Posted on 11/04/2004 5:37:57 AM PST by publius1
A Blue City (Disconsolate, Even) Bewildered by a Red America By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: November 4, 2004
Striking a characteristic New York pose near Lincoln Center yesterday, Beverly Camhe clutched three morning newspapers to her chest while balancing a large latte and talked about how disconsolate she was to realize that not only had her candidate, John Kerry, lost but that she and her city were so out of step with the rest of the country.
"Do you know how I described New York to my European friends?" she said. "New York is an island off the coast of Europe."
Like Ms. Camhe, a film producer, three of every four voters in New York City gave Mr. Kerry their vote, a starkly different choice from the rest of the nation. So they awoke yesterday with something of a woozy existential hangover and had to confront once again how much of a 51st State they are, different in their sensibilities, lifestyles and polyglot texture from most of America. The election seemed to reverse the perspective of the famous Saul Steinberg cartoon, with much of the land mass of America now in the foreground and New York a tiny, distant and irrelevant dot.
Some New Yorkers, like Meredith Hackett, a 25-year-old barmaid in Brooklyn, said they didn't even know any people who had voted for President Bush. (In both Manhattan and the Bronx, Mr. Bush received 16.7 percent of the vote.) Others spoke of a feeling of isolation from their fellow Americans, a sense that perhaps Middle America doesn't care as much about New York and its animating concerns as it seemed to in the weeks immediately after the attack on the World Trade Center.
"Everybody seems to hate us these days," said Zito Joseph, a 63-year-old retired psychiatrist. "None of the people who are likely to be hit by a terrorist attack voted for Bush. But the heartland people seemed to be saying, 'We're not affected by it if there would be another terrorist attack.' "
City residents talked about this chasm between outlooks with characteristic New York bluntness.
Dr. Joseph, a bearded, broad-shouldered man with silken gray hair, was sharing coffee and cigarettes with his fellow dog walker, Roberta Kimmel Cohn, at an outdoor table outside the hole-in-the-wall Breadsoul Cafe near Lincoln Center. The site was almost a cliché corner of cosmopolitan Manhattan, with a newsstand next door selling French and Italian newspapers and, a bit farther down, the Lincoln Plaza theater showing foreign movies.
"I'm saddened by what I feel is the obtuseness and shortsightedness of a good part of the country - the heartland," Dr. Joseph said. "This kind of redneck, shoot-from-the-hip mentality and a very concrete interpretation of religion is prevalent in Bush country - in the heartland."
"New Yorkers are more sophisticated and at a level of consciousness where we realize we have to think of globalization, of one mankind, that what's going to injure masses of people is not good for us," he said.
His friend, Ms. Cohn, a native of Wisconsin who deals in art, contended that New Yorkers were not as fooled by Mr. Bush's statements as other Americans might be. "New Yorkers are savvy," she said. "We have street smarts. Whereas people in the Midwest are more influenced by what their friends say."
"They're very 1950's," she said of Midwesterners. "When I go back there, I feel I'm in a time warp."
Dr. Joseph acknowledged that such attitudes could feed into the perception that New Yorkers are cultural elitists, but he didn't apologize for it.
"People who are more competitive and proficient at what they do tend to gravitate toward cities," he said.
Like those in the rest of the country, New Yorkers stayed up late watching the results, and some went to bed with a glimmer of hope that Mr. Kerry might yet find victory in some fortuitous combination of battleground states. But they awoke to reality. Some politically conscious children were disheartened - or sleepy - enough to ask parents if they could stay home. But even grownups were unnerved.
"To paraphrase our current president, I'm in shock and awe," said Keithe Sales, a 58-year-old former publishing administrator walking a dog near Central Park. He said he and friends shared a feeling of "disempowerment" as a result of the country's choice of President Bush. "There is a feeling of 'What do I have to do to get this man out of office?'''
In downtown Brooklyn, J. J. Murphy, 34, a teacher, said that Mr. Kerry's loss underscored the geographic divide between the Northeast and the rest of the country. He harked back to Reconstruction to help explain his point.
