I grew up in NYC and I loved it, but the problem with New York is that it is the Perfect Democrat Storm. It has a bunch of rich celebrities and academics (very few of them originally from New York, btw) combined with a sullen, aggressive union and municipal employee culture and herds of immigrants who are drafted into the Democratic Party practically as soon as they set foot on US soil.
In fact, the comments about residents of places outside of New York are even applied by the celebs and academics to anybody who lives outside of certain areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn, people who live in the dread “Outer Boroughs.”
There are a lot of real people who live in New York and there are even a number of very conservative people. But they are politically powerless and they are invisible to the media. Hence it looks like a city of nothing but 20-something twits and aging lefty professors with their bellies busting out of the denim workshirts they wear to show solidarity with the “people.”
Furthermore, the city has a tradition of mindless political “progressivism” that goes back to the 1930s. There was a brief reaction against it when people voted for Giuliani, but even he changed over the years and nanny-state progressivism returned with a vengeance under Bloomberg. And the whole point of progressivism is that the elite know better than everybody else - which is exactly what New York’s in-crowd seems to believe about themselves.
Well said, livius!
I was born & raised in NY (Queens), and your description of the City is quite accurate, especially the remark about the politically powerless conservatives here. I no longer live within the bounds of NYC, but I do live too close for comfort.
As I have said many times on these boards, someday, I shall escape and be slightly more free. As it stands now, I am surrounded by nannyist weenies here, who CLEARLY think that Government should be my Mommy. I can barely stand it anymore. I do have a good hunk of family still here, and I love my church, and my oldest kid is in (Catholic) high school. When he graduates, though...we’ll probably leave ASAP.
We’re thinking Virginia (Shenendoah Valley). There’s a great Catholic college there, and big, pretty, old houses just like I like ‘em. I may have been born and bred in the Big City, but I’m a country gal at heart.
Regards,