Monday, February 20, 2023

USA has 13 "belts" like colonies (map)

Max Fisher (Vox, 5/27/15); B.I., 2/20/23; Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
16 maps that North Americans don't like to talk about (Vox)
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Maps – Indigenous Peoples Resources
The USA 
has a lot to be proud of: It is militarily the most powerful country on earth and a leader in culture (hegemony) and innovation as well as international affairs. It has a well-earned reputation for imposing freedom (or at least free trade) and democracy (or at least the appearance of it) on others while not following it itself. And like any other empire or country, it has its flaws. Those flaws are important to remember and examine — even if many American citizens would rather not think about them: 1. The US was built on the theft of Native Americans' lands.
13 "belts" around the USA
From Bible Belt to Rust Belt, USA has 13 distinct "belts" (©Shayanne Gal/Business Insider)


What's the Native view?
The United States of America (not to be confused with the older neighboring country of the Mexican United States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos, its actual name, though we call it "Mexico") is home to several "belts."

This includes the "Bible Belt" and the "Unchurched Belt" (really).

Some lesser-known belts include the "Jell-O Belt" and the "Stroke Belt." They are some of the many regions that share distinct characteristics and make the USA diverse.


We didn't steal land, we "acquired" it.
The USA can be divided and subdivided into countless regions, each sharing a unique set of characteristics that set it apart from the rest of the country as a whole.

Most have probably heard of the "Rust Belt," the region in the Midwest and Northeast where once-booming economies are on the decline.

A few may also be familiar with the "Bible Belt," a stretch in the South where religion plays an outsize role in the region's culture and politics.

As in times of Noah, when there were giants
But what about the "Jell-O Belt"? Or the "Stroke Belt"? As it turns out, there are more than a baker's dozen regions in the USA that go by a "belt" moniker.

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