Yes, Midwestern Nice is often hostility papered over. One does just wish Midwesterners could be honest and open about their hostility like people from the East Coast -- if you thought it was bad just passing through, try growing up here! That said, I am bonded deeply to this land where I was born and its people, warts and all.
My husband hitchhiked through the South with his friend as a young man and he felt overwhelming hostility there. He hates the South to this day and we have never considered moving there for that reason. Personally, I am not a traveler and I have only been to Florida twice. Seemed fine to me but I like cold weather, so I'd never want to live there.
Kyoko Mori analyzes this very topic well and deeply in her book Polite Lies, explaining the Japanese distinction between hon-ne (the truth) and tate-mae (the polite lie).
"To me, liars were people who pretended to be nice, whose sweet words and malicious actions didn't match." She says about a young, rebellious phase where she idolized Jane Eyre.
Mori has lived in the upper Midwest for decades at a stretch and she often compares and contrasts Midwestern to Japanese politeness in Polite Lies. Let me know if you want to borrow it and I'll send it to your P.O. Box!!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2020-05-11 10:38 pm (UTC)My husband hitchhiked through the South with his friend as a young man and he felt overwhelming hostility there. He hates the South to this day and we have never considered moving there for that reason. Personally, I am not a traveler and I have only been to Florida twice. Seemed fine to me but I like cold weather, so I'd never want to live there.
Kyoko Mori analyzes this very topic well and deeply in her book Polite Lies, explaining the Japanese distinction between hon-ne (the truth) and tate-mae (the polite lie).
"To me, liars were people who pretended to be nice, whose sweet words and malicious actions didn't match." She says about a young, rebellious phase where she idolized Jane Eyre.
Mori has lived in the upper Midwest for decades at a stretch and she often compares and contrasts Midwestern to Japanese politeness in Polite Lies. Let me know if you want to borrow it and I'll send it to your P.O. Box!!