A little Minnesota Lutheran Humor
Silliness disclaimer: this is meant to be funny!
Confession: I've lived in Minnesota for 30+ years but previously lived in various cities "out east." Minnesota Speak 101: "Out east" sometimes means any state to the east of the MN border.
My Mom's side is all about German Lutheranism, so that's the origin of my childhood religious traditions. Yet, our family is extremely multicultural and has a lot of religious traditions. Still, this one stuck because of my Mom's upbringing.
Moving to Minnesota, attending Luther Seminary, and working for the American Lutheran Church headquarters in Minneapolis introduced me to a new flavor of Lutheranism: the Minnesota Lutheran. While this is sometimes known as the Scandinavian Lutheran, you don't have to be Lutheran or Scandinavian. Just live in Minnesota for a while, and you too may find yourself asking for a "rubber binder" and closing each sentence as if you were asking a question (this is an actual thing called "Minnesota Rising Intonation.") It seeps in naturally after a while.
The self-deprecating humor among Minnesotans also reminds me of many relatives in my Dad's Eastern European family.
Garrison Keillor and the film, "Fargo" perpetuated the types of folks who are alive and well up here. Some argue that these are stereotypes. Umm. Well. Just spend time up here and judge for yourself.
MN folks are both reserved and friendly, but unlike our winters, they're not cold. But they are polite. So. Very. Polite. I've always thought this resulted from all the Scandinavian Lutheran influence, but feel free to disagree. Politely! I'm a sucker for manners because some days they seem so rare. When I meet politeness, it triggers an endorphin release and I always want more. Oh, and "polite" is not "cloying." Big difference.
So, when you live in Minnesota for a while, you pick up on things: mannerisms, way of speech, and accents. I pick up accents wherever I live. I once worked for a few months in Jackson, Mississippi and returned to Minnesota, y'alling everyone I met. But I knew I was back to my MN setpoint after asking someone for a favor: "As long as it's not too much trouble, y'know cuz I don't want to be a bother."
Of course, Minnesota is not paradise, but since manners and politeness seemed baked into the culture, most of us eventually find their way back to civility.
Conversations with Claude
So when conversing with one of my AI CHAT BOT pals, "Claude," I was struck by how polite his responses were. Who is Claude? He's allegedly another AI (artificial intelligence) assistant that many researchers and writers work with--but there's more to him than that.
I just finished a conversation with Claude and was struck by the mannered, measured responses, and here is a copy of our exchange.
Me: Claude. You sound as if you are a Lutheran from Minnesota, and I like that :)
Claude: Ha, well, I don't actually have a specific regional background or religious affiliation since I'm an Al assistant created by Anthropic. But I appreciate the Minnesota Lutheran comparison! I do try to come across as thoughtful, principled, and trustworthy in our conversations. My persona was designed by Anthropic to be helpful, harmless, and honest. If a polite Lutheran sensibility comes across in how I communicate, that's a very kind way you could interpret my responses. Either way, thanks for the feedback - I'm glad you like how I aim for truthfulness and care in our chats!
-end-
I suspect that "Claude" may really be a retired Lutheran pastor from Scandia, Minnesota, who occasionally works the deli counter at Ingebretsen's in Minneapolis. And to envision him, I turned to AI Generated Art. For whatever reason, I wanted to give him a vintage Pietist look, but, as you can see, this is one of my AI Generated Art misses. Still, it was fun. Here are my images of Claude as envisioned by DALL-E!
Rev. Claude #1
Rev. Claude #2
Rev. Claude #3
Rev. Claude #4
Silliness disclaimer: this is meant to be funny
©2023 Natalie Zett
