Public Perception

It’s been a short week for work, only 3 days. Each of those 3 days though brought to me a realization that I guess I’ve known for some time, but really only kinda said out loud because of this.

So here’s the stereotype… New Yorkers are rude. Tell anyone you are planning a trip to NYC or are planning to move here, it’s all you hear. They are rude, mean, jerks, etc. So once I moved here, I thought… “Hey, people here are pretty freakin’ cool.”

I’m coming up on my 3rd anniversary of being in NYC and I can pretty much understand why people get the idea that New Yorkers are rude… we fucking hate tourists. Every motherfucking last one of you.

My daily commute is short and simple. 2 blocks to the G, 2 stops to the A, 3 stops to my stop, 2 blocks to work. It’s those last 2 blocks that I dread. As I walk down Broadway, I walk past a stop for those site seeing buses. And every day, I have to wade through a gauntlet of idiots who just form a crowd from the curb to the front of the building at which point I have to force my way through. I started with the kind “Excuse Me” and “Pardon Me” but these mother fuckers do not listen. So I’ve had to resort to just pushing people out of my way or plowing through them while they stare in awe at a tall building or fumble for their cameras as a fire truck drives by.

It’s just a building, and it’s just a fire truck folks. Nothing to see here. We have a sign out front of our building that says “Tourists not allowed beyond this point”. But the fuckers still come strolling into the lobby and stand there with their jaws agape looking at the lobby until one of the security guards kicks them out like they are a terrorist.

Sure, take a trip to the city, see the sites but dammit… move the fuck out of the way! Learn how things work in your new surroundings. And sure, people think we are rude, but wouldn’t you feel the same if your little town was overrun with idiots who stop without notice to take a picture of a building you work in? Wouldn’t you feel the same if you had to go through a gauntlet of oblivious people every day on your way to work?

Now I know why pickpockets prey on these people… they don’t pay attention to anything except for what they are staring at.

Sure I wasn’t always like this with them. I mean it’s been a long time since I’ve had a disdain for these people, but only recently have I started to not care.