According to Wikipedia:
Minnesota nice is the stereotypical behavior of Minnesota residents to provide hospitality and courtesy to others. The term is also sometimes used in a derogatory way, to connote a sort of smiling stubbornness, forced politeness, false humility or passive hostility.
Stereotypes of Minnesotans often overlap with qualities of other people from the Upper Midwest, including the perception that many are quiet and do not wish to offend others or cause a disruption. Writer Garrison Keillor played with this image in a piece written for the radio program A Prairie Home Companion called "Wobegonics", the supposed language of Minnesotans which includes "no confrontational verbs or statements of strong personal preference, you know." Sometimes area residents who move away, or otherwise come in contact with others who don't subscribe to the ideal, say that they have to shed their "Minnesota nice" in order to interact properly with others or get out of troublesome situations. The generosity of state citizens has gained respect—the heavily-reported influenza vaccine shortage of fall 2004 did not strike the state as hard as elsewhere since many people willingly gave up injections for others.[1]
Minnesota Nice is a 2003 28-minute documentary by Jeffrey Schwarz about the Coen brothers' movie Fargo, a movie that displays some of the stereotypical behavior.
I dont need to go into the fact that most people do not consider hiding your opinions or pretending to like things nice, but I want to tell you about how Minnesota Nice can hurt other people indirectly.
Since living in Minnesota I have had my bike stolen, my wallet stolen, and three bike lights stolen. Now, the wallet was my own fault, I left it in the side of my backpack for easy picking. However, I believe that the bike and bike lights could have been prevented had someone not been too 'nice' to stop the thieves.
My bike was stolen out of the back of my truck. Someone (probably more then one person) tugged on the back of my locked topper long enough to bend the metal and get my bike out. Now, my truck was parked in a neighborhood with plenty of traffic. I'm fairly certain that someone probably saw these guys (or gals) do it. Unless they thought the guys (or gals) had accidentally locked themselves out of the trunk and offered to help them get in to rescue their bike, I'm not sure that it was 'nice' to allow it to happen.
The bike lights may be even more directly linked to Minnesota Nice. Two of the three had to be stolen during the day, while I was in my nearby office. This means that people with screw drivers are going up to bikes and taking off lights. Now, I can understand how people would grant others the benefit of the doubt and think they were simply working on their bikes, but that is a long shot given it is parked in an awkward place for repair (with very little room for maneuvering and surrounded by other bikes).
I guess I don't have a point so much as a rant about how Minnesota Nice does not extend to allowing you to keep the things you have purchased. I think I would find it nicer if whoever took my things would steal from the rich instead. I can't afford to keep buying lights, so I'm going to be riding in the dark. When I get hit by a car, we'll see how far Minnesota Nice goes. I hope that people wont think that I'm practicing stunts and be 'nice' enough to let me lay there.
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