Yup…Nope…and Why Midwesterners Don’t Say Much
The writer Ernest Hemingway made a virtue of Midwestern reserve. Reticence became part of the Hemingway “code,” and the strong, silent type came to be associated with honor and heroism. This half-in-jest, whole-in-earnest presentation (with slides) explores the historical roots of Midwestern reserve, along with contemporary illustrations. As one Midwesterner deadpanned on return from the East: “We think we are being polite when we wait for people to finish their sentences; they think we are slow-witted.”