Mitch Berg's observation that North Dakotans are nicer than Minnesotans, if true, might support a general point about "niceness." That is, people are more likely to be helpful to strangers when those strangers are perceived to be like themselves. Since North Dakota has a more homogeneous population that does Minnesota, North Dakotans are more likely to see each other as like themselves and, hence, likely to help each other. Not so incidentally, I suspect Native Americans in North Dakota might have a different impression of how helpful North Dakotans as a group can be than does Mitch.
On the other hand, I've often thought that if I ever needed the help of a stranger, I'd rather be in New York city than any place I know. I've found New Yorkers to be far more willing to help strangers than Minnesotans. It must have been remarked here before but the term "Minnesota Nice" is not a compliment. It's a sarcastic term used to describe our behavior of being superficially nice but not ready to help out. We tend to smile at people in trouble but reluctant to stop and help. And, of course, like any generalization this whole notion is as likely to be wrong in any individual case as right. Charlie Swope Ramsey Hill NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract _______________________________________________ Stpaul mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul
