Minnie Me: August 2005

The following is an article that was posted in the Sunday edition of the Courier Press. Below the column are the letters a co-worker and I wrote to the editor. Small minds....

Ethnicity and apathy

Both can be found in city where most just choose 'sides'

By JEANNE FOLEY, Columnist
August 21, 2005

Evansville is a wonderful city with much to offer. But strangely, for a city built by immigrants, Evansville is the most ethnically unaware place I've ever seen. For those who have been in Evansville for more than one generation, what seems to matter isn't where they came from, but where they live. The importance Evansville natives place on what side of town they're from - and consequently, what high school they went to - is ludicrous. Several years ago, one of the high schools hired a local man as a head coach and teacher. He surely received a college degree somewhere, but a newspaper article on the hire included only which high school he had attended. The reporter was probably from Evansville.

I can think of only one positive aspect of this "side pride": The West Side Nut Club Fall Festival. The Nut Club has turned its loyalty into what people say is the second-biggest street festival in the country, which also raises an astonishing amount of money for local organizations.

Going from there, though, the perpetuated stereotypes are another matter. I won't repeat them here, but if the side of town we live on really does determine our personal value, then racial and social segregation is alive and well in Evansville. If anything will keep a medium-sized city from ever becoming a large one, it's a small-town mind-set. Resisting change and an unwillingness to look at the world with a broad perspective make me think of Jeff Foxworthy's tag line, "You might be a redneck if ... ." I'm speaking for the many people who have transferred into the area. How can we encourage people to relocate and settle in Evansville? Honestly, that's probably not going to drive off anyone who comes in on a job transfer, but what it will tend to do is further that whole weird social segregation tendency. I've seen it in a very interesting form up close. Last year, I started a social heritage group called the Tri-State Celtic Society. We're people who are extremely aware of our mostly Irish ancestry and enjoy getting together regularly to celebrate it. Almost without exception, our 35-plus members are transplants into the area.

It's not just an Irish thing. The Italian-American Social Club shares this demographic quirk. My husband and I accepted an invitation to its July meeting, which was attended almost exclusively by transplants, mostly from the East Coast. There was great food and interesting conversation, with no mention of which side of town anyone lives on.

Surprisingly, the common denominator isn't necessarily that we've come from some big urban area. It's much more the idea of tradition and pride, a sharing of experiences, even those of our ancestors. All of those hundreds who attended the Lincoln-Clark-Douglas school reunion last weekend have the right idea. How oddly homogeneous Evansville's atmosphere feels! Successful, growing cities celebrate diversity. Dynamic cities have ethnic festivals just for the fun of it. Evansville has more than a German heritage. There's something to be said for understanding where your family came from in order to understand who you are. And for the most part, people who have grown up in Evansville don't seem to give a rip about their ethnic origins.

Columnist seen as snobbish

To the editor:

I read Jeanne Foley's Sunday column with interest because my wife and I are transplants from larger cities.My only reaction upon finishing the column is that Foley is an insufferable snob.

Basically she stated that people in Evansville are provincial rednecks because we don't view others with the same mind-set used by those more enlightened folks living on the East Coast. Perhaps Foley would benefit from a course in cultural anthropology.She would learn that yes, people from different places think slightly differently. She might also learn that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Larry Eno
Evansville

What a Jerk!

To the Editor:

I read Jeanne Foley's column "Ethnicity and apathy". I am still reeling from the audacity of this "transplant". I have lived in this area for 16 years. I realize that living on a particular side of town does not make you a better person. I also realize I have the right to be proud of the side of town where I live. I obviously felt it was the best. It makes for some good natured ribbing when out with friends from other parts of town. It certainly does not decide who my friends are as JF suggested.

To suggest that we are rednecks just because we chose to live in a medium-sized city is ridiculous. Had I wanted to live in a booming town such as Chicago, I would already be there. I wouldn't be trying to change the town in which I live. I am certainly proud of my heritage. I celebrate my life and the lives of my friends and family every day. I need no club or invitation to do either. It's a shame that this lady feels the need to join a club of mostly transplants to enjoy good food and interesting conversation. I have enjoyed both with my friends for many years. Perhaps, if that snotty attitude was packed away for a bit, she could find some friends and learn to enjoy Evansville for what it is, not criticize it for what it is not. If the East Coast is more to her liking, perhaps she should consider another move.

Vicki Branson