# help! banished to Grand Rapids, Michigan for a week **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 29, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-banished-to-grand-rapids-michigan-for-a-week/178158 "2003-05-29T01:29:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-banished-to-grand-rapids-michigan-for-a-week/178158/41 "2003-05-30T15:18:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by slortar \* > \*\*I’m entitled to diss the Dutch. My great-aunt’s name was Maude Van Antwerp. She has a hall named after her at NMU. The blood hasn’t been diluted all that much. 😃 \*\* Yeah, I make fun of the locals as much as anyone. Heck, I am the epitome of the locals (except for the closed-mindedness of some). I think it is mostly the older generation that clings to it so much, though. I just have to tease you for mocking GR when you live in _Kalamazoo_!😉 **Sue** , I know exactly what you are talking about. I just can’t believe it happened to you in a bar! When people start getting uptight, I find it is best to be as shocking as possible. Gives people something to talk about. **Happy** , I like Beltline Bar better than The Dungeon. But then, The Dungeon is an experience in itself. **Labrat** , the Russ’ outside Holland don’t have the phones. I didn’t know any of them had them anymore! Holland is serious about being Dutch. Don’t forget the other slogan, Wooden Shoe rather be Dutch? I married a non-Dutch so our offspring will be shunned.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-banished-to-grand-rapids-michigan-for-a-week/178158/42 "2003-05-30T16:41:21Z")
I’m kind of surprised at the Dutch-bashing, too. I grew up in a predominately Dutch area myself (Manhattan, Montana–many Dutch people live in the nearby villages of Amsterdam (of course) and Churchill). It did give me a somewhat silly preoccupation with my lack of height as a kid (It felt like I grew a foot taller when I moved to Minnesota–I was always a short kid among all those Dutch kids, and suddenly I was at least average!) Then again, I think most of the Christian Reformed kids went to a private school in Churchill–pretty easy to avoid them. And, Montana is fairly religiously diverse, too–the Christian Reformed is balanced out by the Church Universal and Triumphant, etc., etc. :). We were going to go to Holland, but we never made it…that whole emergency room incident I alluded to cut into our extra time. (And I didn’t mean to allude that the care was bad there in my post above. It’s just that it was very crowded with people in there for non-emergencies…earaches and stuff like that. I realize that is more of a symptom of America’s health care system rather than Grand Rapids itself, so I apologize for letting it color my view of the place.) ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-banished-to-grand-rapids-michigan-for-a-week/178158/43 "2003-05-30T16:44:29Z")
If it ain’t Dutch, it ain’t much. (Common bumper sticker in GR.) ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-banished-to-grand-rapids-michigan-for-a-week/178158/44 "2003-05-30T17:02:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Velma \* > \*\*I just have to tease you for mocking GR when you live in _Kalamazoo_!😉 This is true. You can’t throw a rock in K’zoo without hitting a church or a car with a Jesus fish on it. And there’s even less to do here than in GR. (We do have a rather kick-ass airplane museum, though). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-banished-to-grand-rapids-michigan-for-a-week/178158.md?page=2)