Because I AM still writing even if my computer is still fritzing (damn the thing).
I knew I shouldn't have allowed it. I should never have allowed Darren to run to America. I don't care if Camaalis would have minced him if he'd stayed in Britain and my languages would give me a headache if he'd run to Europe!
Anyways, this is more about Rick than Darren. My American co-worker from New York state mentioned an east-west coast rivalry. She especially mentioned the north east and California (she seems to be of the impression that hallucinogens are regularly released into the water). This surprised me as I always thought that the politics and general opinions of the north east and Southern California were pretty much compatible.
So, is she an isolated person expressing her dislike on her entire coast? Does this rivalry (even a joking one) actually exist? If so to what extent? And do Californian's reciprocate?
(Methinks I need to know since Rick is a Californian in New York city)
I knew I shouldn't have allowed it. I should never have allowed Darren to run to America. I don't care if Camaalis would have minced him if he'd stayed in Britain and my languages would give me a headache if he'd run to Europe!
Anyways, this is more about Rick than Darren. My American co-worker from New York state mentioned an east-west coast rivalry. She especially mentioned the north east and California (she seems to be of the impression that hallucinogens are regularly released into the water). This surprised me as I always thought that the politics and general opinions of the north east and Southern California were pretty much compatible.
So, is she an isolated person expressing her dislike on her entire coast? Does this rivalry (even a joking one) actually exist? If so to what extent? And do Californian's reciprocate?
(Methinks I need to know since Rick is a Californian in New York city)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 06:36 am (UTC)Ok. Californian Right here.
Southern Californian to be exact. I know people who've moved up to cental and northern californian and I have NEVER felt any sort of rivalry with them, nor sensed any vice versa. Now and then a friend will tell me how much they miss all the amusement parks because frankly, Southern california has Hollywood, universal studios, Los Angeles, Mt. Baldy, 16 flags Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, Raging waters and the Ocean all within 2 or 3 hours drive of everything else in southern cali. (that is if you wanna go from the mountains to the coast that's three hours.)
What do people have in central and northern cali? ummm Yosemite national forest preserve. You know, where they filmed parts of Return of the Jedi. I believe the higher up to northern california you go the more gray it is and the more it rains. My dad was working up there for 6 months and said it was so gray "I'd have to slit my wrist to find any color."
Central Callifornia has a place better than Los Angeles, and that would be San Fransisco. I Can't wait to visit there again. Ok Rambling. umm point point, i know I had one here somewhere.
ah yes, so can't find any rivalry. I guess it all depennds on where a person likes to be. Maybe they like gray weather and rain, more excuses to be inside and snuggle with the last of Calfornia's natural beauty right on thier doorstep. Or maybe they like the scorching sun that's out almost whole year around and all the hustle and bustle of lots of places to be.
I've never been to New York to know, but I think Baz lerman summed it up nicely with the words; "Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you Hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you Soft."
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 10:59 am (UTC)I knew there was some well, not rivaly, but lack of understanding of sorts between north cal and south cal (I'm surprised they're part of the same state) though I think I'd be right in saying the sames not true between so cal and Washington state?
I suppose I didn't make it very clear but I was mainly think rivalry between the US pacific coast (mainly southern california) and US Atlantic coast (mainly New York). I mean, are there any less than flattering stereotypes or assumptions that are easily batted around about east coasters?
My New Yorky co-worker, e.g. says that the east coast assumes west coast are whacky, insane, extravagent for no good reason, arrogant and condescending.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 11:55 am (UTC)Depends. It's about 5 hours drive from where I live which isn't the ultimate bottom of So cal but still is southern california. If you look at it Geographically SF is at the bottom of the fraction that would be called Central and a bit too high for it to be called Southern. So *shrugs* wherever you wanna be. if you're from SF, i doubt you'd care if you were central or Southern. I don't. well, except to say you are from So Cal sounds better than being from north. you can't say you're from No Cal can you?
I suppose I didn't make it very clear but I was mainly think rivalry between the US pacific coast (mainly southern california) and US Atlantic coast (mainly New York).
