Lansing is a place where everything changes yet it all stays the same. It's similar to Meteo Detroit, but everything is just on a smaller scale and only 15 minutes away; from the concerts (Common Ground versus Ford Field), to arts (Broad versus DIA), to sports (Lugnuts versus Tigers), to food (Kellogg Center versus Kruse & Muer or Lelli's), and festivals (Art Festival versus Arts, Beats and Eats).
Add in that Lansing dies in the summer when the government is out and the students leave, with very few of these groups being invested for more than 4 years. It makes for some people being a false nice, since any interaction is unlikely a long term "thing". Those that stay tend to dig in deep and outside of Lansing, East Lansing, Okemos, and Holt, it's all "lifers" in farm towns.
Keep in mind, I lived in the Capital Area for 18 years, with 12 of them being on the Southside across from Steak N Shake. And I would move back if I could since the drama and disputes are smaller scale as well (but for the recent campus incident). The people are good and hard working, and it is the outsiders that cause the most issues (such as the riots).
Oddly, once I left campus, I rarely returned and felt too old; especially with various shenanigans. And I only started appreciating the area a few years before I left.
What area of Lansing are you in?