The author of the piece is Tim Alberta, who graduated from Brighton High School in Brighton, Michigan and then from Michigan State University.

He probably has at least some knowledge of the geography of the Midwest, including Michigan and Ohio. Indeed, he has almost surely cheered for Ohio State every time they played UMich.

If you like, think about it as “nearby relative to Afghanistan” rather than “nearby relative to Wisconsin.”

> "unaware that in nearby Ohio," Clearly this was written by a coastal or someone who needs a lesson in geography. Vulcan, Michigan, and for that matter most of the Upper Peninsula is closer to 3 other states including Iowa than it is to ANY part of Ohio.

Can you explain why this is relevant? It seems of little consequence to me in the context that it is written.

As someone who lived in Michigan for 20+ years (I am aware where Vulcan, MI is), Ohio seems "nearby" enough given the reason the author would use that language in the article.

Because it undermines the legitimacy of the author, who may be writing about an area of the country he has little direct knowledge of.

The author grew up in Michigan (although somewhat closer to southeast MI).

Thanks, I did some quick research but couldn’t find that info so just went with the “may” qualifier.

This post, along with the replies that contain easily discoverable information disproving the commentor’s hypothesis, should be used as an example in unconscious bias training.

"Nearby" is a funny choice of words for anything over half an hour's travel or so. Like, is Scranton nearby to NYC? Sorta?

I never thought about it before, but I count 5 for western UP.