Ehhh. that's wierd to imagine for me. I mean East coast has HOW many states beside New york on that side? 7? 8 if you count the teeny state of Rhode island. And on the west coast you have all of... 3? Cali, Oregon and Washington. I'm wondering what new Yorkers must think of themselves if they think they're the representatives of the east coast when they're just one state way at the top side of things right below Main. I think alot of these views of what Californians Are and aren't are coming from elsewhere. Not that Californians themselves invented them.
My New Yorky co-worker, e.g. says that the east coast assumes west coast are whacky, insane, extravagent for no good reason, arrogant and condescending.
heh they watched a lot of Baywatch didn't they? heh I Swear that's the same thing I hear people say here in Spain and it's from watching shows like that. I guess I'd kinda fullfill that impression when confronted by an easterner with questions like this and my answer would be to tell them, "I don't care if they think a Westerner is extravagent, whackey, insane, arrogent and condecending. I'm just me. Deal with it." Cuz i'm sure the same cound be said for any given New Yorker too. People are people. I think anyone attemtping to judge a whole group of people by a general stereotype or because of one specific person isn't being fair.
My advice to you personally Sparky and to your easterner friend, come for a visit. Then judge for yourself.
Insofar as characters, well, decide thier likes and dislikes. Both coasts have te same thing. its just how you want to see it. For me. even someplace with another language and country reminds me quite a bit of Los Angeles at times. You're never going to find things so drastically different from one city to the next that writting it will get it wrong. Just know your landmarks and the laws. You'll do OK.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-13 02:22 pm (UTC)I'm wondering what new Yorkers must think of themselves if they think they're the representatives of the east coast when they're just one state way at the top side of things right below Main
Proud? :)
She's actually NY state not NYC, which I am given to understand is actually in NJ?
I swear that's the same thing I hear people say here in Spain and it's from watching shows like that
Actually, that's quite impressive. Most people I know won't bother to classify beyond 'American'.
That attitude works for Rick, though it was pretty obviously going to be his come back anyway.
I think anyone attemtping to judge a whole group of people by a general stereotype or because of one specific person isn't being fair.
Goes without saying, but it happens an awful lot.
My advice to you personally Sparky and to your easterner friend, come for a visit
I've been to Cali (San Fran) but was nearly eaten by the misty grey evil stuff that attacks from the sea. A brief visit further south concluded with "it's too hot to move down here!" Of course I ahve no intentions of going anywhere near America in the next 4 years - at the earliest.
Addendum
Date: 2004-12-12 06:41 am (UTC)I guess NY might not have forgiven us for electing Arnold for Govenor.
but then again, Arkansas had a westler for a govoner once. Or was that georgia... Anyways.
Re: Addendum
Date: 2004-12-12 11:04 am (UTC)Yes, Arnold does seem to be a classic example of nuttiness...
Arkansas and Georgia are southern states though, I know that the west and north east have issues with the southerners (that map of jesusland is a big clue) but because I don't see a major reason for an east coast/west coast rivarly I'm probing to see if it's prevalent or just her.
Basically I'm, trying to find out if Rick, a San Francisco boy (his parents were originally from Texas) would face any assumptions in NY city, or whether he would/should have any assumptions about his neighbours.
Re: Addendum
Date: 2004-12-12 12:06 pm (UTC)Heh, won't remind the New Yorkers they voted Regan into office. and he was an actor too.
Might be relevant to just her. But above was a thinly veild wish to have you visit anyways. ^_^. nothing like personal experience eh?
As for texas. Ummmmm... heh, well I don't wanna sterotype. I'd be going against my own advice, but from some sources that have moved there, it's not too exaggerated the from the truth. and yes, They do make everything bigger in texas. You should see a Brisquit. (sp?)
Hmmm I really can't reccomend any good sources of info in comparing california life to texan life. well theres one, heh but I prolly sholdn't be giving you the link to a web comic drawn by a very angry guy with a love of dirty humor and violence. *snirk* on the other hand its still funny shit.
http://flem.keenspace.com/d/19990904.html
Enjoy FLEM
Re: Addendum
Date: 2004-12-13 02:38 pm (UTC)i never knew where Regan came from... so, I'll be rubbing that in her face tomorrow :)
But above was a thinly veild wish to have you visit anyways.
