” - - - and all of the disparaging remarks and jokes - - “
In my very early years I did not like some of the remarks some people made about ND, several years back, a major map maker even left ND out of their US atlas.
Then it dawned on me, it’s what kept our quality of life a little better (in my opinion), as those who knocked the state just kept on going elsewhere and kept the place from becoming Kalifornicated.
So when someone made remarks that ND sucked, I would agree and encourage them to tell their friends. Additionally, 40 below does keep out rif-raf too.
Regarding the newcomers the oil industry is bringing in, the vast majority are just people that want to earn a living and appear to be conservative.
This might fit in. My first wife's brother spent some time in Montana. We were talking about ethnic jokes, and he told me that in Montana, aside from the Indians, everyone was pretty much the same. So, since they had to have someone to dump on, they made North Dakotan jokes.
I laughed and took it as a comment on the human condition.