"One thing Clinton and Gore had going for them was they were from the South," he said. "There's a lot of resentment toward the Northeast carpetbagger stereotype, and Kerry fit right in to that."
Mr. Murphy said he understood why Mr. Bush appealed to Southerners in a way that he did not appeal to New Yorkers.
"Even though Bush isn't one of them - he's a son of privilege - he comes off as just a good old boy," Mr. Murphy said.
Pondering the disparity, Bret Adams, a 33-year-old computer network administrator in Rego Park, Queens, said, "I think a lot of the country sees New York as a wild and crazy place, where these things like the war protests happen."
Ms. Camhe, the film producer, frequents Elaine's restaurant with friends and spends many mornings on a bench in Central Park talking politics with homeless people with whom she's become acquainted. She spent part of Tuesday knocking on doors in Pennsylvania to rustle up Kerry votes then returned to Manhattan to attend an election-night party thrown by Miramax's chairman, Harvey Weinstein, at The Palm. Ms. Camhe was also up much of the night talking to a son in California who was depressed at the election results.
When it became clear yesterday morning that the outlook for a Kerry squeaker was a mirage, she was unable to eat breakfast. Her doorman on Central Park West gave her a consoling hug. Then a friend buying coffee along with her said she had just heard a report on television that Mr. Kerry had conceded and tears welled in Ms. Camhe's eyes.
Ms. Camhe explained the habits and beliefs of those dwelling in the heartland like an anthropologist.
"What's different about New York City is it tends to bring people together and so we can't ignore each others' dreams and values and it creates a much more inclusive consciousness," she said. "When you're in a more isolated environment, you're more susceptible to some ideology that's imposed on you."
As an example, Ms. Camhe offered the different attitudes New Yorkers may have about social issues like gay marriage.
"We live in this marvelous diversity where we actually have gay neighbors," she said. "They're not some vilified unknown. They're our neighbors."
But she said that a dichotomy of outlooks was bad for the country.
"If the heartland feels so alienated from us, then it behooves us to wrap our arms around the heartland," she said. "We need to bring our way of life, which is honoring diversity and having compassion for people with different lifestyles, on a trip around the country."
Michael Brick and Brian McDonald contributed reporting for this article.
Here's a pic of Ms. Cahme, (Left in 1st pic, center in 2nd), hobnobbing with some pals. I don't believe they're homeless.
She's probably full of it. Like she's going to sit down and chat to a piss soaked drunk about the Kyoto Treaty. Since this lady is a successful producer, why doesn't she do something to help these "homeless" rather than bore them to death with her views ?
I am convinced that I am no longer far enough away from New York. It is just about time to leave and I find myself wistfully searching realtor.com for homes in places like Elizabeth City or Morristown. sigh.
