Betty Firth

What most people don’t get about Minnesota – that is, most people from other places – is that winter is not the horrible thing they think it is. They ask, “How can anyone stand to be in a place that has winter six months of the year with tons of snow and frigid temperatures?” My sister-in-law from Louisiana was stunned to learn that we have birds that survive here in the winter. I explain that, admittedly, 30 below is very cold, but you acclimate, as do the birds. She asked me, “Does it really get to 30 degrees below zero not counting the wind chill factor or is that an exaggeration?” I realized if they haven’t experienced it, they can’t imagine it, while I, after 37 years of Januarys, take it for granted.
Thanks to Garrison Keillor’s monologues, some people do get that Minnesotans are proud of our difficult weather or at least of the reputation of difficult weather. You don’t hear people talking about the mild winters when the snow cover was reasonable and only required heart-attack-inducing shoveling two or three times during the winter. You don’t hear them bragging about the year the dogsled race had to be canceled for lack of snow.
Outsiders probably have also never heard that the majority of days during the winter are quite survivable, even delightfully refreshing and beautiful, and that there are long periods between required snow shoveling, that the thermometer gets up to 20 and makes us feel like we’re having a day at the beach.
No, you don’t hear about these milder aspects of our winters because they are not what make us proud. They are not what keep us strong and resilient. I mean, after all, when people talk about Chicago, do they talk about crystal-clear, beautiful days with the sunshine sparkling on Lake Michigan while people walk their dogs in Lincoln Park, greeting each other cheerfully? Do you hear about world-class music in Grant Park or artwork that will take your breath away? No, you hear about the Windy City with the blustery gusts off the lake that blow people off their feet unless they’re hanging onto the parking meters. You hear about the gangsters who will mow you down if they don’t like the way you look or the way you vote. Never mind that the gangsters of that ilk haven’t been around since the 1930s.
Why not? Why don’t we glorify the good news about our habitats, the mild days, the good guys? Because they’re just too tame. We want to hear about bizarre weather and outrageous behavior so we can feel better about our own oddities and shortcomings: “I yelled at my neighbor, but I never shot anyone!” “I may shower with my shoes on but I’ve never done THAT, for heavens’ sake.”
We also want to be acknowledged for how tough we are, how resilient to live where we do, how brilliant to have chosen it, whether that’s Minnesota or the Las Vegas desert or the canyons of New York City.
There’s that saying among us winter-toughened, Minnesotan survivalists that our weather builds character and keeps the riff-raff out. Well, I think there’s truth in that, although I’m sure there are other factors in the character-building, such as a hardy stock of people who immigrated from Finland, Slovenia, Croatia, Norway, Sweden, England, Ireland, Germany, and a few dozen more countries who had the courage to leave home and family with the strength and determination to create new lives here. They came motivated by the dream of living in a country promising opportunity and freedom, and they were willing to work hard to be part of it.
My father’s family settled in the Boston area, and his older sister once told me, “We were the cowardly ones; we landed and just stayed put.
The brave, adventurous ones kept going west and settled the rest of the country.” Garrison recounted that the early German and Norwegian settlers fell in love with Minnesota because it looked like home, so while others moved on, they stayed, forgetting to remember how difficult farming was in fields full of rocks and trees, not to mention the long, severe winters. They had strong backs and intestinal fortitude; they were also stubborn, so they stayed. All of us here, unless we are Native Americans, call this “home” because our ancestors came from somewhere else and worked hard to be successful in a new land, just as immigrants do today. That makes it difficult for me to understand the denigration of immigrants when their families are just like ours, and their hard work and devotion to America often outstrips that of many of us who take it for granted.
I have personally known immigrants from Iran, Mexico, Venezuela, Columbia, Iraq, Peru, and India, all people of good character who sacrificed to start a life here. Like most immigrants, they enrich our country with their contributions of hard work, culture, creativity, and, oh yes, taxes.
The Minnesota character has been shining through in our response to the invasion of our state by federal agents. When untrained and unskilled ICE hirelings, recruited with huge hiring bonuses and armed to the teeth, are let loose on the streets, Minnesotans are standing up for their neighbors and standing up to the bullies. It seems like we haven’t been able to keep the riff-raff out, even with -30 temperatures, but we’re showing ICE, the Trump regime, and the country that we won’t stand for injustice. We’re willing to work for the rule of law, and we will stubbornly defend the rights and freedoms promised and protected by our Constitution. Garrison would say we know we shouldn’t be prideful, but I think we can make an exception just this once. I know I do.
Organizing is everywhere. Watch for opportunities to help out. Check mobilize.us for events and trainings in our area.