That said, as someone who lived many years in NYC and loves it (well, love/hates it), there are many citizen heroes in the metro area. A glance at 9/11 reminds us of that.
Overcrowding and the stress it exerts seem to raise the resistance threshold of the willingness to get involved. Living in NYC is like living inside a giant machine. You realize that you are a much smaller part of the whole...and, as such, you have much less individual power there as opposed to a small town. Hence, there is a greater sense of apprehension...and an increased unwillingness to take dangerous action (because all action appears to be more dangerous).
IMHO.
Amen, brother!
My feeling toward NYC are the same .. love/hate. I was born there but the family moved to the ‘country’ when I was quite young. Later I had the opportunity to live and work in Manhattan as an adult. That was before Giuliani, unfortunately. FReepers can say whatever they will about him, but what he did for NYC was absolutely remarkable, and against all odds.
Some of the acts of kindness these people (New Yorkers) are capable of go beyond anything you will see in a smaller city or town. We read only about this or the Kitty Genovese situation. The kindnesses never manage to make it to print. Jerry Lewis, speaking of his telethon and why he did it in NYC, said “because NYers are the most generous people on earth.” That was a long time ago, but I believe it still holds true today.
Often people not in NY don’t understand its geography. Or its demographics. What is seen of NY are its celebrities, its news anchors, its power brokers and its big-name criminals. They are less than 1% of the city’s population. They congregate in such places as the upper West Side, SoHo, the Village. Most are not native NYers. They come to a big, crowded, overwhelming city and shield themselves by taking on a protective coat against all that is going on around them. The natives are more accustomed to its vastness and pace, and are more inclined to actually paying attention to what surrounds them.