If this is really the way New Yorkers think, then this is disgusting. The idea that conservatism per se is backwards is simply irrational and question-begging. What if the things we are trying to conserve are *good*? I live in the Midwest, St. Louis to be exact. Nobody here "hates" New Yorkers (though if they keep this kind of attitude up, it surely will not endear them to our hearts). We sent all kinds of aid to NY after 9/11. We sent volunteers, search dogs, money, fire fighters, search-&-rescue workers -- we all went to the Red Cross first thing on 9/11 and stood in long lines to give our own *blood* for those same New Yorkers who are now calling us "backward rednecks". When you read the article, notice that some of the New Yorkers interviewed seem to think this election was about them. It was not about you! If anybody here went to the polls thinking about NY, it was only to prevent another event of the sort that happened in NY on 9/11. We Midwesterners went to the polls over the issues. Midwesterners are not stupid; some are, of course. And a greater proportion are uneducated, than in NY. But formally uneducated does not necessarily equal stupid. Midwesterners watch the news, and read the paper. We are not wholly unaware of Bush's faults. We are mostly concerned about moral values, and about protecting our country from terrorism. The situation in Iraq, whether justified or unjustified, needs to be seen through. At this point, we can't just abandon ship. But Midwesterners are aware of the moral trends in our country. We know abortion is wrong. It is not "backward" to want to stop the infanticide of 1.3 million children annually. That's no less progressive than was MLK's mission to end institutionalized racial discrimination. Moreover, Midwesterners have children, and we are aware of the strong homosexual agenda, which requires us to guard the TV and internet when our children are around, and whose influence threatens the sexual identity of our children, and thereby threatens the basic unit of society itself. Midwesterners know that it is wrong to hate sinners. That is branded into our minds more than New Yorkers realize. But opposing policies that sanction deviant sexual practices is not hate for anyone, but rather a recognition that the good of society depends in no small part upon the integrity of the family institution, as grounded in nature. One would think that all these environmentalist organic food-eaters would have some desire to return to *nature* when it comes to the family institution. Midwesterners are trying to preserve the family institution. It is not "backward" to try to preserve that which is good and is in danger of being lost. That's common sense. New Yorkers should come on out to the Midwest and get some. - A8
I thought this was one of the funniest articles I have read. If I did not know better, I would think this was from the Onion or Scrappleface.
This is a funny article. When I explain to people why we need the electoral college system (or a senate)I always use New York as an example of who would run their lives without it. Convinces them every time.
I know that attitude all too well -- how many times I've quietly stood there while these overly emotional leftists say the most awful things about President Bush and those who vote for him. They just assume that I'm one of them. But that's how I get to learn about them, especially how vile, small, nasty, patronizing and hypocritical they really are. Hardly the "Party of Tolerance."
"Everybody seems to hate us these days," said Zito Joseph, a 63-year-old retired psychiatrist. "None of the people who are likely to be hit by a terrorist attack voted for Bush. But the heartland people seemed to be saying, 'We're not affected by it if there would be another terrorist attack.' "
Well, I guess it's true that most shrinks are quite nutty themselves.
Hey, Zito! I'm not only a New Yorker, but I was born here, I live a few blocks from the WTC site and survived the attacks -- and I can tell you why so much of the rest of the country hates us. It's elitist douchebags like you who believe that the world hangs on every word and minor news event that comes out of NYC. Not even all of us who live here are as fascinated with ourselves as you think the rest of the world should be.
So, to make things clear for you, Zito: I live in Manhattan, I survived 9/11 and I cast my ballot for President Bush for the third time (primary and then general election in 2000, and then general election this year).
"To paraphrase our current president, I'm in shock and awe," said Keithe Sales, a 58-year-old former publishing administrator walking a dog near Central Park. He said he and friends shared a feeling of "disempowerment" as a result of the country's choice of President Bush. "There is a feeling of 'What do I have to do to get this man out of office?'''
Well, Keithe, what can I say? Welcome to what was my life from Nov. 1992 until Gore was medicated enough to concede in mid-December 2000. Boo-fricking-hoo.
Ms. Camhe, the film producer, frequents Elaine's restaurant with friends and spends many mornings on a bench in Central Park talking politics with homeless people with whom she's become acquainted.
Typical condescending liberal twit. Instead of talking down to the homeless, why not spend that time helping them get cleaned up or learning a marketable skill or ladeling soup at the Bowery Mission? Nah, it's far easier to sit on a park bench and pontificate. I bet she even tosses them a quarter after they've had to listen to her screechy lectures.
Her doorman on Central Park West gave her a consoling hug.
My doorman gave me a big smile -- imagine that: a black, working class guy who voted for Bush -- and the building manager gave me a big thumbs-up (an immigrant from Eastern Europe who despises communism with a passion, and sees it in the left in this country).
"What's different about New York City is it tends to bring people together and so we can't ignore each others' dreams and values and it creates a much more inclusive consciousness," she said. "When you're in a more isolated environment, you're more susceptible to some ideology that's imposed on you."
