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I was just wondering when the Ultimate Car-aholic, "Build more highways" Penndot spokesperson was going to add his 2 cents about how insignificant a topic this was... But any talk about how inadequate the Parkways and Turnpike lanes are, would be First World problems to Gnutella... and he would be gracing us with his non-stop regurgitation on how IMPORTANT modernizing our highways are because once again we're so behind other Sunbelt cities with 16 lines highways and anemic mass transit systems.
Oh the Irony is thick today....
The wrong is thick today too, apparently.
First of all, I've been advocating rebuilding existing highways, which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with building new highways. As for the Turnpike, it does, in fact, conform to modern Interstate standards, even along the four-lane segments that haven't yet been rebuilt. I'm not the one criticizing the condition of the Turnpike; I'm the one informing people that there's nothing wrong with it other than an aging roadbed, which is why it's being rebuilt in the first place.
And when you consider that a) the Turnpike, Parkway North and I-79 all conform to modern Interstate standards, and b) I-70 is being rebuilt and upgraded to modern standards as we speak, that leaves the Parkways East and West, the two busiest segments of highway in western Pennsylvania, which were obsolete the moment they opened in the 1950s, and are substantially the same 60 years later.
And it's not just "Sun Belt" cities that the Parkways East and West suck compared to; it's also the highways in and around peer cities like Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul and St. Louis; and even smaller metropolitan areas like Buffalo, Hartford, Providence and Rochester to boot.
Furthermore, when the **** have I ever said that I want the Parkways East and West to widened to 16 lanes? I've only said that they need more than four lanes, which they do because they handle more than twice the amount of traffic that they were designed to. That means you could have train lines and bike trails up the ass, taking half the traffic off the Parkways, and they'd still be over capacity. I've never said a goddamn thing about 16 lanes, or even 10, for that matter. Even six lanes would be a bonus, as far as I'm concerned.
And none of this is a "first-world problem" either, considering even Chon Buri, Thailand (population 180,000) has a highway with more lanes and longer ramps than the Parkways East and West. Christ, that means the Parkways East and West don't even meet the standards for third-world infrastructure anymore. How embarrassing.
But hey, I'm sure that more public transit options will magically lengthen theseon-ramps without a single shovel hitting the dirt, huh?
Last edited by Craziaskowboi; 08-15-2014 at 04:27 PM..
You apparently don't know what a yinzer is. Most ALL I know are very hard working folks that also play hard at night. They would run circles around Blackbeauty and most likely yourself. They aren't delivery folks very often, but you will find them in the plumbing, electrical and other physical jobs. They are tough and have a code. Sure there are examples of some lazy ones, but to be honest, I don't know many if any. Most work their tails off. Guess when it comes to Pittsburgh, I have been around here much longer than you and blackbeauty. You folks almost sound like you have never been to Pittsburgh and are inquiring.
It sure is evident that a minority (blackbeauty) and another minority (SCR) love to find a group to label and have a prejudice against. Talk about bigotry! It would be interesting if someone called one of you two a derogatory name of your minority group and see how you feel about it. Sure is an interesting read though. I suspect if someone called either of you such a word, they would be banned. Seems yinzers don't get the same courtesy. That term and be thrown around as much as you two love I guess. Shows your character though. Labeling a group and calling them lazy. Interesting indeed.
I had to give you a rep point for that one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gortonator
But what about progressive Yinzers?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212
LOL... Talk about an Oxymoron if I've ever heard one.
Yinzers are all over the map politically to be honest. Some are union and would lean towards democrat. Some might lean more republican because they might fall for the bravado/military bs.
I do get a kick out of some folks feel they are "progressives". What does that even mean? You have to be young to be progressive? That sounds like ageism to me. Wish people would stop trying to pigeonhole entire groups. It NEVER is that simple, but it is always offensive. Oh, thanks for the countless reps on my post before this one. That might be a record number for me on one post.
First of all, I've been advocating rebuilding existing highways, which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with building new highways. As for the Turnpike, it does, in fact, conform to modern Interstate standards, even along the four-lane segments that haven't yet been rebuilt. I'm not the one criticizing the condition of the Turnpike; I'm the one informing people that there's nothing wrong with it other than an aging roadbed, which is why it's being rebuilt in the first place.
