Why does Norway hate us? Wah!
This NY Times article on the closing of the Norwegian consulate in Minnesota is ridiculous. Actually, the article’s not ridiculous. Okay, the title of the article — “For Children of Norway, a Rift With the Mother Country” — is ridiculous. Because people are ridiculous.
It is hardly a question of their needing a nearby office to get passport updates or the like. The families of most, after all, have lived in America for generations, and many confess that they have never actually set foot inside the consulate. Rather, this is a matter of respect, of recognition.
Respect and recognition of what? That a bunch of folks wanted to get the hell out of Norway, but stopped in the first place that looked like home?
“We treasure the heritage more here than they do in Norway itself,” said Audrey Amundson of Starbuck, Minn., which sealed its place in history in 1983 by cooking what residents insist was the world’s biggest lefse…
As my girlfriend said, if all you’re taking away from Norwegian culture is food and rosemaling and being raised Lutheran, that’s not exactly steeping yourself in it.
Maybe Norway sees the Midwest no longer as a current diplomatic interest but rather as some cultural collection place for the past…
Well, it’s not like there’s a great economic reason. They’re leaving the consulate in Houston open, which makes perfect sense on account of Norway’s hefty oil biz.
Still, some Norwegian-Americans in Minneapolis, where the Norwegian Consulate is the only remaining career consulate aside from those of Canada and Mexico, are grumpy. Quietly, stoically grumpy — that is their understated Norwegian way, they say — but grumpy nonetheless.
I am so so sick of hearing Minnesotans use this as an excuse for being antisocial.
Residents have sent letters to members of Norway’s Parliament. They have sought help from Norwegian-American leaders like former Vice President Walter F. Mondale and Roger Moe, a former Minnesota state legislator. A delegation arranged a trip to Norway to complain.
*blink*blink*
“It’s silly to think that this place is somehow going to break the budget for Norway,” said Anne Kanten, a resident of Milan, Minn., which calls itself Norwegian Capital U.S.A. “What’s more Norwegian than Minnesota, anyway?”
Um, Norway?
My girlfriend, who is 75% Norwegian and whose family I spent Sunday afternoon making lefse with, told me, “You just remember which side your lefse’s buttered on.” Yes, dear.
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Oh Erica Erica! Are the short winter days getting to you?
The Norwegians came to America because they were staving and wished for a better life - not because they hated Norway. Life was very tough in Northern Europe at that time. So many finally ended up in the upper Midwest because of recommendations and word-of-mouth among relatives and friends (and perhaps a bit of Railroad advertising …). Sort of like the Hmong in Minnesota today.
Yeah, there is the stereotype of the stoic Norwegian as highlighted in this article and a sadness/frustration among some that their cultural identify is steadily being sapped by assimilation. Maybe, like certain other ethic groups have, they need their own national holiday such as St. Olaf Day or Vikings Discovered America First Day.
Rejoice that there are a variety of cultures in this town, no matter how bizarre they might seem to you, rather that a homogenized population of complaining extroverts.
The Norwegians came to America because they were staving and wished for a better life
Okay, I was wrong. Fair enough.
Rejoice that there are a variety of cultures in this town, no matter how bizarre they might seem to you
Considering there actually isn’t that much variety, I’ll take it.
I don’t think Norwegian culture is bizarre. I think people’s response to the closing of the consulate is bizarre. Feels like folks are overestimating their importance. Ironic considering the stereotypical Norwegian keeps their head down.
As an expat, I can tell you from personal experience that living in a city/state without a well staffed consulate is a big pain in the butt.
Luckily for me, the Canadian consulate is pretty decent, and I can actually visit home often enough that I can do official business there. However, I know people who drove to Chicago to vote in the last French election - not everyone is going to want to have to make a trek like that.
When someone is looking at moving to a new country, and they don’t wish to completely sever ties to their home, the lack of consulates in the twin cities area will be a factor that works to sway them towards other big cities.
Do we really want to lose more diversity to Chicago? Or do we just not want those immigrant types around here?