Most Annoying Stereotype/Misconception of Iowa

[Cyclone90]

I spent 4 years in St. Louis out of school. I thought I'd pull somebody's leg at work, don't remember who, and tell them a story about life in Des Moines since he didn't know much about Iowa. I proceeded to tell them how ruff it was. There was a green tractor part of town and a red tractor part of town. If you wore the wrong colors on the wrong side of town you were asking for trouble.

The guy stared at me for about ten seconds before responding, "Really?" :rolleyes5cz:

 

[Cyclone62]

I spent 4 years in St. Louis out of school. I thought I'd pull somebody's leg at work, don't remember who, and tell them a story about life in Des Moines since he didn't know much about Iowa. I proceeded to tell them how ruff it was. There was a green tractor part of town and a red tractor part of town. If you wore the wrong colors on the wrong side of town you were asking for trouble.

The guy stared at me for about ten seconds before responding, "Really?" :rolleyes5cz:

First of all, Tractors are green, trucks are red. Those things you speak of as red "tractors" are imposters!

Secondly, I'm not sure I could ever take anything that guy who believed you said seriously again.

 

[ICCYFAN]

First of all, Tractors are green, trucks are red. Those things you speak of as red "tractors" are imposters!

Now we have to wonder if you are a native Iowan? :biggrin9gp:

John Deere and Oliver tractors are/were green. International and Massey-Ferguson tractors are/were red. Fords were royal blue, Minneapolis-Moline tractors were yellow and my own extended family were proud supporters of Allis-Chalmers products (orange).

My father was the only child in his family who did not farm as a vocation, and it irritates me that "eastern people" think farmers are hicks. Some of the smartest people I know are farmers; they must understand business, markets, chemistry, agronomy, etc.; on top of it most of them would put MacGyver to shame!

 

[SlyCy]

Personally I don't really care about what people think. The stereotypes are exactly what I love about Iowa and why I want to raise my kids here.

Small towns, farming community (which gave use the hard work ethic), and "simple life".

 

[mharder]

I spent some time at Massachusetts. When I told them I was from Iowa some of them said:

"That's where they grow potatoes, right?"

UGHHH!!:baffled5wh:

It's either that or "you went to "Ohio State". No MF. I went to Iowa Sate, where I spent the best year of my life. I would move back, but the wife would veto me.

 

[cyclonenum1]

Interesting thread. I grew up in Iowa and have lived in LA, TX, MD, and FL since leaving ISU. I have always been proud of my "heritage".

My take on this is a little different. I think people that have lived in virtually one place for their entire lives have very myopic views...yes that would apply both to someone that has only lived in Iowa or has only lived in New York City.

Frankly, experiencing different regions and different peoples gives you much more perspective than only having one experience to rely on...whether you are from Iowa or NYC.

 

[ColoradoClone]

The only thing that really annoys me is when people think it's The Hawkeye State.

 

[jperickson23]

It's either that or "you went to "Ohio State". No MF. I went to Iowa Sate, where I spent the best year of my life. I would move back, but the wife would veto me.

I lived in North Carolina for 12 years and in 1997 on ISU-Iowa game day I called a very popular sports bar in Charlotte to see if they would have the game on. They checked and said they would. I traveled the 30 minutes all fired up for the game only to find that they were playing the OHIO STATE game instead. My experiences were mostly like this. Most people had no clue where Iowa even was.

 

[jbhtexas]

Now we have to wonder if you are a native Iowan? :biggrin9gp:

John Deere and Oliver tractors are/were green. International and Massey-Ferguson tractors are/were red. Fords were royal blue, Minneapolis-Moline tractors were yellow and my own extended family were proud supporters of Allis-Chalmers products (orange).

White (brand) tractors are silver. Before the merger, Case tractors were orange, then white/orange. Steiger 4WD's were lime green. Versatile 4WD's were red. There are also a whole host of imports that are of various colors.

However, Cyclone62 is essentially right...the only tractors that matter are the ones that are dark shiny green, trimmed in yellow, and have a logo that resembles a deer. All the others are just tolerated for the sake of capitalism...:biggrin9gp: Yes, I am a tractor brand bigot...

 

[cyclonekj]

Now we have to wonder if you are a native Iowan? :biggrin9gp:

John Deere and Oliver tractors are/were green. International and Massey-Ferguson tractors are/were red. Fords were royal blue, Minneapolis-Moline tractors were yellow and my own extended family were proud supporters of Allis-Chalmers products (orange).

My father was the only child in his family who did not farm as a vocation, and it irritates me that "eastern people" think farmers are hicks. Some of the smartest people I know are farmers; they must understand business, markets, chemistry, agronomy, etc.; on top of it most of them would put mechanical engineers to shame!