Lol, you live in Spain, though! There's far more chance of me visiting Spain where I am a citizen, than America.
well I don't wanna sterotype
yes you do. You know you want to. You know the word 'cowboy' is just itching to be typed.
And what is a brisquit?
Comic :)!!!! Oh gods, Rick's got to pack heat now?
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Gun ownership is not a right. Nor is it a privelege. It's a bloody stupid idea.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 01:04 pm (UTC)north-east coast mentality: we snarl at EVERYTHING. we don't CARE that nobody acknowledges a rivalry, we've declared one. we are in competition with you whether you like it or not. there are rivalries inside of rivalries. therefore if you live in new york:
1]. Californians are all fucking flaky nutjobs. they're lazy, too. the wussiness is probably due to the weather. they're probably smoking too much pot. only a dumbass would live someplace that's about to fall into the ocean.
2] if you're a new yorker, and it's not NY, it SUCKS.
2a.] if you're in brooklyn, the other beaurus SUCK. if you're in manhattan, you don't have time to argue it---you're busting your ass to afford your place.
3] east coast rappers are under obligation to shoot the west coast rappers dead. *nods* it's in their contracts, i'm sure.
4] nobody makes pizza like your favorite neighborhood place. (this is very important.)
5] the same goes for subs.
6] your mom cooks the best.
7] don't insult someone else's mom while you're inferring that your mom cooks the best, or the fight is On.
8] your football/baseball team is the best. other sports don't count. don't listen to what that freak down the street says. soccar? not a sport. we're divided on the whole nascar issue. i believe the notion is that it's fine if you wanna watch it, just don't insist it's a sport. if you tell us you're watching it for the car crashes, that's fine. there's a rabid NASCAR fan in every family. we try to keep the redneck jokes to a minimum and remind them that we love them anyway.
9] there's a rivalry concerning nyc's two baseball teams. being as i'm originally a philly native, and i am typing in my sleep, i will refrain from trying to esplain, because i will fuck it up. this is also Very Important. you need to ask ~nefinger about this. keep in mind, she's from brooklyn. it's very probable that darren will actually be obligated to support the other team.
[being from philly, we have a football when our eagles play the dallas cowboys, the cowboys must be made to eat the astroturf. supposedly texans do not recognise this rivalry. we say it's bullshit and they're only PRETENDING there's no rivalry because they're embarrassed by the way we DESTROY them. *cough*]
10] the south? SUCKS.
11] the west? SUCKS.
12] the midwest? REALLY SUCKS.
13] the only seemingly acceptable places to go appear to be florida and the shore. the shore is any beach on nj, pretty much. yes, still northeast coast, but from the way it's spoken of, you'd think we were traveling to the fucking moon on vacation. and there's still lots of people [my dad, for example] who get lost on the way.
14] long island has it's own rules. i have yet to figure out what the fuck they are.
t's an obligation to mock anything that is not north east coast in origin. and when we're tired of this, we have our own local rivalries. state wide, neighborhood wide, family wide.
http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC040798/ny.htm
and
http://www.artsandmusicpa.com/NYC/nyc.htm
very general stereotypy things, but cracking me up, because so much is sadly true.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 02:06 pm (UTC)Random aside from someone here mostly-randomly? I was hauled to Vermont on a school related thing, and were supposed to drop by New York and Boston as part of the same thing. We did in fact get very slightly lost on our way from Vermont to New York...to New Jersey. We barely noticed we'd skipped past a fairly large state. How the hell do you get lost from inside it on the way to New Jersey?
Upper west coast if that makes any difference, and I maintain that any rivalry is purely in the NE-coasters' heads. =)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-13 07:43 am (UTC)but yeah, it's a mostly good-natured rivalry, but it's the east coast version of "good natured" which still scares people that aren't used to brutal sarcasm in everyday conversation. and we're very nice to strangers, mostly. we're just in a hurry. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 03:04 pm (UTC)stoleBought thier Brooklyn Dodgers?Ahem. *G* but yeah I think kammy summed it up well in the first sentence. As a californian, we don't care. NY started this rivalry. it IS on.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-13 07:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-13 02:52 pm (UTC)Wow, it sounds just like Yorkshire - only we're willing to delve back centuries to find a convoluted reason for why we hate someone (cursed Lancastrians!)
the wussiness is probably due to the weather
Heard that before too! Oh, how often have my fellow northerners nearly killed themselves walking around in short sleeved thin t-shirts in January to prove a point to the soft souther jesses?
