What's the deal with Wisconsinites' state-ism?

[Bob]

I've travelled a lot and I've never come across people anywhere in the US as state-ist as Wisconsinites. Americans from different states generally get along, so the general 'foaming at the mouth' hatred some Wisconsin residents have towards "FIBS" is that much more bizarre. Wisconsin is a great place with a lot to offer. But its not Atlantis. As any place, it can learn from others. The anti-Illinoisian sentiment ignorant, offensive, and just plain stupid. Furthermore, it's not exactly in line with the good natured midwestern values Wisconsinites brag about. So my question is, what's the deal?

[James]

Wisconsin residents are quite ignorant and have irrational fears and a tendency to overgeneralize based on what they see along the border towns like North Chicago, which happen to be some of the worst in Illinois.

perfect example: Kenoshans blame Illinoisians for strip mall sprawl spreading throughout Southern Wisconsin, without realizing that it's a natural result of their own zoning laws and development incentives. Blame your own damn politicians.

[Former Kenoshan Insider]

My opinion on what it boils down to is jealousy and admiration. A good analogy would be the immature 5th grade boy who shows a girl he likes her by picking on her. Some people in Wisconsin are afraid to evolve because they fear that they will not fit in with the change. It's like a communal feeling of inadequacy. Those of us who escaped the resentment have found success and met great people in other parts of the world. Now, if everyone else could just grow up...

[janl2]

This is such a stupid thread, do you people have nothing better to do?
Since non of you are Wisconsin residents and I doubt former Kenosha lived there long how do you feel justified to judge something you dont know?
I grew up in Kenosha, loved it..had no desire to lean toward Ilinois,nor any particular animosity toward it either.
But dumb threads like this just promote those bad views and keep them going...maybe youall are actually jealous of Wisconsinites???
As to the comment about "escaping" if this is true then why are you posting such nonsense on here.
I had to leave Kenosha due to work, and I have lived in many places since. And home is still Wisconsin. If you dont understand it, Im sorry, but sounds like your envious to me.

[Smiley]

Bob wrote:

I've travelled a lot and I've never come across people anywhere in the US as state-ist as Wisconsinites. Americans from different states generally get along, so the general 'foaming at the mouth' hatred some Wisconsin residents have towards "FIBS" is that much more bizarre. Wisconsin is a great place with a lot to offer. But its not Atlantis. As any place, it can learn from others. The anti-Illinoisian sentiment ignorant, offensive, and just plain stupid. Furthermore, it's not exactly in line with the good natured midwestern values Wisconsinites brag about. So my question is, what's the deal?

Hi Bob, Good to see another blogger with some common sense. I agree it is not Atlantis and yes Kenosha does have some nice nices. As for the anti-Illinoisan sentiment is sheer ignorance. To put it in a nutshell is is ignorance and fear that makes some of the people they way they are. They are afraid of progress and change. They are afraid of learning. They prefer to be constant (that is the way it has always been) You also have to realize that Kenosha is a blue collar town... no 5* restaurants here. Everything is down to earth.
Most of Kenosha from Greenbay Road (31) to the "I" is new Kenosha there is a definite division among Kenosha residents.
For example...
Did you read the article in the news a few days ago about a woman who tried to register her bi-racial child and marked 2 boxes on the form white and black and they would not accept that answer. That person was told to mark one or the other not both. Matter of fact if a person is bi-racial they usually have more than one race. Talk about being behind the times. All I have to say God Bless America :)

[bubbles]

Former Kenoshan Insider wrote:

My opinion on what it boils down to is jealousy and admiration. A good analogy would be the immature 5th grade boy who shows a girl he likes her by picking on her. Some people in Wisconsin are afraid to evolve because they fear that they will not fit in with the change. It's like a communal feeling of inadequacy. Those of us who escaped the resentment have found success and met great people in other parts of the world. Now, if everyone else could just grow up...

You have a good analogy as to people from WI afraid to evolve that is a 2 way street. People from WI do not fit in with people from Il because most of us have been there done did that and matured accepting changes. In other words some people way of thinking are behind the times in Kenosha. Maybe people from IL intimidate some of the people making them feel inferior. Inferiority breed fear, hate, contempt and sometimes violence. Maybe by putting differences aside on both sides there can be a halfway happy medium between "FIBS" and Kenosha people. Lets lead by example...

