I’ve disagreed with NoClueBoy in the past, but I agree with him here. It isn’t fair that checks were cut out to 9/11 victims, while other folks–like, actually survivors of terroristic disasters–got nothing. Yes, life is not fair and charity isn’t an entitlment, but if I had been a survivor or widow of the Oklahoma disaster, I’d be wondering why my pain and hardship was not broadcast with the same pageantry as that of the 9/11 folks.
Reminds me of the woman on Oprah a few months back. She was 9/11 widow who received 3 million dollars from the 9/11 Fund. She was on Oprah because it came out in the news that she had spent all of her money on a shopping addiction…her way of self-medicating after the pain of losing her husband. I sympathized with her up to a point. She kept saying “no one understands how it is” and kept reminding us of the tragic way her husband was stolen from her, as if being killed in a terroristic attack is inherently more tragic than being killed in a car accident or being killed by a freak accident at work. As if being a 9/11 widow makes her plight extra special and deserving of extra heaps of pity that we wouldn’t give other grieving spouses. People are killed EVERY DAY, and the people left behind rarely get 3 million dollars in compensation. She said she wasn’t going to be emotionally well until a decent public memorial was set up in her husband’s honor (as well as that of the other folks who died on that day). I felt sympathy for this, but I also felt repulsed by her sense of entitlement and unwillingness to stop being a victim.
Actually, I’m troubled by how this makes me feel, because I’d like to think that I’m a fount of sympathy and compassion. Obviously I’m not.
Completely unrelated to my OP I have to agree and add to the previous post. To put it bluntly I don’t think ANY death, under ANY circumstance should merit a $3M payout from the government or any other organization other than an insurance company, assuming the proper premiums were paid for that type of coverage.
Frankly I don’t see why the widows/families of 9/11 victims are entitled to any more money than someone whose husband/father was killed by an uninsured drunk driver or by some crack addict.
That’s neither here nor there though. As long as she isn’t telling me she’s from Noo Yolk Sit-ee while she’s shopping that is.
So would I. But I wasn’t aware NoClueBoy was a survivor or widow(er) of the Oklahoma disaster. If that’s the case, it’s understandable that s/he’d wonder why there was no aid coming his or her way.
If that’s not the case, however, it’s not his fucking business to imply that the reason the 9/11 survivors/victims received money was because they were “accountants” from NYC and hence were considered more “valuable” than OKC folks. That’s just plain idiotic, offensive, and inappropriate. Not to mention an utter hijack of the thread’s topic.
As far as the chick on Oprah, yeah, that was ridiculous. Duh. So they found a few people who wasted their funds. Are we supposed to begrudge the people from Katrina their money just because a select few used their checks unwisely (for example, living in an expensive hotel for a year)? Sadly, you can always find some people who take advantage of a grim situation.
I see no reason the government should not be helping those who suffered on 9/11/01 or 4/19/95 or 8/28/05. This administration spent trillions on a useless war. It can spend a couple billion or so helping out its citizens in need.
What about NoClueBoy’s mention of NYC accountants offends you and rings “warning bells”, choie? I’m not being snarky, I’m just not sure what I’m missing here.
No snark heard, MidnightRadio. The sad truth is that many (though by no means all) who make snide comments about “NYC accountants” are using this as code for “Jews.” See also “East Coast bankers.” I’m pretty sure that’s not NoClueBoy’s point.
But it does drag this back on topic, since historically speaking, a lot of anti-Semitism was served up in labels such as “arrogant, elitist, pinko New York types.” (You heard this a lot during the McCarthy era.) By now it’s turned into a generic stereotype of all New Yorkers – for example, I doubt most here in this thread intend their comments as anything but generalizations – but it still stems from decades of rhetoric against Jews.
Thus when someone gets snippy about “those NYC accountants” I feel my stomach muscles clench, especially if the aforementioned accountants are implied to be part of some elitist conspiracy against good ol’ regular midwestern Americans.
Barbarian, there’s an umbrella store that close by? Holy cow, I need to check that sucker out. I loved Uncle Sam’s Umbrellas; I actually bought my niece an adorable umbrella there with a Pooh (old school, not Disney crap) theme.
