch him off guard, even if just for a moment (211). All these ideas of the racial bias behind Minnesota Nice, racism and anti-immigrant violence intense to read about. Specifically, the historical parts of racism in Minnesota. I think, in conclusion, this was a very thought-provoking essay. The concepts of reducing tension between races, the actual meaning of Minnesota Nice, and more a really beneficial to me. Although some parts of this essay were hard to read as they either seemed accusatory or because I was ashamed of my own state’s past, I gained very valuable useful information for my