OK, we've all heard and said enough about The Jacket for now. But yesterday's story got us thinking about what a banner moment this is for local merch.
Assaulted by the Trump administration and abandoned by our supposed allies, Minnesotans are falling back on our unique local identity. Stores reportedly have a hard time keeping anything Minnesota-related in stock, particulary anything independently produced or benefitting mutual aid.
As Friend of Racket Ash Chudgar put it, "The state pride here is intensifying to like Quebec levels."
So, at the risk of reducing our moment of mass resistance to a crass and commercial level, or even rendering it "performative" (JK, I would never subject you to that word), let's talk local merch. What are you buying these days, Minnesota patriots?
Also, here's another question to mull over (please ignore the St. Paul-teasing snark, we would never):
Which Minneapolis suburb should everyone get a cool jacket from next?
— AverageJer (@averagejer.bsky.social) 2026-02-26T23:33:03.023Z
Or perhaps you would like to critique David Brauer's proposed Minneapolis jacket:
I apparently came to the wrong suburban coffee shop, so to amuse myself & horrify you, I’m unveiling my MINNEAPOLIS PATROL MOM/DAD/UNCLE/AUNT/NO KIDS FOR US THANKS jacket. Nothing will top St. Paul’s jacket, but I accepted my own challenge to incorporate Mpls’s oft-mocked flag logo in the design.
— David Brauer (@dbrauer.net) 2026-02-27T15:22:25.631Z
As always, feel free to ignore this prompt and talk about whatever you want. This is your Open Thread after all.
P.S. The thugs are still out there. Fuck ICE. Here's an underrated anti-ICE jam.