Total bull$hit! If you're not a liberal here, you are looked at like some sort of exotic mutant of the species. I've had people's eyes bulge and exclaim "WHOA!" when I am pressed to inform them that I am a Republican and was voting for President Bush.
They're "tolerant" and "inclusive" and all that other sanctimonious crap only as long as you agree with them.
"We live in this marvelous diversity where we actually have gay neighbors," she said. "They're not some vilified unknown. They're our neighbors."
I probably have gay neighbors, too. As long as they don't bother me or interfere with my life, I really don't care who they screw.
Not enough for Bush to win Nausea or Suffolk Counties. I remember when Lawnguyland was a GOP stronghold, but it has flipped in the last decade.
He is a nice guy though and not a bad buddy as long as you don't expect too much from him. I'd put him in the easily led, useless idiot category.
btw...We played football for years and I knocked him on his Brit kiester a dozen times.
Yes, I read that, thanks. :)
What galls me are all the leftists from out of town who come here and then act as if *they* are the natives! They are a thorough embarrassment and make me ashamed of this city, at times.
Keithe sounds like a pathetic sad sack who should be more pitied than scorned.
Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen. Sure, they'll engage in endless hours of navel-gazing -- after all, it's what they do best. But it has nothing to do with anything resembling thoughtful introspection. After all, they're right and we're not only wrong, we're ignorant, selfish, simple-minded, etc.
Why is EVERYTHING about homsexuality lately, and why do liberals think they're the only ones who've had any sort of regular exposure to it? Jeez. I had gay neighbors, coworkers, and friends when I lived in the city. I had gay neighbors back in Ohio. My grandfather in Texas had gay neighbors toward the end of his life. This is not "the unknown". Everyone knows gay people. And most everyone knows gay people they like.
That does NOT mean they get to call their living arrangements "marriage". Unless it's one man and one woman, what they have is not marriage. I will be tolerant of anything except attempts to legally force me to pretend otherwise.
Glad to see you on this thread. Got come back to this one.
If you can believe it, Maryland is just as liberal-wacky as NY. I got away from the city, but not from lefties.
I suppose one of these days I'll get around to putting up my new state flag, but I'm so used to New York's...
Ditto! When I found this board I felt like I had found some deep, underground social club where everyone felt free to loudly proclaim what I'd been secretly thinking all my life. I'd fell for the lines that if Id didn't believe in affirmative action, then I was a racist. I believed that if I felt that the homosexual lifestyle was hurtful and wrong then I was a homophobe. Homeschoolers were overprotective parents and whackos. FR taught me that my beliefs were NORMAL and correct. The wonderful, intelligent FReepers helped me find the vocabulary to express the logic behind these beliefs.
THANK YOU FREE REPUBLIC!
This election had truly convinced me that if we keep up the hard work on the ground, we will mostly always win.
If there are any Duval County people on this board - you guys are so great. I feel like I made friends for life.
I saw your post this morning but didn't have time to sit down and read it until this afternoon. But I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed it, and you are right about getting involved. I'm glad you did and had this experience. I am not as young and free to travel as you are, but I have been involved locally since moving here 6 years ago. I feel strongly that the conservatives have failed in educating the public as to the differences in the parties, what we stand for, etc. I know we wouldn't change everyone's minds, but I believe we would change many. Thanks again for your post.
Ya gotta get off the coast and over the mountains. Made that move 3yrs. ago and haven't looked back.
Just an observation, but at all times, we seemed to have:
1. Outclassed them when dealing with local election officials;
2. Outshined them when dealing with the voters waiting on line to vote. We engaged Kerry voters in a positive way and even gave them GWB stuff as momentos for history or a scrap book. Many liked this.
3. Outvoted them obviously;
4. Outworked them in the sense that we had more volunteers, more phone bank people, more sign hangers, more people on the ground.
5. Outorganized them in the sense that we had clear uniforms as to who we were and what our purpose was. It really made us appear to have more of the prescence than they did.
If we continue to do these things, we will rarely ever lose again!
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