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People like the guy who wrote that "article" are a disgrace to the area because they go against everything we're about. The fact that they have the nerve to think they speak for all of us or that they represent us makes me very angry. I see the same snobbery towards parts of Philly and especially towards Chester and the other less affluent parts of Delaware County too. The fact is that every smaller former industrial city in the Delaware Valley has problems, and to try to talk like the reason that Camden and Chester (cities of over 70,000 and over 30,000 people respectively) have the problems they do is because the people there are all lowlifes, and to call Camden a "teenager" or to say either city "needs to get its act together" is not only just so incredibly ignorant but it also simplifies and makes light of the real problems both cities are dealing with while at the same time completely ignoring all of the good that the people in those cities do. Those of us who actually grow up around here know all about Camden's rich history as an independent city, not as some "suburb of Philadelphia", and most of us spent our childhoods going to Camden for more than "the aquarium and Phish concerts". I can assure you that none of us "forget that Camden is there" or any of that other BS either.
Another thing that really annoys me is when people are so quick to point out when something happens at a Philly sporting event and the person who did it is from New Jersey, as if that person represents all of New Jersey or even all of his or her municipality. Not only is that an insult to the many loyal fans in South Jersey but it's also not giving the same benefit of the doubt to this person that we give to people in Southeastern PA.
As somebody who grew up right down Baltimore Ave. from the Cobbs Creek section of West Philly in Clifton Heights, I can say for a fact that I do not know a single person from my area who looks down on New Jersey. In reality, we mostly view it as separate from us because we only go over the bridge in the warmer months or to go to Camden or Trenton for whatever reason, which is ridiculous considering the fact that Gloucester County is literally right across the river from Delaware County.
Personally, I'd date a Jersey girl in a heartbeat and I'd hang out with people from New Jersey any day of the week. Feel free to come over the bridge to Delaware County any time and I'll buy you a beer at Tailgaters or wherever. As far as I'm concerned, you're always welcome in Southeastern PA so come over the bridge as often as you like. Don't pay any mind to things people who most likely didn't even grow up around here say. At the end of the day, we're all a part of the Delaware Valley.
Hey man, we really appreciate it (or at least I do, I don't speak for everyone).
Luckily, in the real world I've never met anyone from the PA side that looks down upon South Jersey the way some of the posters over in the Philly board do.
The responses on that thread about the beating really pissed me off, but I responded in a way that hopefully will convince some of the locals of that board to be a little more respectful.
As for Camden, Chester, and our other struggling cities, I have full faith that as the city of Philadelphia continues to grow stronger, and gain in population and jobs, these cities will begin to turn around and recover as they absorb the "overflow" of Philadelphia. That is, they will benefit from the demand for Philadelphia itself, just as Jersey City has benefited greatly from the demand to be near Manhattan, and Arlington in relation to DC. After a long slumber, our region is finally starting to show some muscle again, which is something we can all be proud of.
That's because we all know they would LOVE to live over and are saving their pennies to one day buy a home over here and enjoy the good life! Heck, the entire South Philly Italians have all moved to to Hammonton and Sicklerville and Turnersville. 3/4 of the people in my area escaped from the NE..
Quote:
Originally Posted by soug
Luckily, in the real world I've never met anyone from the PA side that looks down upon South Jersey the way some of the posters over in the Philly board do.
I have to say in all my years of living in South Jersey and going to Philadelphia, even working in the city for a couple of years, I have never found anyone that "looked down" on South Jersey. Some people turn into "e-warriors" when they get behind their keyboard and are anonymous, but I would never take the opinions of those few to represent the whole.
Honestly the people on the forums who trash NJ are annoying sure but I'm more referring to the people who contribute to national publications or to major sites like yahoo or even to our own Philadelphia area papers or magazines or websites. Those people are speaking as the official "voice" of the area and they are using that "voice" to speak some childish, narcissistic BS about things and people and places that completely contradicts the way we actually feel about them.
For example, the very un-Philly "Philadelphia Magazine" ran a story however long ago about "What Happened to Old City"? that was just so incredibly snobby and not even remotely Philly where they lamented about how "horrible it was that people from Jersey and less glamorous parts of the Philadelphia area invaded and ruined Old City". I mean really.. people wanting to have fun and have a good time and not being stuck-up or inhibited is suddenly something we should look down on? Of course, because they're not from the places these people think is the "real Philadelphia" then anything they do must be so incredibly trashy and not even remotely just young people having fun. If they have such a problem with clubs and bars where people get crazy and have fun then put clubs like that over by the river where they used to be. Then they get their little utopia back and people who aren't like them can have somewhere they can have fun without being looked down upon for it. Everybody wins.
That's why I felt such a need to apologize, especially after coming across that yahoo "article" I posted above. Well that and the posters who trash NJ or do any of the other things I pointed out of course. Every time I see any of these people speaking for the Philadelphia area and speaking incredibly incorrectly I feel an overwhelming need to tell people how things really are or how they don't actually speak for us or whatever else that can make it clear that these people are misrepresenting us. It makes my blood boil, because as soug pointed out, the whole area is starting to show some muscle again after a long slumber, and now more than ever we should all be embracing each other as a part of the Delaware Valley and continuing to make the whole of the Delaware Valley as great as it can be.
So on that note, any time you all feel like having a Delaware Valley get together for people from all over let me know
Some people turn into "e-warriors" when they get behind their keyboard and are anonymous, but I would never take the opinions of those few to represent the whole.
You nailed it. It's easy to say anything you want when you have the luxury of anonymity through a screen-name.
