Why Are People In The Bay Area So Soft? (Los Angeles: city hall, condo)

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by BayDude

Again a person with a differing opinion or viewpoint is not a "troll". You can't seem to separate the two concepts, buy try hard to get it.

Its established that the Bay Area is very PC, especially when you compare it to places like NYC. I thought that was pretty much a given. I don't see why you feel you have to contend almost everything I say.

I've never heard what you are purporting. Can you provide some sort of info to support your viewpoint? Thanks.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by BayDude

Again a person with a differing opinion or viewpoint is not a "troll". You can't seem to separate the two concepts, but try hard to get it.

Its established that the Bay Area is very PC, especially when you compare it to places like NYC. I thought that was pretty much a given. Its not necessarily a bad thing, unhealthy outlook overall but not always bad in some cases. I don't see why you feel you have to contend almost everything I say.

No, I get it...I'm saying a troll response and didn't mentioned any names but if the shoe fits?...

What I want to know is, since when did comparing SF to NY become such a big deal to some people? I can see minor things here and there but for better of for worse, San Franciscans know they are not New York nor do they try to be like New York. Culturally SF is not as odd as you make it as the bay area shares a lot of similarities with Seattle; nearby wilderness areas, coffee shops and delis everywhere, fishing is a way of life, environmentally aware etc. Definitely not like NY likely is (haven't been there, just guessing) so we get it.

See perhaps that's it. I don't compare SF to NY but rather to a place it has more in common with. Things tend to make more sense that way.

[clongirl]

Yeah, historically the West Coast of the US was for people that were of the pioneer spirit..people that wanted more and better and change. The Gold Rush was what put us on the map. I won't go into the entire history of San Francisco, but imo, it's entirely different than what makes the East Coast special.

I don't feel like I need to compare/contrast Boston with NYC or DC...I'm sure they're wonderful cities and have their own identity.

The only people that seem to have such desire to compare/contrast are the people that moved from other states. Why? Nobody ever told you it was supposed to be better did they? Do you think us Bay Arean/San Franciscans need to change to fit your dissatisfaction? Should we have to apologize to the newcomers so they can feel less bad about their situations or culture shock?

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by hsw

Having lived/worked in Manhattan early in my career, I'd argue most of the smartest, most accomplished guys in Manhattan aren't originally from NYC...much like most of highest achievers in SV aren't originally from SF region or from CA

The brilliance of cosmopolitan places like Manhattan and SV is that they tend to attract many of world's smartest, most ambitious guys from wherever (usu world's top colleges)

In Manhattan, many of highest-paid guys arrive in offices <7AM, so are unlikely to be out late at bars on wknts; in SF's FinDt, many arrive at offices (or are busy on computers <4AM) so can figure they aren't out late either

And much of the SV engineering crowd lives in leafy suburbs nr PaloAlto, not in SF....and often work bizarre workaholic hrs of own when they are busy on various projects like latest iPhone or NexusOne, etc

Need to remember that SV is the place that essentially created the Net/Blkberry/google/Telepresence world where workaholics can work anywhere/anytime w/o sitting in an office in a CBD somewhere, so conventional norms of urban culture don't apply well to either SV or MidtownManhattan, where one has both many young, wealthy workaholics who work virtually and many young, wealthy retirees who are screwing around as they figure out what start-up to go to next

I tend to agree.

The Bay Area (like NYC and now Wash DC [born/raised in the latter area]) is exorbitantly expensive so that would tend to 'shake out' the lower key people who prefer smaller towns.

Case in point: I lived/worked in San Mateo ca. 1979-80 and a one bedroom apartment in a sketchy area (Delaware St N of 4th) then went for $490 a month. That same money in 2010 would snag a similar place in Tempe, Az near ASU/Light Rail in a better area.

[BayDude]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

No, I get it...I'm saying a troll response and didn't mentioned any names but if the shoe fits?...

Ofcourse you did:

Originally Posted by Gentoo
Baydude is doing his usual trolling again

You argue for arguments sake so much its causes you to lie or forget what you actually typed, just to prove a non-existent point.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by BayDude

Ofcourse you did:

You argue for arguments sake so much its causes you to lie or forget what you actually typed, just to prove a non-existent point.

Liar liar pants on fire??? What are you like five? LOL

I argue for arguments sake...um...yeah ok Says the guy who comes into the SF forum to do little more than bag on the city.

But I argue for arguments sake?

LMAO!

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by BayDude

Ofcourse you did:

You argue for arguments sake so much its causes you to lie or forget what you actually typed, just to prove a non-existent point.

Rather than getting defensive it would help if you could cite articles\ info supporting your opinions. That would help people understand how you arrive at your comments.

[xGrendelx]

Originally Posted by BayDude

Alot of East Coast people are talking about the in-your-face, witty sort of sarcasm that's common where they come from. Theres a real gritty, down to earth realism that you would need to experience to understand the difference. It'd be difficult to describe unless you actually been to or been around alot of people from the east coast. Basically things are more watered down so to speak because of the PC atmosphere. Theres no "realness".