[James]

^ Agreed. and I personally think Kenosha is a great city. In fact, the "old" non-Illinoisian part of town is leaps and bounds above the sprawling "new" part. I actually considered moving from Evanston to Kenosha because of its similar qualities, access to metra, and affordable real estate. But after spending some time there, I got a few "although I personally don't mind you, some people here would prefer if you stay on the west side of town" comments. Don't get me wrong. Most people were very friendly. But there was some sense of unwelcomeness.

[transplant]

James wrote:

^ Agreed. and I personally think Kenosha is a great city. In fact, the "old" non-Illinoisian part of town is leaps and bounds above the sprawling "new" part. I actually considered moving from Evanston to Kenosha because of its similar qualities, access to metra, and affordable real estate. But after spending some time there, I got a few "although I personally don't mind you, some people here would prefer if you stay on the west side of town" comments. Don't get me wrong. Most people were very friendly. But there was some sense of unwelcomeness.

Kenosha has gone through quite a change since the late 80's and 90's. Much of the land right off the I and hgwy 50 used to be farmland and has been rezoned residential or commercial to promote growth All the new places seem to be thriving including Woodman's Grocery store.
Thank you for your comment (smile) As I mentioned Kenosha has 2 parts the new and the old. I have learned to blend in (it is not easy) I understand everyone has opinions and I respect everyones way of thinking but when you are not welcome ...that is very mean however... Life goes on and progress and changes will continue.

[Admirals818]

It all starts with all the "FIBs" moving to Southeast Wisconsin. If they moved here and were proud to be Wisconsinites, there would be no problem. The problem is, they move here and they are generally quite vocal about how bad Wisconsin is. Let's use sports as an example. They walk around town wearing their Bears and Cubs apparel and will let Wisconsinites know how they feel about the Packers and Brewers. True Wisconsin residents are proud of their state (for good reason) and feel a little offended and defensive when Illinois people move here and are reluctant to have that same pride for Wisconsin.

[BiteMeTechie]

The above (Admirals818) is true. As a lifelong Kenosha resident, and someone with many, many friends from Illinois (I have more in Il. than anywhere else), I can see why other Kenosha natives might dislike outsiders. A friend of mine from Naperville came into town for the day and did nothing but put down *everything* about my city.

The restraunts weren't good enough; the movie theatre was small; the cops were slobs; the mall was only one floor...if he weren't my friend, there were a couple of instances where I would've popped him for the *constant* ragging on my hometown. I can't imagine that anyone that overheard him compare Kenosha to Naperville in such a way wouldn't have hated his guts after five minutes, and I can't imagine anyone walking away from hearing his statements without having a little bit of anger at all of *his* hometown for his behavior.

If you hear that sort of thing over and over again, I'm certain it'll give you a bad taste in your mouth when it comes to all of Illinois, as I'm sure many people here have.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are two very different Kenoshas. Downtown by the lakefront and everywhere else are very different cultural landscapes. I live near Greenbay Road & I-94, which is rapidly turning into yuppie country with all the condos popping up, and it's not the nicest place in the world. Downtown is much more palatable. People are friendlier, more accepting, less elitest.'Old' Kenosha is a nice place to be; 'new' Kenosha is, admittedly, rather uppity.

[Former Kenoshan Insider]

Our biggest sports hero (Favre) didn't have any allegience to WI how can we expect newcomers to?

[WI_are_the_Best]

Wisconsin is just the best place to live in the world.
Everything in the world owes something to someone or something made in the GREAT STATE OF WISCONSIN!

[Pinky in Wisconsin]

One only needs to read the veiws of the folks in this thread from IL. You can see the opinion they carry around on there backs.
Really....heres a good Wisconsin lesson for you. "If you have nothing nice to say....shut up."
I'm not sure what a "FIB" is, but I'm pretty sure it's not nice. Start a thread like this and then whine about how nobody like you. LOL Time to move out of the third grade people.