Letter from America
#1
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Location: Croydon - returned to democracy! Yay!!
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Letter from America
So here I am in New York City. Full of New Yorkers, surprisingly enough. We know the tye - rude, arrogant, unpleasant, right?
So why is it that when I held doors open for people here (and I'm a polite kind of guy so I do that quite a lot) not a single person sails through without saying thank you? Cops, train information people, cabbies, even street vendors are helpful and happy to give directions. We went to the Bronx Zoo. No gangs, no graffiti, no hassle.
In short, I feel safer here than I do at home. Not because there is an overwhelming police presence, because it's quite discreet. Simply because of the one thing that seems to be missing at home.
Respect.
People seem to respect each other's rights to do their thing. Sure, traffic is horrible but it works. No cameras and parking restrictions that actually make sense. political correctness doesn't seem to be rife here and if people step out of line they get busted.
The mayor is doing a grand job and has addressed what people actually care about - crime, security and the like rather than parking enforcement and minority groups. that's not to say these things don't get covered, simply that they don't get priority.
It's not perfect by any means but it seems to work pretty well. Apart from the speed limits and so on, of course...
SB
So why is it that when I held doors open for people here (and I'm a polite kind of guy so I do that quite a lot) not a single person sails through without saying thank you? Cops, train information people, cabbies, even street vendors are helpful and happy to give directions. We went to the Bronx Zoo. No gangs, no graffiti, no hassle.
In short, I feel safer here than I do at home. Not because there is an overwhelming police presence, because it's quite discreet. Simply because of the one thing that seems to be missing at home.
Respect.
People seem to respect each other's rights to do their thing. Sure, traffic is horrible but it works. No cameras and parking restrictions that actually make sense. political correctness doesn't seem to be rife here and if people step out of line they get busted.
The mayor is doing a grand job and has addressed what people actually care about - crime, security and the like rather than parking enforcement and minority groups. that's not to say these things don't get covered, simply that they don't get priority.
It's not perfect by any means but it seems to work pretty well. Apart from the speed limits and so on, of course...
SB
#6
Scooby Regular
Try travelling to the north of England, or Scotland, you get the same sort of thing. Every time I visit the south-east, I can't wait to get home. The nearer you get to London, the more likely it is that strangers will be down right rude to you.
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26 April 2022 11:15 PM