And when you consider that a) the Turnpike, Parkway North and I-79 all conform to modern Interstate standards, and b) I-70 is being rebuilt and upgraded to modern standards as we speak, that leaves the Parkways East and West, the two busiest segments of highway in western Pennsylvania, which were obsolete the moment they opened in the 1950s, and are substantially the same 60 years later.
And it's not just "Sun Belt" cities that the Parkways East and West suck compared to; it's also the highways in and around peer cities like Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul and St. Louis; and even smaller metropolitan areas like Buffalo, Hartford, Providence and Rochester to boot.
Furthermore, when the **** have I ever said that I want the Parkways East and West to widened to 16 lanes? I've only said that they need more than four lanes, which they do because they handle more than twice the amount of traffic that they were designed to. That means you could have train lines and bike trails up the ass, taking half the traffic off the Parkways, and they'd still be over capacity. I've never said a goddamn thing about 16 lanes, or even 10, for that matter. Even six lanes would be a bonus, as far as I'm concerned.
And none of this is a "first-world problem" either, considering even Chon Buri, Thailand (population 180,000) has a highway with more lanes and longer ramps than the Parkways East and West. Christ, that means the Parkways East and West don't even meet the standards for third-world infrastructure anymore. How embarrassing.
But hey, I'm sure that more public transit options will magically lengthen theseon-ramps without a single shovel hitting the dirt, huh?
And there you have it... Real First World problems via Gnutella.
Yinzers are all over the map politically to be honest. Some are union and would lean towards democrat. Some might lean more republican because they might fall for the bravado/military bs.
I do get a kick out of some folks feel they are "progressives". What does that even mean? You have to be young to be progressive? That sounds like ageism to me. Wish people would stop trying to pigeonhole entire groups. It NEVER is that simple, but it is always offensive. Oh, thanks for the countless reps on my post before this one. That might be a record number for me on one post.
I completely agree with this. I have lived here for 6 years and I honestly don't know what a 'Yinzer' is. I thought it was Pittsburgh native but it seems to be used as some kind of slur.
And I agree that it ridiculous to pigeonhole people. Whenever people state that "all of x people are like y" it makes me think they are not very sophisticated in supporting their position. It is divisive and keeps us from what should be our common goal--improving public transportation in Pittsburgh.
And there you have it... Real First World problems via Gnutella.
The state of this country's infrastructure is not an insignificant matter. Our lack of investment in infrastructure is going to make us less and less competitive in the global economy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charisb
I completely agree with this. I have lived here for 6 years and I honestly don't know what a 'Yinzer' is. I thought it was Pittsburgh native but it seems to be used as some kind of slur.
And I agree that it ridiculous to pigeonhole people. Whenever people state that "all of x people are like y" it makes me think they are not very sophisticated in supporting their position. It is divisive and keeps us from what should be our common goal--improving public transportation in Pittsburgh.
I would agree that blaming the locals for the poor public transportation in Pittsburgh is not a very sophisticated argument. PAT is the root of the problems with the public transportation here, and people should work together with PAT to address the issues, not blame one another.
Location: About 10 miles north of Pittsburgh International
2,458 posts, read 4,216,909 times
Reputation: 2374
Quote:
Oh, thanks for the countless reps on my post before this one. That might be
a record number for me on one post.
Countless? That's impressive. I've never even had to take my socks off to count reps on one of my posts.
You would have had one more too. I tried, but was told I had to spread some around first. I don't remember what it was, but there was something else you posted not too long ago that made sense too.
I completely agree with this. I have lived here for 6 years and I honestly don't know what a 'Yinzer' is. I thought it was Pittsburgh native but it seems to be used as some kind of slur.
And I agree that it ridiculous to pigeonhole people.
Yinzer only became a slur on this board when a certain poster who has a penchant for talking too much moved here and thought he had it all figured out and started calling people that when he had any negative encounter with someone. It still gets thrown around on this board a lot. This same poster also has a problem with the second part of your quote and tends to make sweeping generalizations based on anecdotal experiences during his time here. Some Yinzers never leave the neighborhood they grew up in, others go on to do amazing things in life but never lose that sense of pride in being from Pittsburgh. I live in another state and can't leave the house with a Steelers hat on without encountering someone saying "Steeler Nation!" or ribbing me for it or striking up a conversation about the city from others who have moved away. I'm a millennial who does have a career and many friends who have also moved away and started careers of their own. Accountant in Raleigh, pilot in Orlando, military man in Chicago, PNC analyst in Columbus, all huge Steelers fans whose local dialect only comes out when we are drunk in a group, and we all aren't afraid to show our black and gold when the sports get serious, yet somehow we all learned to cross a river, speak appropriately in a professional setting, we're well-traveled and have befriended people of various ethnicities, etc. And we are all damn proud to call ourselves Yinzers. So no, it's not a slur, despite the gripes of certain individuals who use it as such. We are a proud people and we have been brought up in households that for the most part taught us the same principles in life. Sports provides a common ground so we all suffer when the teams fail and rejoice together when they succeed. I can't tell you how many times I've hugged strangers at a bar after a touchdown. Mock us if you want, but we know we have something special going on, and we know that whether we move away for a lifetime or go somewhere exotic for a vacation, there's no place quite like home.
