In Response….

I tried to hold back but then drank too much wine. Or too many PBRs and shots of Jameson…..

  As a Minneapolis resident who recently moved back to the state, I just cannot help but be annoyed with the recent articles and depictions of our city. You can read them here and here.

  Come on, it is time to open your eyes and get over the played out stereotypes. Surprise, its October and 77 degrees out..

I’m not sure what is worse… the dating article or the quotes it is based on…

Dear Big Shot Journalists at Reuters and The New York Times,

Yes we have Prince and burgers stuffed with cheese, but move on. Did you also know or care to research how many James Beard Award Nominees and Winners we have? If you are sticking with the stuffed beef, you’re pathetically missing out. And worse, if you are recommending visitors stop by a national chain sandwich shop, you obviously failed Journalism 101.

Was the point just to perpetuate stereotypes? If so, kudos!

I accept that both articles must be based on a healthy dose of Satire, (at least praying they are) (see here comes in my Minnesota nice)…. when you interview a 31 year old “Graffiti realism” artist who is dating four women, you know you are getting the scoop on dating and mating rituals in Minneapolis. He must speak the truth yo!

What are your specs on interviewees?

How do you big shot writers pick the local locations? You found a flannel shirt and followed it? Where there’s one, there must be two?  You picked a bar i.e. an area where most go to visit on “dive bar crawls”, (no offense bar owners); (See Minnesota Nice) Or bars a majority go to “People Watch.” If you are looking for a horrendous pick up line, its obvious you will find it there.

Really, how did you pick your location? Did you google Northeast Minneapolis and decide there weren’t enough hipsters? Or the $15 drinks downtown were blasé? Perhaps South Minneapolis was too developing? Loring Park wasn’t your style? The North Loop too up and coming (besides Club Jager), wait excuse me, that’s where a guy will “get all up on you dancing.” Or was that downtown, now I’m confused, must be the PBR.

Hmmm wonder what St. Paul thinks of all this… left out?

Did you not care to experience the blossoming brewery scene? The craft cocktail lounges or perhaps any local theater options? I mean, if I am girl number four in your life, I’m going to expect more than a shot of Jamo.

As a reader who actually “goes on dates”, you wrote a ridiculously closed minded approach on the Minneapolis dating scene. But then again, drunken 3 am quotes makes great journalism because here I am writing a response….

You won’t find me on Lyndale, as I’m too busy “having a career, having a job, and not really having fun.” I must have been seduced by the multiple Fortune 500 Companies in and around Minneapolis….

Speaking of wardrobe, I’m still looking for that sequined mini skirt in my closet…. omg I don’t think a single bar downtown will let me in without one! Perhaps it is lost in my “densest layers of flannel.”

Wait, I can’t seem to find my flannel either… one of my multiple love interests must have confiscated them, as “Nobody’s Exclusive” in Minneapolis….

And you seriously have to try to spend $15 on a drink. If we want to really stereotype cities, perhaps you should head to Chicago for that one.

And don’t forget, the new Minneapolis stereotype seems to be that everyone sleeps with everyone, but that’s ok, “its Minneapolis”. Who publishes that crap?

But then again, I must be one of those “short-term” “never wanted to get married” types, the entire reason for my move to “the city.” To find myself…..

Big shot writers, come back and do it again. Branch out. Perhaps do a bit more research than skyways and flannel.

I dare you to come in January. Only then will you know if we are all wanting to “stay at home, cuddle, and watch movies and eat food and be with your pets.”

Sincerely,

Olivedoesthecity aka Ms. I’ve never played Buck Hunter……

5 thoughts on “In Response….

  1. I read both of these yesterday too and was highly offended, and I’d NEVER call myself a Minnesotan. 2/3 places to eat called by name were chains. My comment to my friend was, “yeah, I hung out in Uptown, but I got bored and preferred NE.” It’s like they just went to trip advisor and chose the first three hits. Maybe the reporters didn’t even go there? I feel like I could have written both articles with a basic Google search.

    Don’t get me wrong – you know I don’t exactly love Minneapolis, hence the hightailing of it out there, but there are definitely things I miss with every fiber of my being. I miss Pracna, which has amazing history. I miss Brasa. I miss the random Mexican place in South Mpls that made all its own tortillas.

    For the dating – I think it’s no different than anywhere else at this age for someone who didn’t get married to their high school or college sweetheart and that ISN’T A BAD THING! I’m sorry NYT, did Minneapolis shatter your Midwestern stereotype that everyone is married by 22 and therefore had to be made to seem as shallow as possible to make up for the bruising of your psyche???

  2. These articles are ridiculous and so unfair.

    And honestly…my friends here in NYC love playing Buck Hunter in bars. Where we pay $15 for our drinks. So there.

  3. As a former Minneapolis resident, I read those articles and thought “that wasn’t my experience at all”. I don’t even know anyone who has been to the CC Club, and that is definitely not a snapshot of the dating scene there. And considering that Minneapolis is supposed to be one of the top places for young professionals, and I lived there in my early/mid-twenties and was friends with many young professionals, I would say that my dating/social experience was probably more indicative of what you would find in Minneapolis than a group of hipsters who stay in one area of Uptown. I’m not even going to comment on the Reuters article because it p**sed me off so much.

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