I have been a resident of the United States for 17 years. I have also lived in Iowa for 17 years. I am also 17 years old. When I read the article written by Stephen Bloom, I became rather upset. I guess that I don't see the same things he does. Though he may have some valid points, they get lost amongst the Iowa hating and incorrect facts. One wrong fact discredits the whole article. I am rather pleased about that. Bloom's observations were one-sided and inaccurate. They failed to show all sides of Iowa.
I know I am not the only one who feels this way about Bloom's article. There has been much uproar about the article in fact. A fellow blogger of mine, erinislaughing at wordpress.com, wrote, "So much of this is SOOOO wrong!" I couldn't agree more. Bloom made Iowa look bad on purpose. He completely neglected to even mention that there is an urban side of Iowa and made all of us sound like a bunch of hicks. If you compared the urban population to the rural population, you will find that the urban exceeds the rural by far. So, Bloom described, incorrectly, a small amount of Iowans, and generalized to make every resident of Iowa seem this way. If you haven't read the article, Observations from 20 years of Iowa Life, it was written by Stephen Bloom, a professor at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where he lives. Bloom refers to Iowans as hunters and farmers who go to tractor pulls for fun. I've never even heard of such a thing. I would advise you read it.
Iowa has many cities, the second largest is Cedar Rapids, and I just happen to live there. I have never walked my dog and been asked if I was going hunting. I bet bloom hasn't either. He lives in Iowa City! Iowa city, for those who don't know, is a hip, urban, college town. It is an actual city with people and small cars and taxis and everything. There is no way some random person asked him if he was going hunting while he was walking his dog in the middle of Iowa City. Hello. It looks like you're walking your dog. That's what everyone assumes you're doing too.
There are many small towns in Iowa. They are being brought down by Wal-Mart. But they are also beautiful. Bloom said, "Keokuk, is a depressed, crime-infested slum town. Almost every other Mississippi river town is the same; they're some of the skuzziest cities I've ever been to, and that's saying something." He failed to mention the beauty in Iowa. I find small towns charming, home to the most unique shops, and they are great for a photo op. Often, the stores in the small town are home to only that small town. You won't find it anywhere else. Also, I've been to Davenport, Dubuque, and many other river cities. They are hoppin! I've had to sit in traffic almost as bad as entering Chicago. Bloom was, once again, wrong.
So Bloom has recklessly bashed Iowa, but it doesn't matter. He had an invalid "fact" that discredits the whole article. Who knows what else isn't true? Bloom said, "The front-page verse -- which in its entirety read, 'And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.' -- took up two columns and was played against a story about the murders of six people in the Iowa town of Norwalk." He claimed that was published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Well, it wasn't. And he calls himself a journalist. Erinislaughing at wordpress.com agrees with me. She says, "I really love the mis- quoted comment about the newspaper… I thought journalists did their research."
All in all, Bloom was way off topic in his article. It falsely informs out-of-staters and has a negative impact on Iowa's reputation. It isn't even credible! Enough of this. I won't be taught by him.
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