4 ms·

> we ask everyone here to please continue to refrain from using the pejorative "rust-belt" Who is "we"? I spent the first few decades of my life in a great lak

> we ask everyone here to please continue to refrain from using the pejorative "rust-belt" Who is "we"? I spent the first few decades of my life in a great lakes rust belt city and this is the first time I've heard of anyone considering it a pejorative.

Hydraulix989 9y ago
People actually from Pittsburgh do (I'm a fourth generation native, my great grandfather farmed tomatoes for H.J. Heinz -- look on a ketchup bottle): "Shame. It’s pretty thick in these parts, and it’s linked to the region’s nickname, 'The Rust Belt.' After all, rust connotes disuse, or of being left behind." [1] Hope that helps you see our point of view a bit more. [1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richey-piiparinen/rust-belt-detroit_b_3569821.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richey-piiparinen/rust-belt-de...
- iak8god 9y ago
  Interesting. I've always viewed it as a slightly clever term connoting the region's heavy reliance on the steel industry in the past and the undeniable economic/demographic decline that followed. I obviously don't know about Pittsburgh, but it is absolutely not viewed as a perjorative in some other cities typically considered part of the rust belt.
- iak8god 9y ago
  An addendum to my sibling comment here: A cusory web search turns up indie bookstores, restaurants, literary publishers, community groups of various sorts, etc in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit that embrace the term "rust belt". I didn't easily find similar results for Pittsburgh, so maybe yinz do have a different take on it. But please don't assume others intend "rust belt" as a pejorative, and please consider recognizing that as it's not widely used pejoratively, you may have limited success convincing others to stop using it.
  - Hydraulix989 9y ago
    I've only ever heard Californians and New Yorkers use the word pejoratively, like in OP's context.

Hydraulix989 9y ago

People actually from Pittsburgh do (I'm a fourth generation native, my great grandfather farmed tomatoes for H.J. Heinz -- look on a ketchup bottle): "Shame. It’s pretty thick in these parts, and it’s linked to the region’s nickname, 'The Rust Belt.' After all, rust connotes disuse, or of being left behind." [1] Hope that helps you see our point of view a bit more. [1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richey-piiparinen/rust-belt-detroit_b_3569821.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richey-piiparinen/rust-belt-de...

iak8god 9y ago
Interesting. I've always viewed it as a slightly clever term connoting the region's heavy reliance on the steel industry in the past and the undeniable economic/demographic decline that followed. I obviously don't know about Pittsburgh, but it is absolutely not viewed as a perjorative in some other cities typically considered part of the rust belt.
iak8god 9y ago
An addendum to my sibling comment here: A cusory web search turns up indie bookstores, restaurants, literary publishers, community groups of various sorts, etc in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit that embrace the term "rust belt". I didn't easily find similar results for Pittsburgh, so maybe yinz do have a different take on it. But please don't assume others intend "rust belt" as a pejorative, and please consider recognizing that as it's not widely used pejoratively, you may have limited success convincing others to stop using it.
- Hydraulix989 9y ago
  I've only ever heard Californians and New Yorkers use the word pejoratively, like in OP's context.