Honestly the people on the forums who trash NJ are annoying sure but I'm more referring to the people who contribute to national publications or to major sites like yahoo or even to our own Philadelphia area papers or magazines or websites. Those people are speaking as the official "voice" of the area and they are using that "voice" to speak some childish, narcissistic BS about things and people and places that completely contradicts the way we actually feel about them.
For example, the very un-Philly "Philadelphia Magazine" ran a story however long ago about "What Happened to Old City"? that was just so incredibly snobby and not even remotely Philly where they lamented about how "horrible it was that people from Jersey and less glamorous parts of the Philadelphia area invaded and ruined Old City". I mean really.. people wanting to have fun and have a good time and not being stuck-up or inhibited is suddenly something we should look down on? Of course, because they're not from the places these people think is the "real Philadelphia" then anything they do must be so incredibly trashy and not even remotely just young people having fun. If they have such a problem with clubs and bars where people get crazy and have fun then put clubs like that over by the river where they used to be. Then they get their little utopia back and people who aren't like them can have somewhere they can have fun without being looked down upon for it. Everybody wins.
That's why I felt such a need to apologize, especially after coming across that yahoo "article" I posted above. Well that and the posters who trash NJ or do any of the other things I pointed out of course. Every time I see any of these people speaking for the Philadelphia area and speaking incredibly incorrectly I feel an overwhelming need to tell people how things really are or how they don't actually speak for us or whatever else that can make it clear that these people are misrepresenting us. It makes my blood boil, because as soug pointed out, the whole area is starting to show some muscle again after a long slumber, and now more than ever we should all be embracing each other as a part of the Delaware Valley and continuing to make the whole of the Delaware Valley as great as it can be.
So on that note, any time you all feel like having a Delaware Valley get together for people from all over let me know
It can not compare the haughty attitude of New Yorkers. Because the media is centered in NYC the attitude has become nationwide.( I mean really why would someone from Sioux Falls, IA hate New Jersey.)
I find that Philadelphians more readily accept South Jersey as part of the metro area. NYCers think New Jersey is some hinterland. Westcherster and Long Island are included in NY but NJ is different.
Those of us not from Hudson or Essex County get tired of telling people we meet that "..no all of New Jersey isn't like THAT."
It can not compare the haughty attitude of New Yorkers. Because the media is centered in NYC the attitude has become nationwide.( I mean really why would someone from Sioux Falls, IA hate New Jersey.)
I find that Philadelphians more readily accept South Jersey as part of the metro area. NYCers think New Jersey is some hinterland. Westcherster and Long Island are included in NY but NJ is different.
Those of us not from Hudson or Essex County get tired of telling people we meet that "..no all of New Jersey isn't like THAT."
Jersey Shore certainly didn't help the state any either I'm sure. New York's attitude sort of makes sense just because that metro is so sprawled out that it seems to engulf everywhere remotely close to it or attempts to so they probably see plenty of places as "the suburbs" even if the places are big cities but considering that the entire Delaware Valley shrank and declined for decades, it wouldn't make sense for people from Southeastern PA to view New Jersey as anything other than New Jersey, not "Dirty Jersey" or some hinterland the way New Yorkers view North Jersey. The various parts of the Delaware Valley are growing at the same time but we're all doing it separately, something that makes it all the more impressive.
Exactly. Philadelphians and the rest of Southeastern PA not only accept South Jersey but embrace it as a part of the metro and the Delaware Valley, yet these people who claim to speak for us take that same attitude NYC has towards North Jersey and direct it towards South Jersey, as if that's how we really feel about South Jersey.
The problem is that because everybody outside of the area loves to ignore Philadelphia or tries to stereotype it since outsiders seem to always accept whatever view of the area or identity of it that takes the least amount of effort instead of trying to understand a very complex area, anybody or anything who gives them that on a platter is of course viewed as "Philly". When it's an actual major publication of the city or somebody in the media or some other form of "speaking" for the area that does it, that makes it even worse because then there's this idea to outsiders that this person or publication is in fact "vetted" by us all and is in no way shape or form completely contradicting how it really is or how we really feel, especially given our reputation as being unfiltered and blunt and honest. It seems a lot of outsiders are obsessed with the Philadelphia area and the people within it but only want to hear about and read about and see things that suit their own ignorant views or opinions of how things are or how we all feel about any given thing.
That's why I felt such a need to apologize for those people because in reality it's becoming a national thing where Philadelphia is getting more and more attention, and deservedly so, but a lot of it is the same kind of simplified attention that people direct at the cities that have been so lauded for years like LA and NYC and San Fran and Chicago and wherever else where they focus solely on one aspect or another as opposed to accepting the area and its people as a very complex whole. Since Philadelphia is not as separated as those other cities are, outsiders view it as being one giant, continuous city where everybody and every thing is the same throughout when anybody who has ever been there knows much better than to ever think that. If nationally people started thinking that Philadelphia views South Jersey or any other part of the Delaware Valley the way these people claiming to speak for all of us make it seem, that would be unacceptable, so I just wanted to nip that in the bud and assure anybody from South Jersey that these people don't even remotely speak for us. I'm sure the majority of you already knew that but I figured it could never hurt to drive the point home.
For what it's worth, I think that when it's done growing and going through this transition, the Delaware Valley as a whole will be the best metro in the country specifically because of the fact that there's so many separate, independent parts of the whole but we all embrace each other as being a part of the whole.
Sounds like a fun time to me. We could all build a bonfire by setting a bunch of copies of Philadelphia Magazine and the Inquirer on fire and then roast marshmallows over it.
Then again, there's a good chance that the smell of BS that would come from those two publications alone might ruin the fun
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! Heck, the entire South Philly Italians have all moved to to Hammonton and Sicklerville and Turnersville. 3/4 of the people in my area escaped from the NE.. 
