journalist request: (still) hating on the Slope

booklaw wrote: A Republican gun owner in Park Slope? Gasp! What's the neighborhood coming to??

Next thing you know the NRA will be holding demonstrations in Grand Army Plaza...

Republican? Bleh! Please don't associate me with those warmongering, bible-thumping retards

I'm hoping the libertarian party might get their act together and remind people how a country is meant to be run sometime soon. Not holding my breath though :?

Subject: fear of a park slope planet

I love the jaded snarkologies of this board. Unfortunately, it also tends to be incredibly provincial, racist, and aggro-irritating, so I never really post on it anymore, although I am including much of it in an academic project I'm working on. Park Slope--I've lived here off and on, also in Prospect/Crown Heights. The Slope has the amenities, but it also has the worst of the stuff that made me cringe when I went to Ivy League schools, along with a big helping of the people I went to school with--most of whom are now bankers, lawyers, or internet wonkers. It's a Scarsdale outpost in Brooklyn, no longer a Berkeley of the East, which is my big complaint. On the other hand, I belong to the writer's space studio here, and it's closer to the food coop. Plus, as irritating as the inhabitants can be, many of them are friends of many years. It's not really just about the Slope, it's Brooklyn/NYC more generally. The "City" has lost its edge, and it's a lot more like Chicago than I'm comfortable with--frankly, LA now feels more "urban" or "futuristic"--NYC feels stale, conservative, afraid to take a risk, more concerned with property value than anything remotely like the experimental, counter-culture, Jasper Johns, Frank O'Hara, James Baldwin, Walt Whitman, Jazz-driven, or even the Andy Warhol NYC. This New York is more like Clinton than Obama; more like a series of suburbs surrounded by ghettos than a real, integrated city, and is increasingly dominated by the sordid dullness of Finance (you can look it up, the percentage of people in Finance has increased as the number in the "Arts" has gone down. Is this still a great city? Do expensive Brownstone renovations make a neighborhood interesting?

Yes, there are still writers and artists here. But there are also writers and artists in Omaha. What's different about an NYC full of Targets, Starbucks, and McDonalds? I'm not really sure. The Slope embodies all of this, that's why people are annoyed by it. That said, the architecture is beautiful, and the air is fresher close to the Park. But I spend two months in Europe and two months in Maine every year, and I wouldn't change that for the world. Given the choice, I'd pick Paris, and maybe I eventually will. Maybe even SF. NYC no longer seems the indisputable "thing" it once did. What is it really now? So overpriced, so tense/irritable, so hard to do the smallest errands, but without the cultural cache. I wouldn't be surprised if the bottom fell out of the real estate market and the Irish and the Japanese started buying their condos elsewhere. Maybe London.

Subject: Paris

Well, with a gay mayor, regular protests, bike lanes, way more "social housing," the headquarters of the french communist party, and lots more cheap/free cultural activities worth the name than I can find here, yes.

NYC has one food coop, Paris, which is way smaller, has several. When I go to Paris, I hang out in the mostly arab/african Northeastern Paris, which is also full of the kind of ferment we haven't seen here in decades. Have you ever lived in Paris for years, or is this just more snark? Sounds like snark...cute. I love the ignorant, nasty, rude boorish provincial "Parisian Experts" of Brooklyn. So cute!!!

MOD NOTE: Last warning. If you can't manage to make your point without name calling, find another message board. You'd think someone with an Ivy League education might be able to argue their case on its merits.

This thread is dead to me (/heh heh)
but anniewilde point of information:
NY has quite a number of food coops
most recently in the Bronx, East NY, Bed-Stuy and Ft G...all opened by people energized by their experience at the PSFC
There's also a few in the East Village, and the Flatbush Coop

WTGirl wrote: [quote=pitu]This thread is dead to me (/heh heh)
but anniewilde point of information:
NY has quite a number of food coops
most recently in the Bronx, East NY, Bed-Stuy and Ft G...all opened by people energized by their experience at the PSFC
There's also a few in the East Village, and the Flatbush Coop

The Flatbush Food Coop though is not as egalitarian as the PS Food Coop. For one, you don't HAVE to work. So doesn't that undermine the definition of a coop? (Plus the produce is kind of old there).

Yes, there's many different kinds of food coops -- the point is, there IS more than one in NYC. So, Paris, watch out. anniewilde, get your ranting facts straight.
Chicago and Boston, as you were....

Subject: Re: fear of a park slope planet

anniewilde wrote: I love the jaded snarkologies of this board. Unfortunately, it also tends to be incredibly provincial, racist, and aggro-irritating, so I never really post on it anymore, although I am including much of it in an academic project I'm working on. Park Slope--I've lived here off and on, also in Prospect/Crown Heights. The Slope has the amenities, but it also has the worst of the stuff that made me cringe when I went to Ivy League schools, along with a big helping of the people I went to school with--most of whom are now bankers, lawyers, or internet wonkers. It's a Scarsdale outpost in Brooklyn, no longer a Berkeley of the East, which is my big complaint. On the other hand, I belong to the writer's space studio here, and it's closer to the food coop. Plus, as irritating as the inhabitants can be, many of them are friends of many years. It's not really just about the Slope, it's Brooklyn/NYC more generally. The "City" has lost its edge, and it's a lot more like Chicago than I'm comfortable with--frankly, LA now feels more "urban" or "futuristic"--NYC feels stale, conservative, afraid to take a risk, more concerned with property value than anything remotely like the experimental, counter-culture, Jasper Johns, Frank O'Hara, James Baldwin, Walt Whitman, Jazz-driven, or even the Andy Warhol NYC. This New York is more like Clinton than Obama; more like a series of suburbs surrounded by ghettos than a real, integrated city, and is increasingly dominated by the sordid dullness of Finance (you can look it up, the percentage of people in Finance has increased as the number in the "Arts" has gone down. Is this still a great city? Do expensive Brownstone renovations make a neighborhood interesting?

