Comment Hysteria (Score 1) 1391
"Something about the city is busted for good, no matter what the mayor says."
Okay, you're in shock. That's understandable. But when you get a chance, go in your bathroom, lock the door, slap yourself in the face a few times, and then look yourself in the eye in the mirror and say, "Get ahold of yourself!"
From my vantage point on Mott Street, a mile and a half or so from "Ground Zero," the damage is indeed horrible.
But the city is not "busted for good." In New York's long history, there have been so many events that led people to declare the city "busted for good." The Triangle Shirtwaist Building Fire. The Draft Riots. The Departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Renovation of Madison Square Garden. AIDS. Typhus. The Wretchedness of Five Points. And so on.
And for every person willing to declare New York City "busted for good," there are five of us (or ten, or twenty) who -- sadly, and at times even reluctantly -- get up in the morning, read the papers, have breakfast, get some coffee, and go to work. And then come home at the end of the day, grateful for the opportunity to live in the capital of the world.
Your grief is understandable. Your hysteria is not.
"But if the attacks demonstrate nothing else, it is the folly of that kind of thinking. Terrorists change too, and for all the high-tech equipment pouring into Manhattan, sometimes there isn't a thing we can do to stop them."
True. And seeing as this thought seems too much for you to bear, I think the best solution is for you to relocate. I doubt the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is a very attractive target to terrorists. Wouldn't you feel safer there? Or perhaps rural Vermont. Or Colorado. Michigan?
The specific place doesn't matter; there are thousands of other places for you to live. Let me help you find the right one and pay your relocation expenses. I'll even come over and help you pack!
And then I'll happily move into your apartment (but only if it's bigger than my current one, and no more than three blocks from a good newsstand, Korean deli, dry cleaners, Starbucks, book store, record store, and movie theater.)
Because I -- like millions of others -- like it here. And will continue to live here. And will eventually die here. And we wouldn't think of doing these things anyplace else.
Okay, you're in shock. That's understandable. But when you get a chance, go in your bathroom, lock the door, slap yourself in the face a few times, and then look yourself in the eye in the mirror and say, "Get ahold of yourself!"
From my vantage point on Mott Street, a mile and a half or so from "Ground Zero," the damage is indeed horrible.
But the city is not "busted for good." In New York's long history, there have been so many events that led people to declare the city "busted for good." The Triangle Shirtwaist Building Fire. The Draft Riots. The Departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Renovation of Madison Square Garden. AIDS. Typhus. The Wretchedness of Five Points. And so on.
And for every person willing to declare New York City "busted for good," there are five of us (or ten, or twenty) who -- sadly, and at times even reluctantly -- get up in the morning, read the papers, have breakfast, get some coffee, and go to work. And then come home at the end of the day, grateful for the opportunity to live in the capital of the world.
Your grief is understandable. Your hysteria is not.
"But if the attacks demonstrate nothing else, it is the folly of that kind of thinking. Terrorists change too, and for all the high-tech equipment pouring into Manhattan, sometimes there isn't a thing we can do to stop them."
True. And seeing as this thought seems too much for you to bear, I think the best solution is for you to relocate. I doubt the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is a very attractive target to terrorists. Wouldn't you feel safer there? Or perhaps rural Vermont. Or Colorado. Michigan?
The specific place doesn't matter; there are thousands of other places for you to live. Let me help you find the right one and pay your relocation expenses. I'll even come over and help you pack!
And then I'll happily move into your apartment (but only if it's bigger than my current one, and no more than three blocks from a good newsstand, Korean deli, dry cleaners, Starbucks, book store, record store, and movie theater.)
Because I -- like millions of others -- like it here. And will continue to live here. And will eventually die here. And we wouldn't think of doing these things anyplace else.
