Hoosier day

Today is the Indianapolis 500, the one day when the Hoosier state is front and center. To anyone who isn't familiar with the state of Indiana (which is basically anyone outside of the state), let me give you a synopsis of the important points, with a focus on the South.

First, Indiana is a political anomaly amongst the Great Lakes States. It is the only red state among the staunchly blue states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Ohio may be leaning Republican of late, but atleast there is a history of blue leadership there particularly in Cleveland. Indianapolis is the largest city in the state and has largely avoided the Rust Belt decay Detroit and Cleveland have had to deal with. Indy, in my opinion, is not a "real city" because it's so diffusely populated. It occupies more square miles than Chicago with a much smaller population. Hence, Indianapolis feels more like an overgrown town than like a city of the San Francisco or Boston ilk.

Ethnically, there is a heavy German influence and most people are Protestant. Southwestern Indiana is an exception, as many people are Catholic and French heritage is more common (as Vincennes was a French outpost in New France).

Most of the state is split between agriculture and industry. The northwestern part of the state is considered part of Chicagoland and is culturally closer to Chicago than Indiana. Remnants of heavy industry remain in towns like Gary and the decline of industry has led to a rise in crime. The central part of the state is mostly flat and, of course, full of farmland. Most of the area is dominated by the Indianapolis metropolitan area.

The rest of the state is largely agricultural particularly the South where my parents live presently. Southern Indiana is quite conservative and a bit backwards, even by Hoosier standards. The first thing that struck me when we moved there is the "Southern-ness" of the region. People have accents, which are not as thick as an antebellum Southern accent, but are still quite noticeable. In fact, I distinctly remember being taken aback by the twang of people who live there because I had never visited the South before, and didn't think Southern Indiana was that south.

Speaking of speech peculiarities, there are certain idiosyncrasies one has to prime themselves to when visiting. First, any word that starts with a w can be subject to having an r inserted in the middle of it. For example, washing becomes warshing. Northwestern becomes Northwarstern. In addition, when requesting something, people in Southern Indiana have a tendency to change a verb into a present participle for some odd reason. For example, "Do you want something?" becomes "Are you wanting something?". Like a douche, I always correct people when they say that, but it's an oddity so ingrained that the effort is probably futile.

People are, on the whole, quite pleasant. Unfortunately, when they encounter a swarthy guy like me, I inevitably get the ignorant comments you wouldn't get in a more cosmopolitan area ("You speak English real good!").

I almost sound like a cultural anthropologist, but as a Clevelander with roots in England, Indiana really feels like a foreign country. There is real potential in this state though, as there is a skilled labor force, a strong state-supported university system, and that oft-mentioned Hoosier hospitality. It's up to the people in Indiana to take that next step, and be unafraid of change.