Urban Elitism

This New York Times article perfectly captures the kind of liberal urban navel gazing and elitism that passes for "nuance" in New York.

Some New Yorkers, like Meredith Hackett, a 25-year-old barmaid in Brooklyn, said they didn't even know any people who had voted for President Bush. (In both Manhattan and the Bronx, Mr. Bush received 16.7 percent of the vote.) Others spoke of a feeling of isolation from their fellow Americans, a sense that perhaps Middle America doesn't care as much about New York and its animating concerns as it seemed to in the weeks immediately after the attack on the World Trade Center.

Got that, middle America? New Yorkers think you voted for Bush because you don't care about Them!

"I'm saddened by what I feel is the obtuseness and shortsightedness of a good part of the country - the heartland," Dr. Joseph said. "This kind of redneck, shoot-from-the-hip mentality and a very concrete interpretation of religion is prevalent in Bush country - in the heartland."

"New Yorkers are more sophisticated and at a level of consciousness where we realize we have to think of globalization, of one mankind, that what's going to injure masses of people is not good for us," he said.

So that's a New Yorker's explanation of why heartlanders don't care about THEM.They're obtuse, shortsighted, rednecks, unable to appreciate the sophisticated level of consciousness of the average New Yorker. In fact, New Yorkers are so sophisticated, they can say the same thing many different ways:

His friend, Ms. Cohn, a native of Wisconsin who deals in art, contended that New Yorkers were not as fooled by Mr. Bush's statements as other Americans might be. "New Yorkers are savvy," she said. "We have street smarts. Whereas people in the Midwest are more influenced by what their friends say."

Polly wanna a cracker, Ms. Cohn? Stunningly, they know they are obnoxious elitists and don't much care:

Dr. Joseph acknowledged that such attitudes could feed into the perception that New Yorkers are cultural elitists, but he didn't apologize for it.

"People who are more competitive and proficient at what they do tend to gravitate toward cities," he (sniffed).

Unless, of course, you are competitive and proficient in a field that can't easily be pursued in a city. You don't find the most proficient and competitive athletes (no, I don't count squash), farmers, landscapers, boat dealers, dog breeders, or forresters hanging around Washington Square.

"To paraphrase our current president, I'm in shock and awe," said Keithe Sales, a 58-year-old former publishing administrator walking a dog near Central Park. He said he and friends shared a feeling of "disempowerment" as a result of the country's choice of President Bush. "There is a feeling of 'What do I have to do to get this man out of office?'"

Awww. The poor dears feel disempowered because they didn't get their way. They seem to think it is their birthright to run roughshod over the rest of America, never mind that would "disempower" everyone else. But New Yorkers are prepared to reach out and make everyone else in the country live like them:

"What's different about New York City is it tends to bring people together and so we can't ignore each others' dreams and values and it creates a much more inclusive consciousness," she said. "When you're in a more isolated environment, you're more susceptible to some ideology that's imposed on you."

[...]

"If the heartland feels so alienated from us, then it behooves us to wrap our arms around the heartland," she said. "We need to bring our way of life, which is honoring diversity and having compassion for people with different lifestyles, on a trip around the country."

Boom!!

That was my head exploding. In New York, nobody pays any attention to anyone else! Try riding the subway, or walking the sidewalks. No one will even venture to look you in the eye, say hello, or acknowledge your existence. Heck, crimes are comitted regularly in full view on New York streets, and no one intervenes.

Meanwhile, us rednecks are having barbecues for the volunteer fire department, waving to cars passing on the street, and joining our neighbors in church. Yet New Yorkers feel it is they that need to teach the heartlanders how to be inclusive! And they feel that that would constitute freeing the heartlanders from some imposed ideology!

Now that's some nuanced thinking.