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It's not the institutions that are narrow-minded, but some of its residents. There's no doubt that a lot of the transplants and some of the natives are jetsetters who are anything but myopic (funny you mention the New York Times as I actually socialize with some of the people who work there, and I completely agree they aren't limited in perspective and they shy away from the rhetoric used in this topic as they willingly and quickly will tell you New York is not the world). However, that's definitely not the majority of the population.
There are definitely a lot of posters on here who routinely make incredibly arrogant and ignorant statements that actually have little factual basis, but tout NYC in a way that's nigh embarrassing, and then there's the much more disappointing people I've actually met here who are the same in person. Perhaps it's good that NYC exists and has as much acclaim as it does since it sort of cowls people in other cities to realize that there is more to the world and makes people elsewhere realize that there is something outside their bubble. Unfortunately, NYC, being the great city that it is, seems to breed a good number of people who by dint of just living here seem to think they have a worldview that is actually in line with reality when it's far from the case.
Oy, not only do I agree with what you state, but I have to tell you that I think you are very gifted.
Your writing style is unique, personal and very compelling.
I have every right to be provincial.
And yes I'm a transplant. So? A "hipster/yuppie" too. Sue me.
It's always the transplants (and some of the natives who feel inadequate) who wear their NYC provincialism as some sort of brand name or logo to be flaunted. I've seen this sad display of overcompensation more than once. It's the equivalent of walking the street naked screaming "LOOK AT ME!!!!!"
Very telling & quite hilarious.
Last edited by openheads; 01-29-2010 at 10:08 PM..
I know it's pointless arguing in these boards, but sometimes I can't help myself.
Why would I resent New York? Why would any of us resent New York? No one is discounting New York's size or influence on the world.
It is silly, though, and uninformed, and yes, provincial, to believe that people don't fly to other cities for cultural experiences, for example, or that somehow New Yorkers as a whole are savvier than people living in other places. There's just nothing to back that up.
New York is unique and exciting and important. There are other unique, exciting, and important cities in the United States, too. I think many of these statements show a lack of understanding of other cities, and display a mindset (that is not exclusive to New York, and is certainly not found among all New Yorkers) that is extremely limited in scope. The question wasn't if the city itself was provincial, but rather whether the residents were. In the case of some of the posters on this forum, there is rather a lot of provincialism on display.
On the earlier post about San Francisco: I think San Francisco shares a lot in common with NYC in that way, specifically the belief among many in SF who seem to believe that NO other city could possibly also be tolerant, liberal, etc. To somehow suggest that any other city might also have some of those attributes is somehow seen as a slap at SF. Maybe the difference is that the hard-core San Francisco posters aren't posting in the general forums as much as a handful of very vocal, very tunnel-visioned New York posters. (in the case of both NYC and SF I'd also argue that some of the people who are most internally focused are from other cities originally; nothing like the zeal of a convert.) I love both cities, by the way, but think that the smugness sometimes found in SF can be highly irritating.
Frankly, I'm usually bored to tears whenever I travel off my island and onto mainland United States. Unless I'm going someplace fabulous across the Atlantic, I have every right to be provincial.
And yes I'm a transplant. So? A "hipster/yuppie" too. Sue me.
Lol this is the type of transplant mentality that is despised by natives of both NYC and SF. Adopted snobbery is a joke. You should go back to whatever town you came from that you now look down upon and revisit the upbringing that made you so ashamed of yourself that you just had to become a "big city" invader that could feel better than your former neighbors.
Saying you have every right to be provincial is like Rush Limbaugh saying he has every right to be an ignorant racist. Its not about whether or not someone has the "right" to be something unevolved or primitive. Its about how obnoxious and unenlightened such a mentality is. If you want to feel entitled to that type of narrow view, then be our guest. But don't get mad the next time you're dealing with some uneducated clown providing horrendous customer service to you, because he/she will "have every right" to be an incompetent moron!
Lol this is the type of transplant mentality that is despised by natives of both NYC and SF. Adopted snobbery is a joke. You should go back to whatever town you came from that you now look down upon and revisit the upbringing that made you so ashamed of yourself that you just had to become a "big city" invader that could feel better than your former neighbors.
Saying you have every right to be provincial is like Rush Limbaugh saying he has every right to be an ignorant racist. Its not about whether or not someone has the "right" to be something unevolved or primitive. Its about how obnoxious and unenlightened such a mentality is. If you want to feel entitled to that type of narrow view, then be our guest. But don't get mad the next time you're dealing with some uneducated clown providing horrendous customer service to you, because he/she will "have every right" to be an incompetent moron!
Lol this is the type of transplant mentality that is despised by natives of both NYC and SF. Adopted snobbery is a joke. You should go back to whatever town you came from that you now look down upon and revisit the upbringing that made you so ashamed of yourself that you just had to become a "big city" invader that could feel better than your former neighbors.
I would never move back to some sub-par city (yes, including my old hometown which happens to be San Diego). These so called "cities" are uncultured/unenlightened no-talent forsaken festering toiletholes of pathetic losers.
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