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In this new year, will Minnesota face up to its old problem?

I moved to this state to pursue my Ph.D. ‎from the University of Minnesota. Before, I lived in ‎Pennsylvania, Florida and internationally — in Saudi Arabia, ‎Jordan and Yemen. Hence I bring a global perspective to how I ‎see Minnesota.

Minnesotans are like the “fish in the sea” who ‎are so absorbed as “insiders” that they often fail to see ‎Minnesota for what it is. As an outsider, I see different ‎challenges facing Minnesota that could serve as its 2024 New ‎Year’s resolution. ‎

Minnesota suffers from a severe racial issue. I have lived in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Florida and Pennsylvania — and ‎in none of these places did I encounter the level of racism that I ‎encountered in Minnesota. There is just widespread bias, prejudice and discrimination that is embedded in the psyche of ‎Minnesota. That George Floyd was killed in this state is not mere coincidence.

I have come into contact with the law enforcement here in Minnesota and ‎experienced vicarious trauma. Racism is part and parcel of the ‎ideology of Minnesota. Since the murder of Floyd, however, ‎Minnesota came under serious scrutiny nationally and ‎internationally. But Minnesotans must continue and double their ‎efforts to address and eradicate the peculiar American disease of ‎racism. ‎

In addition to the entrenched racism, Minnesota suffers from a ‎double problem: The weather of Minnesota is mercilessly cold ‎and the personality of Minnesotans is colder. There is certainly a ‎correlation between these conditions. After all, Minnesota Nice ‎is a peculiarly local disease, where Minnesotans would ‎engage in double presentation: They might be nice in front of you but remain cruel from behind. As a tropical man, I cannot ‎stand the cold weather of Minnesota, which is brutal. But as an ‎immigrant, I cannot stand the coldness of Minnesotans.

There is nothing Minnesotans can do regarding the cold ‎weather, but there are many things they can do regarding the cold ‎personality. I believe it would behoove Minnesotans to take personal development courses, because it would expose them to new ways of navigating social functions. There is no ‎shortage of coaches, gurus and mentors in America. In fact, the ‎concept of personal development is quintessentially an ‎American concept. Nowhere else in the world do people care ‎about personal development, as Americans do. ‎

The subjective experiences of living in Minnesota are far more important than any objective metrics that purport to portray ‎Minnesota. I have interviewed so many of my colleagues at ‎the University of Minnesota, especially those coming from out of ‎state, and they all agreed that Minnesota is a hard place to assimilate and integrate. This is utterly surprising ‎because there are large Somali and Hmong communities in ‎Minnesota — and yet they remain so fragmented.

Abdulrahman Bindamnan
Abdulrahman Bindamnan
According to ‎history, most of those communities of color and foreign ‎immigrants came to Minnesota when it was economically cheap ‎to live in the state. Minnesota is no longer cheap, yet many of those communities remain there, because once a family ‎establishes itself in a place, it is hard to move out. ‎

I did not find a place, a home, in Minnesota. Thus I could not ‎wait until I finished my degree and leave Minnesota immediately and permanently. For me, it is the people that ‎attract me to the place, not vice versa. In Minnesota, despite my consistent efforts to connect with my peers, I could not find ‎a community — although I have easily found my tribe in Florida, ‎Pennsylvania, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Thus, there is something quite unique about Minnesota that is quite antithetical to my character.  ‎

Yet although I could not meet any of my peers in this state, ‎I met my best mentor there. He is 86, the most brilliant scholar ‎I ever met in Minnesota. He founded the Center for Policy ‎Design and invented the Large Systems Architecture Theory. He ‎mentored the late dean of Harvard Kennedy School, David T. Ellwood. He wrote legislation for the health aintenance ‎organization. He is the legendary Dr. Walter J. McClure.

I am ‎fortunate and proud to be his serious protegee, trusted friend ‎and able colleague. What I have learned from him alone exceeds what I learned from all of my professors combined. Originally from Pennsylvania, he took a job ‎opportunity at the University of Minnesota, found a woman to ‎marry and built a family. Meeting him was the main highlight ‎and best outcome from living in Minnesota. ‎

Abdulrahman Bindamnan is a Ph.D. student at the University of ‎Minnesota and a contributing author at Psychology Today. ‎

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