Well golly gee willikers, folks, looks like I done finally got around to figuring out the ol' Intertubular Web and made m'self a lil' blog!
Or is that too tech-y for the folks in Flyover Country?
Let me put it to ya plain, 'cause we are in a major recession, and folks ain't got too much time interrupting their job searches to read too much of my jabber:
I'm tired of the hate. Specifically, the hate toward Iowa, the Midwest and just about anywheres that ain't New York City and Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles (and they hate D.C. and L.A., too, so I hear).
Now, if you're from Iowa, or lived here for any amount of time, you know how we operate. We're not proud. We're humble. We don't like to promote ourselves too much for fear of being seen as a braggart or too big for our britches. And when people from the coasts put us down in the press, well, we just tell ourselves they don't know as much as they like to let on, pull our hats a little further down, and keep on walkin'.
Well, I don't know about you, but I'm plum tired of it. Tired of defending my state when I travel. Tired of correcting people on the street in bigger cities. Tired of people trying to tell me I live on a farm (never have), that I have an accent (does Johnny Carson have a damn accent?), that I've never known anything but corn, that I only wear comfortable shoes, that I can't know fashion or exotic travel or sushi or good seafood or tall buildings or city life or the ways of the world... you get the picture. Iowans are uncultured, "big-boned," unaware, unfit for political decision-making, farm-living, backwards rural hicks. At best, we're quaint. At worst, we're ... well, everything they can think up.
Are you sick of it yet? Aren't you tired of constantly having to prove you're cultured, despite wearing an Iowa Hawkeyes t-shirt to a New York steak place (like they even HAVE "New York" steaks, psh)? Aren't you sick of the incredulous looks when you mention having listened to Vampire Weekend, despite the fact that you possibly live in a place where horses used to graze? Isn't it time to say enough's enough?
I am. It is. And the time's now.
So call up Mediacom and order some more bandwidth, 'cause you're gonna need it for this blog. I'm a one-woman crew on a mission to dismantle everything you've heard and can no longer stomach about our state.
Maybe it's not even your state. Maybe you, too, identify with being called "uncultured" or a "hick" or a "redneck." Hell, you don't have to live in Iowa to know that, except for a privileged few, most of us get the short shaft when it comes to people misidentifying us, misleading others and generally making it harder for us to hold our heads up high.
That changes today. I'll be documenting media and non-media examples of Iowa Hate that's plain unfair and untrue, and I'll also be bringing to you examples of Iowa Love -- basically what makes me proud to have been born, raised and lived most of my life in this great state. The purpose of this blog is to give us back our dignity, show the truth about this state. And you know there's a lot to be proud of. Some folks just don't want us to know about it.
I may be on a mission, but I'll need some comrades along the way to help out. Send all Iowa Hate and Iowa Love to amzpoet@gmail.com. Heck, I'll even credit you with sending it my way if your little heart desires.
And don't forget the most important thing: Haters gonna hate.
Love 'em back.
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