Yes, there are still writers and artists here. But there are also writers and artists in Omaha. What's different about an NYC full of Targets, Starbucks, and McDonalds? I'm not really sure. The Slope embodies all of this, that's why people are annoyed by it. That said, the architecture is beautiful, and the air is fresher close to the Park. But I spend two months in Europe and two months in Maine every year, and I wouldn't change that for the world. Given the choice, I'd pick Paris, and maybe I eventually will. Maybe even SF. NYC no longer seems the indisputable "thing" it once did. What is it really now? So overpriced, so tense/irritable, so hard to do the smallest errands, but without the cultural cache. I wouldn't be surprised if the bottom fell out of the real estate market and the Irish and the Japanese started buying their condos elsewhere. Maybe London.

I can't understand more than two words of your post. Too many big words.

Subject: Re: Paris

anniewilde wrote: Well, with a gay mayor, regular protests, bike lanes, way more "social housing," the headquarters of the french communist party, and lots more cheap/free cultural activities worth the name than I can find here, yes.

NYC has one food coop, Paris, which is way smaller, has several. When I go to Paris, I hang out in the mostly arab/african Northeastern Paris, which is also full of the kind of ferment we haven't seen here in decades. Have you ever lived in Paris for years, or is this just more snark? Sounds like snark...cute. I love the ignorant, nasty, rude boorish provincial "Parisian Experts" of Brooklyn. So cute!!!

MOD NOTE: Last warning. If you can't manage to make your point without name calling, find another message board. You'd think someone with an Ivy League education might be able to argue their case on its merits.

Mental intelligence never equated to emotional intelligence.

Subject: Re: Paris

anniewilde wrote: When I go to Paris, I hang out in the mostly arab/african Northeastern Paris, which is also full of the kind of ferment we haven't seen here in decades.

Isn't that the part of Paris where pissed off arabic immigrants rioted for several weeks straight and burned everything in sight? It's still a no-go zone for the local police nowadays isn't it? Sounds lovely - just the kind of "ferment" we're looking for here :roll:

Subject: Re: Paris

Evilbert wrote: [quote=anniewilde] When I go to Paris, I hang out in the mostly arab/african Northeastern Paris, which is also full of the kind of ferment we haven't seen here in decades.

Isn't that the part of Paris where pissed off arabic immigrants rioted for several weeks straight and burned everything in sight? It's still a no-go zone for the local police nowadays isn't it? Sounds lovely - just the kind of "ferment" we're looking for here :roll:

Don't even get me started on modern European mythology.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/11/news/paris.php

" The Slope has the amenities, but it also has the worst of the stuff that made me cringe when I went to Ivy League schools"

So who twisted your arm to go to Ivy League schools. Typical.

Again, nobody cares what Park Slope haters think. Get thee a life.

And by the way, while we're being racist and provincial again (and thanks for proving my point, btw). "Arab" immigrants never rioted "in Paris." First, the people rioting weren't "Arabs"--they were a mixed bag of franco-francais (aka white people), West Africans, North Africans (Arabs?) and various others. The so-called "Riots" never even touched anywhere near the boundaries of Paris. Again, I'm impressed that I am supposedly "name calling"--although with no specific comments directed at anybody, or even evidence of anything otherwise, but such extremely hostile, racist, (and utterly ignorant) speech stands totally un-answered, while people rush to tell me about all of these "Food Coops!!!!!" I've been to many of those places, and no offense to anybody, but that's not what I was referring to, even, mostly, and of course, it's great that there are a few more tiny startup food coops.

Calling people "Arabs" en masse, in reference to a REAL historical event, is racist and, more importantly, in this case, utterly incorrect. T Ban me from the board, if you want, for saying it, but the rioting "Arabs" of Paris are solely in the imagination of Brooklyn!!!!! Pathetic, frankly.

anniewilde wrote: I've been to many of those places, and no offense to anybody,

I've been to most of those places myself, and I am shocked.

At you, dear.

Remember, folks, being eloquent and well-read does not denote equanimity.

anniewilde wrote: Oh, I'm so sad!!!!!! There are twenty billion food coops? Real ones?

You made a big deal out of there only being one coop, and that point was just flat out factual wrong. Where's the polite thank you for the polite correction?
(And as someone else pointed out, the CSA thing is big here.)

anniewilde wrote: ...having a conference on Race and New Media where this BOARD will be featured as a headline example of racist drivel (should I get moderated for that too?).

Tickets please!
:twisted:

anniewilde wrote: Pathetic, frankly.

Well, that's just...special.

Actually, I posted a link to an article that makes the point about who participated in the riots very clear.

I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am because I read somewhere that the type of narcissism you demonstrate (needing to brag about yourself and constantly pointing out how provincial everyone else is) is usually caused by growing up with an extremely critical parent. Your childhood must have been hell. I'm sorry for making fun of your post. That was out of line.

a few things, because y'all know i don't want to get too far deep into this thread.

--the OP is writing a piece about why people love to bash on PS. that's the angle, as she lives here and loves it here. (and i've heard the hatred, believe me, when i meet people and they ask where i live. one actually said, "i'm sorry.") so this thread has gone way off topic, IMHO

-- that person, the argumentative one who said she didn't like coming to watch tv with her friend here... from what you described after getting off the train, you're in my `hood. on my street. and if you think that's what you're seeing on this street, perhaps it's time to go to lenscrafters and get some glasses, because what you're saying is fiction.