Minnesota Men

"And some of them want to help ISIS. And that is who the national media are now calling the 'Minnesota Men'."

  

"Minnesota Men". No - this is not a "knock off" of the movie Monument Men. I really wish it were. This is a term one of the national news networks is using for the Muslim men in Minnesota who decide to affiliate with the Islamic State. Yes, I am talking about our land of milk and honey, our land of 10,000 lakes, the land known near and far as "Minnesota Nice", which all of a sudden has become a ground zero for terror recruiting. What the hey is going on here?

Here are the facts. We have tens of thousands of recently arrived refugees in Minnesota right now. Some say the number could be as high as 100,000. Many of them are of the Muslim faith. Most, the vast majority, are just folks looking for a better life. Why? Because the UN has turned it's collective back on helping them in their home countries. So it has become easier for the UN to make refugees out of them. And then repopulate them elsewhere. So typical of how our current UN operates.

However as sad as it to say, there are a few bad actors who slipped in with this large group of refugees. Same is true in Europe. Some have a tilt towards terrorism. Some want to join the struggle in Syria and Iraq. And some may even want to bring that struggle to Minnesota. 

Over the weekend, a pundit on the national news had an interesting observation when the "Minnesota Men" issue came up. It was right after it was disclosed yet another Twin Cities man was going to plead guilty for helping the Islamic State. The pundit said, "I am familiar with the Twin Cities area. I know how the Scandinavians and Germans settled that place. They all assimilated. Maybe not at first, but shortly thereafter. What in the world has happened with this new wave of immigrants? It seems many are out to change the culture in Minnesota rather than to join it."

Now you may agree or disagree with that point of view. The important thing to note is this came from a pundit who lives in New York, not Minnesota. That is the impression that some folks who do not live here get. And maybe more than we know get the same impression.

To make this work, to make sure the fabric of our society really does not come totally unraveled, everyone is going to have to bend a bit more. Face facts - unless Somalia, Syria, Iraq, or wherever - get safe and functioning governments again, these folks are here to stay. And more might come in the future. 

So when I say bend a bit more, this is what I mean. We can't unring the bell. As I said, they are here. They are legal citizens. They need to assimilate. And we need to understand and accept them more. They need to learn our language, our customs. And we need to understand theirs.

Whether we like it or not, that is reality. And because some of them are not who they pretend to be, they are going to have to get used to the Feds keeping an eye on them. Sorry - call it profiling if you will, that again is reality.

That is all I have. I am ready to ditch the term "Minnesota Men". I don't want any more terror suspects in this state. I don't want to hear that term anymore. Life is good here - enjoy it. We are all blessed.