I personally don't see why everyone is giving BlackBeauty such a difficult time. It's obvious that there's an "old Pittsburgh" (the Yinzers) AND a "new Pittsburgh" (the Progressives) not only in real life but also on this sub-forum, with this thread's divide being a perfect illustration of that.
The Yinzers are never in a rush to do anything and never have anywhere important to go that would require strict adherence to time constraints, hence they dawdle along with driving too slowly in the left lane; fumble to find exact change to feed a PAT bus farebox at rush hour; will hold up people behind them in line at the bank to talk to the teller about their cats (usually while doing something simple an ATM could have done for them in 1/4 the time); bang pots and pans out their windows when the Steelers score touchdowns; poke their noses where they don't belong; etc. Simultaneously, though, THESE are the "nice" people of Pittsburgh---the ones who still hold doors, tip their hats, strike up friendly conversations about the weather in elevators or at gas pumps, will stop to help a stranded motorist, etc.
The "Progressives" are generally younger, educated, liberal, and always busy, busy, busy. We're wired within numerous ever-expanding social networks---networks that often supersede our "real life" networks. We are always rushed, hurried, and stressed tying to keep up with the trends and societal norms---norms that the Yinzers couldn't care less about participating within. We're the ones who feel pressured incessantly to make up for economic value lost during the Great Recession and, of course, get irked when a Yinzer in a Buick crawls through the tunnel, making a food delivery two minutes longer and costing me $2 of my tip, or when a Yinzer scratches their head while trying to figure out why a PAT farebox won't accept their crumpled upside-down $2 bill on BlackBeauty's bus, contributing to her late arrival at an appointment with an important client. The "Progressives", especially Millennial contributors, tend to be more unfriendly, self-centered, jaded, and skeptical of strangers than Yinzers.
I think our city just needs to learn to accept both groups of people. Neither group is dying off. From my days of working at PNC I can safely assure you all that there were numerous Steelers-clad 20-somethings afraid of ATMs "cuz my mama told me they steal money", indicating a fresh wave of Yinzers are in the pipeline. At the same time there are also more "Progressives", especially in trendy East End neighborhoods like Lawrenceville, Shadyside, and Polish Hill, than ever before---usually eating vegan fair trade fro-yo on their way to co-ed nude Bikram yoga on their bikes with their poodles in tow.
This post is loaded with stereotypes. The "old Pittsburgh" is what made the US what it is today. Pittsburghs corporate presence pales in comparison to what It once was. It took many educated and smart locals to run the 3rd largest fortune 500 corporate base. CMU, Pitt, and Duquesne have been good schools for generatioms thanks to Pittsburgh natives. The east end of Pittsburgh was progressive before there was such a thing. Actually the East End today is far less wealthy today than in the past. East End affluence is nothing new. Show me any city in the US without a "Yinzer"and Ill show you a liar.
Location: About 10 miles north of Pittsburgh International
2,458 posts, read 4,216,909 times
Reputation: 2374
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobMcKelvin
And we are all damn proud to call ourselves Yinzers. So no,
it's not a slur, despite the gripes of certain individuals who use it as such.
I've always believed that a "slur", much like a pass in football, takes two parties for it to be completed--one to throw it and the other to receive it. We all know, without the need to cite specific examples, that members of minority groups can use words, between themselves, that would legitimately be considered slurs if used by others outside those groups.
Having read what you just posted, you can call me a Yinzer any time you want to, and I'll accept it as an affirmation of our sameness, and our equality. Coming from some other sources hereabouts though, I'll still find it pejorative, epithetical, and yes, a slur. (Even if I don't believe it's in reference to me personally.)
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