Open Writing

We all love stereotypes - don’t we? On the one hand, they serve a useful purpose by rapidly conjuring up an image with just a few words; always providing the listener shares the concept. But on the other hand, when stereotypes are applied to people, they can also be pejorative, unkind and even downright cruel when used as a blanket judgment; as in typically Jewish, or typically WASP (White, Anglo Saxon, Protestant).

The population of the USA is as diverse as the hundreds of countries it grew from. Even second or third generation Americans exhibit the national characteristics of their origins, in some cases accentuated rather than diminished by their isolation from the mother country, and this feeds into the stereotypes. Thus, people are “typically Italian,” “typically Swedish” etc., etc. The fact that Italy or Sweden or any other country has its own stereotypes is discounted.

In the USA, such stereotypes are grouped within broader categories, as in “typically mid-western,” “typically east coast,” and so on. A stereotypical east coaster is a political liberal, smart and well educated, pushy, demanding, vocal and cultured. A stereotypical mid-westerner, on the other hand, is politically conservative, Christian, hard working, suspicious of culture, taciturn and unimaginative. The third major category is the Continent’s west coast grouping, represented by people who are politically, morally and religiously liberal, radical, narcissistic and otherworldly.

Aside from these large groupings, there are more finely calibrated clusters of stereotypes such as Texan – politically conservative, church going, independent, fiercely proud of their State and its mores, passionate defenders of everyone’s right to bear arms, and always dreaming of seceding from the Union. Recently, the rest of America was exposed to a new stereotype, the Alaskan, largely through the strange behavior of the Governor of that state, Sarah Palin, who had a brief moment of glory and ridicule when she was selected by John McCain to run as his VP in this past election.

Until her national debut, most of us south of the Arctic Circle had thought of Alaskans as being strong, silent types who were obsessed with the bargaining power of their gigantic storehouse of natural resources, and their unspoiled terrain. People who, for fun, race sled dog teams for 2,500 miles, and hunt Caribou from light aircraft by the light of the midnight sun. Well, Sarah turned out to espouse all of the above, but exposed us to one Alaskan characteristic that was new to most of us.

That is, they speak a form of English that defies interpretation. In this short sample, she is responding, or not, to the question of whether she had ever met a head of state, posed by Charlie Gibson of ABC News.

“I have not and I think if you go back in history and if you ask that question of many vice presidents, they may have the same answer that I just gave you. But, Charlie, again, we've got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time. It is for no more politics as usual and somebody's big, fat resume maybe that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment, where, yes, they've had opportunities to meet heads of state ... these last couple of weeks ... it has been overwhelming to me that confirmation of the message that Americans are getting sick and tired of that self-dealing and kind of that closed door, good old boy network that has been the Washington elite.”

You may counter that this is just one Alaskan politician talking, but believe me, there are plenty more like her; space just does not allow for more quotes. And anyway, it’s my stereotype so there.

What brought all this on, is that the winter population of Florida is comprised of clumps of people displaced from their normal, stereotypical stomping grounds. In general, the west coast of Florida has attracted people mainly from the mid-west. The car registration plates tell the story – Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois. On the east coast, the snowbirds are historically from New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

There has been some cross-fertilization these past few years, as the east coasters have discovered the charm of the Gulf side, and have sought to escape from the congestion of places like Fort Lauderdale and Miami. This has brought the conflicting stereotypes into sharp relief, and the usual response to what is considered regional behavior is “Well, that’s so New York,” or “Typical mid-westerner.”

As some of my readers may know, I am involved with the creation of visual art (The Rocky Road to Art March 25, 2009). Imagine my surprise then, when I recently exhibited some of my sculpture, to have a gentleman from Connecticut tell me that he just doesn’t understand that abstract stuff! A lady from the same state told me that I’d have to explain my art pieces to her!

Well, one definition of abstract art is “Term applied in its strictest sense to forms of 20th-century Western art that reject representation and have no starting or finishing-point in nature.” So I guess I have my work cut out. What these responses have taught me is that there is yet another stereotypicality that crosses geographic and ethnic boundaries. It’s called provincialism.

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