I was with you until you lobbed this grenade in through my livingroom window. Why did you have to go there? Mechanical engineers as a people have been oppressed for thousands of years. End the hate and bigotry. It begins with you. :wink0st:

 

[jbhtexas]

I was with you until you lobbed this grenade in through my livingroom window. Why did you have to go there? Mechanical engineers as a people have been oppressed for thousands of years. End the hate and bigotry. It begins with you. :wink0st:

Well, don't get too upset over his comment. You have to remember that he came from an Allis-Chalmers family...obviously there were issues there.
:wink0st:

We ME's should all go on strike for a couple of months. Let the over-paid MBA's deal with it...

 

[tigershoops31]

The only thing that really annoys me is when people think it's The Hawkeye State.

One of my 4th grade students (one of 3 that I haven't yet converted to Cyclone fans at this point in the year) was looking at a map puzzle I had and was like "Hey Mr. H, look...this map proves that Iowa is the Hawkeye state!"

He still doesn't know whether I was kidding or not when I told him that the map was outdated like our globe with the USSR on it and that Iowa was now widely referred to as the Cyclone state. :yes4lo:

 

[HandSanitizer]

I can't stand how people think we are out of the loop.
I mean really...I have it sooo bad in Iowa.

-I have a Verizon XV6700 smart phone with highspeed internet to the phone with GPS enabled
-I have 7.5 Mb Download speed to my home network which is also wireless.
-Digital Cable with all movie channels on Demand with DVR also.
-A great school system.
-I actually know about other states instead of just my own.
We will never lose the bad rep, but we could be Nebraska, S and N Dakota, Montana etc... Some of those States don't even have D1 teams.

Maybe people are looking for more stories like this in Iowa?

Police Investigate Six Weekend Shootings - News Story - KCCI Des Moines

 

[garn91]

Having lived in other places, I can offer what I have been told personally:

1) No cities=no culture

Guess then they haven't been to a Broadway caliber show at Des Moines' Civic Center.

 

[ICCYFAN]

Well, don't get too upset over his comment. You have to remember that he came from an Allis-Chalmers family...obviously there were issues there.
:wink0st:

LOL that we're in a "Iowa Stereotypes" thread arguing the merits of tractor manufacturers! :rofl8yi: I did edit my initial comment so as to not insult the resident ME's on the site!

My retired father gives us nothing in the way of gift ideas. I grabbed him an Ertl Precision A-C WD45 on a lark and he loved it, giving me a list of all the tractors they had on the farm when he was a kid. At the bottom of his list was a JD Model B, but he didn't want one of those because they only used it to run the hay maw (loft) elevator!

So you've insulted my grandfather's tractor preference; let's take this argument up a notch! My grandfather was loyal to Funk's G Hybrids...

 

[alaskaguy]

Ihave lived in a large number of states (Iowa, Oregon, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Nevada, and Alaska). There are stereotypes connected with all of these states. None of the stereotypes really bothered me. What is more bothersome is that many people (in all of these states) think that unless you were born in the state that you are an outsider and should therefore be treated differently.

 

[CloneFan65]

The only stereotype that really bothers me is when people think Iowans (or all midwesterners for that matter) are less intelligent or educated than people on the west coast or east coast. I think of my Uncle who farms. He didn't go to college and lives in rural Iowa, but he's one of the most knowledgeable and informed people I know. He reads constantly and knows his US history as well as most History majors.

Growing up in Ames I always thought Iowa was boring, but now raising my kids in a big city I wish I could live in a community as "boring" as Ames and with an educational system as good as Iowa's.

 

[HandSanitizer]

That reminds me....I have a few relatives that live in "major cities" and they always give me crap about there is nothing to do in Iowa. So then I asked one of them what is there to do in Indianapolis? They said Pacer games, Colts games, Events downtown etc...Then I asked them how many times they have went and they said they have never been to any sporting events and a few times downtown. It takes to long to get there and cost too much money they said. I guess my point it that a lot of people in those cities don't even go to those events so why brag about it? I can sit in Bondurant Iowa and watch the colts on TV just as easy.
Just a thought.

 

[Erik4Cy]

My only real grudge against the state I grew up in: No professional sports team.

But in the long run it might be better, bcuz I am more of a college sports fan and THEREFORE makes my love of the Cyclones even larger. I love the Dallas Cowboys, but they will always be 2nd fiddle to the 'Clones!

I also could do without this being called the "Hawkeye State"...I'd even SETTLE for the Cy-Hawk State.

 

[alaskaguy]

Having lived in Iowa for 21 years, the biggest drawback is that the geography. Quite simply I like to have mountains, national parks, and a seacost nearby.