Over here in England weve had a fair few terrorist bombs in recent years ,quite a lot in London by the I.R.A.,some by feuding Arab groups and of course the latest Al quida efforts,we nearly had our government killed off (not a problem ,wed just open up a new box of politicians ) in a hotel bomb in Brighton ,also Manchester,Guildford ,Deal and a few other places I cant recall off of the top of my head,but our emergency services cant bigtime it too much cos if they tried all the old timers would put them in their place with a few choice words about the blitzed cities in WW2 which looking at the documentaries was rather unpleasant as compared to what we get nowadays ,infact they still regulary dig up WW2 german bombs on new construction sites .I was cycling to work one pleasant day wondering where all the traffic was when I discovered that Id just gone through the cleared danger area where bomb disposal was defusing a large aerial bomb,got to work quick though!But i digress ,thats the reason why you dont get a lot of London fire and rescue service hype,or tee shirts and the like, this side of the pond ,they wouldnt DARE !
SoP makes a really excellent point here that has gone largely ignored.
I bet if you looked up all my posts, of the ones that mention lifestyle or living environment, probably 90% of them start off by saying I’m from NYC. I am very conscious of this opener, not because I am being boastful. Quite the opposite, in fact. I do everything I can to avoid using it because I know that some people will roll their eyes, others will think I’m trying to be cocky, and others will just be turned off because they do not like NYCers. But, in my effort to be a good writer, I will ask myself if mentioning my hometown or background adds something important to the post. About 90% of the time it does. It helps to know, for example, that I walk more than I drive, that there are more people living on my block than in many small towns, that I overhear about five different languages during an average day, that life is very fast and expensive in my neighborhood, that, simply put, things are different here than most places.
One last little thing should be mentioned because it sort of relates to the OP. (Beware of Doug alluded to this early on, but it got overlooked too.) From what I’ve been told, and from what I’ve seen, NYPD cops really, really are considered the cream of the crop in law enforcement circles. Their training and experience makes them highly respected and sought-after by other juristictions. And this was the case before 9/11.
Y’know…‘eh’ on the Gray’s Papaya (love the juice, though).
Another born-n-bred Chicagoan here, with a decent amount of face time in NYC, but you’re waaayy off on the dogs. Gold Coast, Wiener’s Circle, Portillo’s, etc…all of them do it right. If you order one with ketchup, you’re deported.
The pizza? I think Chicago has become complacent. I’ve never been a huge deep-dish fan, and I prefer being able to get a slice on a street corner a la NYC. There are tons of crappy pizzas in Chicago. My thoughts oncrappy pizza:
[ul]
[li]Malnati’s…so sue me![/li][li]Any chain with more than 10 outlets (I’m looking at you, Uno’s).[/li][li]Chicago Oven Grinders…it’s not a pizza, it’s a marinara stew…REALLY hate this place.[/li][li]Any other place that serves a sub-par deep dish.[/li][/ul]
There is a lot of good 'Za, though…now I’m hungry.
I thinkthe OP probably forgets the “Chicago Cop” thing…I hear it plenty.
And I happen to have an Arlington Heights t-shirt…
NYers are NOT arrogant. They’re provincial. There’s a big difference. You wanna see arrogance, talk to a Parisian. You’re not gonna find a NYer to debate you on whose city is superior. Everyone knows The Apple reigns supreme; and further discussion with 2nd City wannabes and other envious urbanites is a waste of breath.
To paraphrase a line from a mock-Mayor Koch in Shortbus, 'People come to NY from all over the world to be forgiven. We’ll forgive you in person for not realizing NYC is the center of the planet the moment you arrive.
[/quote]
I hate to disillusion you, but “other nationalities” are far more sophisticated in their understanding of America - you can partially thank high school shoot-outs in non-East coast states and wierd weather patterns in the mid-West, you can also thank our schooling systems that are not exclusively inward looking. I’m speaking mostly for Europeans and Australasians. In particular NZers and Aussies have this great phenomenon called ‘the OE’ or the Overseas Experience - you could find one of us in the most out of the way state at any given time.
There are a number of complaints regarding NY’s overpopulation on TV and in the movies, as if this was some NYC conspiracy. TV and movie writer’s take shortcuts. Rather than spend a lot of screen time trying to explain a character, they’ll stereotype based on region, ethnicity, clothing, hair color or any other of a number of factors. NY is portrayed because most of the time writers, who may or may not be NYers, are lazy or pressed for time. Don’t blame NYers for their overpopulation, unless you want to blame us for having an urban stereotype. It’s like blaming blonds for the stereotype of dumb, slutty blonds on sitcoms. It’s just a cheap storytelling device.
The sad truth is that many (though by no means all) who make snide comments about “NYC accountants” are using this as code for “Jews.” See also “East Coast bankers.” I’m pretty sure that’s not NoClueBoy’s point.