So Rick is likely to be treated as a nut?
only a dumbass would live someplace that's about to fall into the ocean.
OK, on this I'm inclined to agree...
if you're in manhattan, you don't have time to argue it---you're busting your ass to afford your place.
But we can assume a default assumption that everyone else sucks simply because?
nobody makes pizza like your favorite neighborhood place. (this is very important.)
LOL, overhere we bitch about whose is WORST. It's like a competition to see who can malign their own take away the most.
don't insult someone else's mom while you're inferring that your mom cooks the best, or the fight is On.
Does insult include implications that their mother is an inferior cook?
other sports don't count.
LOL, I don't see this being a problem. Actually I do, because Rick is BOUND to comment on how he loves watching the great sport of Lacrosse while eating his mother's superb cooking (which of course, no-one else's scabby mammas can match) or a take away from the BEST combo sub/pizza place in the world. Actually, he wouldn't say it. he'd rap it. Just because.
the midwest? REALLY SUCKS
I thought it was too boring to suck?
and there's still lots of people [my dad, for example] who get lost on the way.
The alien shore? LOL.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 02:59 pm (UTC)I'm from Oregon. And you damn well better believe there's a rivalry going on here. My home town has doubled in size in the past ten years-- mostly due to a bunch of asshole Californians moving in. They drive like maniacs, they're terrified of the snow, they chop down all the trees when they move in-- us natives are mighty resentful.
Politically-- go look at that red/blue map again, Jaer. The entire west coast voted blue, and the entire northeast-- new york, the area around the great lakes, that whole region-- voted blue as well. For those of you in other countries who might not know from just looking at the map, the blue states are all the ones with ALL of the biggest cities, oddly enough. (the distribution of blue/red is almost EXACTLY the same as where the divisions fell during the Civil War, interestingly) The states that voted red are what is sometimes termed the 'Bible Belt', which is to say (if I may make wild and mean generalizations) the regions full of hick fundamentalists.
I'm not aware of any -major- rivalry going on between the coasts, but there must be somewhat of one, though probably fairly good-natured. It's not a political sort of issue, more of a lifestyle thing.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 03:16 pm (UTC)DUDE!!! *shock*
they're terrified of the snow
Ok this is true of me. ^_^. I liked visiting oregon. So much in fact I can't wait to visit again. I might even like it enough to Move there. But eh,... sorry. i can't Theres Snow. *shivers*
Politically-- go look at that red/blue map again, Jaer.
That's the thing, I DIDN'T look at the red and blue map. I shall quote myself, "Cali was for Kerry all the way. So if NY voted Bush..." I said IF.... as in I didn't know. but Sparky mentioned compatable politics. So I mentioned looking at the election. if there was any difference it would be in the voting. Since there wans't any difference then yeah, it's safe for Sparky to say the politics is compatible.
I do agree it's a lifestyle thing.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-12 03:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-13 02:06 pm (UTC)And then you can show a united front against the Texans!
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-13 03:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-13 03:53 pm (UTC)Not to mention a considerable amount of people outside said union. It's amazing, you find people who can't name a single state capital nor more than 3 or 4 states but they still hate Texas.
Can't you offer those poor people asylum?
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-13 02:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-13 02:59 pm (UTC)They drive like maniacs, they're terrified of the snow, they chop down all the trees when they move in-- us natives are mighty resentful
Always happens when you get aliens moving in. Just speak to the cornish over here - of course what the cornish refuse to mention is that WITHOUT the aliens moving in or visiting the whole county would be a poverty striken hell-hole.
the blue states are all the ones with ALL of the biggest cities, oddly enough
I noticed that. Seems the civil war divide is still strong.