Proud to be a Utahn

Yeah, I said it.  I am proud to be a Utahn.   

I grew up watching the snow pile on the Rocky Mountains;  I've been taking trips through the flat, orange, dry land of Southern Utah for the better half of my life;  I have memories of jumping off the roof of my house and into piles of snow when I was 6;  I still remember singing songs that praised Utah in elementary school. This is my home, my life, my culture. Being a Utahn is a fundamental part of my identity. So, like just about any American citizen, I am proud of that identity.

I don't know how many times in my college career I have been called a Utahrd--nor do I want to know.  All I know is that there are very few other words that can make me as angry as fast as the word Utahrd can.  (I'm trying really hard not to sound bitter in this post, but I might fail miserably.)

Once I was called a Utahrd by a guy in South Africa. Who knew that derogatory colloquialisms could survive the trek across the Atlantic ocean, through deepest, darkest Africa, past malaria and AIDS, and into the Southern Hemisphere? The mere fact that the word "Utahrd" has been set loose to pervade even the farthest reaches of third world countries is unacceptable.  You hear me? Unacceptable!

The saddest part of the aforementioned exchange, however, was not that I was called a Utahrd so far away from Provo, Utah, or Laie, Hawaii.  The worst part of the exchange was when he said, "Wait... Is that offensive?" Maybe I'm a highly sensitive person, but I find it quite offensive  when someone insults my home, my identity, my culture, myself and mentally challenged people in a single word. It could just be me, though.

Did some people miss the lesson in 4th grade about a little thing called stereotyping?  I don't know about you, but in my class we were taught that stereotypes were widely held but fixed and oversimplified images or ideas about a particular person or thing.  Like saying all cheerleaders are blond and stupid. Say it with me: stereotyping. Unfair generalization that is not necessarily true. In my fourth grade class, we were also taught that stereotypes are offensive. I thought that was one of those things that goes without saying--then that question I was asked in South Africa rings through my ears: "Wait...Is that offensive?"

So, for all the non-Utahns out there who have ever wondered if the word "Utahrd" is offensive, here is my answer: yes! When you say that word, you insult my home and my self.  I know we might not be as hip as some states, and we might live in somewhat of a bubble, but that bubble is my HOME! It's where my (almost) entire life has taken place! Please, for the sake of my poor little heart, have some respect.