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There's a new retail center a few minutes from my house. I drive by it every single day. I was excited, because it looks like something in Boca Raton or Paris....someplace far better and more expensive than here. And it was doing wonders for our property values (which have gone up since the Depression hit).
I live in our state's richest county and city, in a tiny town that's part of the State Capitol Metroplex. Most of the people, although they're doctors and lawyers for the most part, are only a couple of generations removed from 'Deliverance' type backgrounds. That's my background, too (my parents nearly starved to death as children. I had to claw my own way up from poverty), and I thought I belonged here.
But the building somehow rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. "Tacky Crematorium", "Looks like My Big Fat Greek Wedding"...that's what I'm reading on facebook. "Shock Jocks" at a local country radio station led the attack, and the multimedia/facebook blitz nearly killed our sweet Mayor (really...stroke-level blood pressure...), who finally had to negotiate with the developers to remove some of the (beautiful) architectural features.
My decorator says these features cost nine thousand dollars apiece. Removing them cost tens of thousands of dollars (labor, crane rental...). One of the designers is on suicide watch. Lives have been ruined..
And all because of a bunch of skanks playing on Facebook. Most of them live in other parts of the Metroplex, and many are in media niches. I know, because their names and faces are out there, saying the most awful things. One stands out in my mind: Bad dyejob, a hundred pounds overweight, wearing a print that would make Emilio Pucci turn over in his grave (or at least vomit), next to a toddler who looks like she's dressed for Tacky Day at school... Commenting on tastefullness in architecture. I'm tempted to feel sorry for her, but then realize that someone may die because of the flood of mean comments to which she contributed.
It's not like this place is a mecca for beautiful buildings. Virtually everything in the whole metro is cheap and ugly (it's a very poor state). So why was this sincere effort at doing something wonderful met with such viciousness? Even if they missed (and I don't think they did), at least they were trying.
After what I've read and heard, I've developed an intense hatred for the area's population. I'd always denied that the horrible things the world thinks about our state were true. Now, I know they are true, and people here really are small-minded and evil. Last week, we accepted an offer on our dream home, our 'forever' home, and will be moving far, far away.
Does anyone else have a story like this? Or is this just an extra special place?
I believe Gloria is saying people have become mean, and vicious, and have little regard for the consequences of their actions. I am assuming this construction went through the appropriate design, planning, and review processes, and that the public was given the opportunity to raise concerns. If they did not speak up then, I have no sympathy for them. There will always be bullies, and they really don't care much who they pick on.
What you describe is similar to what goes on at many City Counsel meetings, especially when discussing new development. Style, height, color, size, etc. all come under fire by people with completely different tastes and ideas. Facebook adds a new twist but it's doing that in all areas of life these days.
When architecture really stands out from everything in a surrounding area it's not necessarily a good thing, especially if the surrounding area is less than stylish. In my area people have gone to war over second story additions, window placements, and the color people paint their houses and businesses.
I believe Gloria is saying people have become mean, and vicious, and have little regard for the consequences of their actions. I am assuming this construction went through the appropriate design, planning, and review processes, and that the public was given the opportunity to raise concerns. If they did not speak up then, I have no sympathy for them. There will always be bullies, and they really don't care much who they pick on.
Thank you, Zimbochick! You've clarified what I was trying to say. It's crossed my mind that the Depression has caused a lot of people to seek out others to hurt. So we have thirty-seven-year-old women acting like a pack of mean girls at a rough school. Oddly, I don't think any of them, or their husbands, are unemployed. But maybe it's just the times.
And yes the center was under design for three years or so, with MANY reviews and revisions. The town has a newsletter, and so I've been reading updates and anticipating this for years. The local newspaper and the city newsletter (and the city website) ran pictures of what it would look like. It looks just like the pictures, except better (the bottom two feet are covered in a beautiful marble).
All I can figure (beyond the general nastiness of our area's populace...something everybody but me seems to have long ago acknowledged) is that the optimistic mood of America, three years back, when this was being planned, has changed. It's a posh, happy-looking building. Maybe people want something grim and dark, today.
Of course, a dark, grim retail center is unlikely to do much business. The parking lot at this place stays packed. So I guess the majority of the public is voting !!!yes!!!, with their dollars. The metro is estimated to have three times the retail space it needs, and every business in this retail center has a branch or nearly-identical competitor within ten minutes' drive: so people are choosing this center over others.
I'm struggling to understand the politics/dynamics/controversy behind this sort of thing, and would really appreciate other people's insight.
We have an epidemic of incredibly UGLY and TACKY everything these days. I see buildings painted bright garish yellow, and bright blue. Many cities project an air of desperation, and depravity on a visual scale. Cold sterile buildings are in great abundance.
The metro is estimated to have three times the retail space it needs, and every business in this retail center has a branch or nearly-identical competitor within ten minutes' drive: so people are choosing this center over others.
I'm struggling to understand the politics/dynamics/controversy behind this sort of thing, and would really appreciate other people's insight.
Essentially, we've just built an absurd society. Just look at any sprawling strip mall area - filled with Lowes across from Home Depots, Burger Kings from McDonald's, Borders from Barnes and Noble, then starting all over again.
An objective viewer would laugh at the absurdity of so much repetition of the same services. It's essentially the same objective of a cancer cell: growth for the sake of growth.
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