Regional Bias

I just returned from patrolling the streets of Detroit to ward off any would be arsonists. I was armed only with a dinky flashing yellow light, a goofy hat (which did entitle me to free white castle, see 10/18 for more details on the WC), and the brawn that I and my three other partners carried (which was a lot). Rather than wax philosophical on the urban plight that drives its own residents to burn their own neighborhoods, I am going to wax philosophical (or not, I really don’t know what that means) about the term “Devil’s Night.”

Apparently, due to the prevalence of Arsonists, the night before Halloween in Detroit has been termed “Devil’s Night.” I grew up knowing that Devil’s Night was the night before Halloween and that I was, as a rebellious youth, supposed to cause some sort of ruckus (toilet paper, eggs, etc.). However, it wasn’t until I went to school in Indiana that I realized people had never heard of Devil’s Night. Which blew my mind. Never hearing of Devil’s Night was as preposterous as never hearing of Christmas and New Year’s. It simply was. Maybe you could celebrate it on a different day or in a different form and i.e. Hanukkah or Chinese New Year. No cultural offense intended, I know Hanukah and Christmas are different, both just involve gift giving winter-season events and can (sometimes) both be spelled starting with a C.

Yet I digress. The point is, that not knowing about Devil’s Night was a completely new and unfathomable observation. I may rate it on par with discovering that not all children were boys (I don’t remember that realization, but they seem analogous). I went on to further discover that people don’t even sing the right version of Rudolph the red nose reindeer. Instead they interject incorrect exclamations at the end of lines. For example, the reindeer game Rudolph played in my book was Monopoly. Rudolph went down in history like George Washington. And all the reindeers shouted out with glee, like the toothpaste (that one never made sense, but I just went with it; apparently gleem was a popular toothpaste).

All that to say, some of you may argue with Rudolph’s activities and I find your answers unacceptable. I am amazed by the effect that growing up in one area with one set of norms has on me. I still cannot imagine a place anywhere where the day before Halloween is not occasion to form a city-wide patrol preventing arson. I will never accept an alternate version of Rudolph. And, no matter what anyone from Indiana, Ohio, or any other state says, Euchre was and always will be a Michigan game.