I think that's what they are ultimately trying to say, and its absolutely true of the region IMO.

I basically agree with this based on the limited time I've spent in the City (5 months now). Of the friends I've made, two of them are native San Franciscans, and sarcasm, at least my brand of it, just seems to go over their heads. I'm not going to make a generalization and say everyone in SF is this way, but this has been my experience so far. I think it's just their personalities, which unfortunately seem to fall into one of the stereotypes surrounding SF: smugness.

Also, they both seem to lack any sort of "backbone", which I could see being perceived as softness. It's not that they're too nice because they're both really kind-of snobby, elitist types, but they would just rather not say anything and avoid confrontation than say something that could possibly mediate or resolve an issue (or to stand up for themselves), especially in public. Sort of like a "if I ignore the problem, maybe it'll go away" mentality. They don't seem like they've ever just put someone in their place before, even if that person needed a reality check.

[stuckinsf]

Re: my comment on people on LA not caring what "you" look like; I meant they care how they look. With regard to the city full of ugly people, it is. Go walk around Manhattan--it's like another world compared to here. Yeah the place is full of transplants, but many are not from the East Coast, but rather Portland, Seattle, or some other West Coast granola farm. The transit here does suck as well: don't compare it to San Diego or LA, compare it to Chicago or NYC, where you can get around on a subway. This place is cluster**** where bus drivers hit people all the time, and the Caltrain kills more than 1 person a month--oh I'm sorry, only half of those are suicides.

When I speak of people from the East Coast that hate it here, it seems like myself, many of us worked in Finance or Consulting, and didn't realize the culture shock. Where else do you go to a club where the bartender looks like he came out of a circus or is an ex-con? You can get in most of the clubs here with ****ing running shoes on, not to mention the fact that half of them seem to let people in with jerseys.

As for the hipsters--yeah Manhattan has granola bars, but that's a segment--not all of them. You don't see that **** in the Upper East side or at any decent clubs. In NYC, everyone has a scene: here it's for the nutjobs. All the normal people seem to run away to Marin country, where it seems more sane.

Whoever said the "in-your-face" comment on sarcasm also hit it on the head. People here are so scared of offending people. I once saw a midget in a club and my friend bitched me out for pointing it out, as if most people wouldn't find that odd. Mini-Me wasn't on TV because he acting skills, come on.

Finally the difference between someone from here and the East Coast? We don't have to be pissed off to swear and we truly don't give a **** what your granola-bar response is. Don't kid yourself, all you have is better weather. If they had that back home we wouldn't consider coming to this dump because we were suckered by the weather.

Don't even get me started on the fake hobos here. Maybe they are the only ones that keep it real, "Can I have $1 for a cigarette?" Get a ****ing job.

Yeah we don't adjust and yeah we *****. Trust me though, we are not the East Coasters that stick around. I hate the ****ing snow, but I miss living in a place where people shower and I can use my ****ing car horn. The ****ing rent control creates this cluster**** of hippies that don't give a **** about anything and milk the tax money coming out of the Valley. Don't confuse the two: the people East Coasters ***** about in SF are not the ones that actually pay the bills or keep California affluent; those people roaming around SF are the ones milking the retarded rent-control laws.

Only here would a girl be dumb enough to date a hobo and not realize he was one--for two weeks.
Girl Game - Page 1 - News - San Francisco - SF Weekly. This is a town where crazy people meet up so they can tell everyone else it's not ****ed up to be 35 and have purple streaks because that's what superficial people say. Then again the dye was probably made from natural ingredients, so everyone except the dead bunny rabbit wins!

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by xGrendelx

I basically agree with this based on the limited time I've spent in the City (5 months now). Of the friends I've made, two of them are native San Franciscans, and sarcasm, at least my brand of it, just seems to go over their heads. I'm not going to make a generalization and say everyone in SF is this way, but this has been my experience so far. I think it's just their personalities, which unfortunately seem to fall into one of the stereotypes surrounding SF: smugness.

Also, they both seem to lack any sort of "backbone", which I could see being perceived as softness. It's not that they're too nice because they're both really kind-of snobby, elitist types, but they would just rather not say anything and avoid confrontation than say something that could possibly mediate or resolve an issue (or to stand up for themselves), especially in public. Sort of like a "if I ignore the problem, maybe it'll go away" mentality. They don't seem like they've ever just put someone in their place before, even if that person needed a reality check.

I've never heard of San Franciscans lacking a "backbone" and avoiding "confrontation." In-fact, the opposite is true. Do people remember all the anti-war demonstrations when Bush was president? San Francisco was rocked with huge marches that sometimes got out of hand with violence. I remember when groups of anarchists jumped on the roof of cable cars & began to sway the cars so much that tourist fled in fear. San Franciscans are very out-spoken & do not hesitate to shut the city down if they are angry. Remember the huge gay rights demonstrations where buildings were set afire?

All this nonsense that San Franciscans are soft is ridiculous. The Bay Area is the hotbed of radicals.