Midwesterners are hard-working, friendly and polite.
Those were the recurring adjectives that came up when we asked Kansas Citians for their take on the heartland.
When we took to social media and asked, “What does it mean to be a Midwesterner in five words or less?” you also shot back these common themes:
• Underappreciated
• Family-oriented and pragmatic
• We feel we know what’s really important (priorities)
• Compassionate
• Considerate
• Grounded
• Unpretentious
• Integrity
But we also heard from a lot of detractors who characterized Midwesterners as:
• Intolerant
• Narrow-minded
• Clueless
• Isolated
• Poorly located
• Jell-O lovers
(Actually, we weren’t sure if that Jell-O comment belonged in the first or second group of descriptions.)
The question was tied to talk show Central Standard’s Thursday discussion on the Midwest, including an interview with Bill Tammeus, author of Woodstock: A Story of Middle Americans.
The show followed a Wednesday discussion on a Midwest icon, the barn.
PHOTOS: Barns Of Missouri And Kansas Through Your Lens
See highlights from the KCUR Twitter conversation on being Midwesterners below. For the full Twitter stream, follow the #TellKCUR hashtag or see other responses on our Facebook post.
Tell KCUR is part of an initiative to engage the community and shine a light on your experiences and opinions. We’ll ask a new question every week and then share your feedback on the air and online. See our arsenal of questions — and your answers.
