West vs. Midwest

This past weekend a middle-aged woman from the Bay Area asked where I was from. I told her, “I'm from Michigan.” Her response: “Oh I’m sorry.” Curiously, another gay man from Michigan was present at this gathering. His sentiments echoed hers – he was glad to be out. People view non-coastal states as provincial, backward, and ultimately boring.

I live with a constant tension. Why did I leave Michigan when I claim to love it so much and constantly defend it? What Californians think of Michigan isn’t entirely untrue. There is a larger and more visible socially conservative population. This is a fact. The State of Michigan is very effectively gerrymandered in favor of the GOP. The topography is relatively flat. There is a lot of agriculture. There is only one somewhat major city.

Until actually moving to another part of the county, I also thought that Michigan was devoid of culture. California is a beautiful state and I love it here. I love the diversity, the ostensibly progressive politics, the beautiful topography, and perhaps most of all the Pacific. Would I move back to Michigan? Despite how much I will “go to bat” for the state, I don’t see myself moving back at this time but the possibility is becoming increasingly more likely.

I have gotten too used to having easy access to cities known worldwide. I have gotten too used to the Sierras being only a couple of hours away. I have gotten too used to the thought of living in San Francisco near the sea. Maybe there is a reason that there are no songs about Detroit akin to Tony Bennett’s “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.”

All things being said, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Truths and historical facts about Michigan that I have always known, but never really acknowledged, have become center-stage in my mind and the topic of my speech when people ask about my home.

Here is what you won’t hear about Michigan from California elites: Techno music was first popularized in America in my hometown; the Detroit area is home to a many thriving communities of color; Hamtramck (originally a Polish enclave) is the United State’s first and only Muslim majority city; Motown was invented here; Michigan borders the largest lake in the country; one of the largest labor unions in the country was founded there; Michigan became the first English-Speaking government in the world to abolish the death penalty.

All to say, I have given up on perpetuating negativity about an economically important and diverse region of the country for the sake of class-passing.