Grand Rapids’ ‘Mich-i-can-do Attitude’

Lauren Silverman

Friday, December 11, 2009

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A recent addition to what I’ll fondly refer to as Grand Rapids “michiganda” is a Facebook group called “Michigan by Choice.” Co-founder Kevin Buist works for ArtPrize and is 28. He sat down with me when I was in Grand Rapids a few weeks ago at his favorite café to tell me about how the group got started.

“Then I made a joke after that, on that same Facebook thread. I said, ‘Sometimes I wish there were a support group for people who decide to stay in Michigan.’ I was joking, that implies that it’s traumatic or something, and I don’t think it is. And then somebody else was like, ‘I would join that group.’ And then, so George and I started chatting online and he was like, ‘You should make that group, make a Facebook group.’ So I was like, ‘Alright.’ So I made the group and George is an admin…”

Buist wants Michigan by Choice to be a place to exchange ideas and promote a positive attitude. He likes to call it the “Mich-i-can-do attitude.”

“And I know that that’s glib, and I know that it’s overly simplistic. And I know the other organizations that are like, ‘Yeah, Grand Rapids is awesome!’ I know that it’s one sided, and it’s just kind of one-dimensional. But in the context of a larger dialogue, that kind of thing plays a really significant role. I mean it’s like a pep rally or something. Nobody walks into a pep rally and says, ‘Hey guys, stop playing. Stop playing that music. You understand that we might lose? We’re going to play this game and we could lose!’ Everybody knows we could lose. Everybody knows it’s hard…but there’s still a value in having certain streams of information or certain places of connection where just the positive — like, ‘Yeah, we can do it. You can do whatever you want.’ Where that –- even if it’s not entirely true -– where that is the prevailing notion.”

He says this positive attitude is contagious, and young people are more likely to invest in the community if they have hope.

You can check out the Michigan by Choice group on Facebook.