As critical as I am of Chicago, I still believe I won't fit in anywhere else. I'm from a large Chicago Catholic family--isn't exactly how everyone was raised. I remember being in a bar once with my brother in Chicago and he ran into someone he knew that went to his high school. The guy, Carl I believe his name was, was 27, a college dropout and had been on Jeopardy recently so he wasn't an idiot; he was working on his undergraduate. He said something that I will never forget: "I learned being away from Chicago that not everyone is Catholic." Of course he knew not everyone was Catholic, but that just goes to show how an overwhelmingly number of Chicagoans identify themselves with the religion. Growing up I'd never thought I would live anywhere else: then I realized other parts of the country are much happier in general, warmer, laid back, sunnier, greener. When talking about Chicago, the grass literally is greener in Cincinnati; there are far more trees and less McDonald's gray parking lots everywhere. The best part is no one tells me about how great Cincinnati is like they do about Chicago. So Chicago Withdrawal isn't homesickness, its the feeling I get when I know I won't fit in anywhere else, something Chicago takes from everyone, which is why Chicagoans have to convince themselves they are the best, an awakening would be very painful for them.
Monday, April 21, 2008
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I am not from Chicago originally, and honestly; I am currently thankful for this. I have lived elsewhere in large cities, along with mid-sized cities, so I know I can live somewhere else, and I am currently working on leaving here by the end of summer.
I want to preface this with the following; I remember visiting the this city as a kid during the Christmas holiday season, and I don't remember Chicago being like it currently is, both the people and the physical aesthetics of the city.
The people were friendlier and not as trashy as they are now, nor did the city seem as rundown (although you did have areas that were rundown, like any city).
Now (and I have been here for awhile now), it has gotten worse. When I first moved here basically for my job, it was starting to get bad (mid to late 1990s), and leading up to today, it has gotten progressively worse.
The city is run down in quite a few areas, the business district (Loop, and N. Michigan, et al.) are all right, but the city will do it's best to keep that as clean as possible. The neighborhoods (a lot of the areas, even on the north side) have unpainted il-kept houses, trash on the streets, buildings and storefronts that look like a run down scene from an old 1930s Depression-era photo.
The people are il-mannered, low brow trailer trash, that is basically the best way to describe it. Throw in some really red neck racism, and you have the population of Chicago.
I remember seeing a posting on another forum once about how Chicagoans like to get into other's people business, and I can verify this is the truth. I have seen, and have experienced people (including myself) minding their own business, who all of a sudden some low-brow, crass Chicagoan will make a snide, childlike response, make physical gestures to grab this person's attention. I saw a few months back on LaSalle Street, not far from CBOT, a guy for no reason, start to make gestures call this other guy names for no reason. "Saying look at you, you think you are so big"; because he was well dressed, and this guy was a idiot who probably couldn't get a job at Burger King even if he tried. Envy is big issue with the fine people of this city.
I have heard one guy call another a derogatory name given to a person of the Jewish faith a word that starts with a "k". The "n" word also gets thrown around here like nothing; like someone was talking about the weather. The people are really vile and ugly here, and the low brow tastes are just sickening.
My example; I once was walking home from work with my headphones on (a blessing sometimes, as it blocks out these idiots talking), and this guy made a point of moving from one end of the side to walk in front of me, so he would run into me. His mouth was moving, and it seemed he was trying to get my attention; and I am not making this up, while putting his hand over his mouth like a little girl (this seems to be a trademark of the idiots here, and they have no idea how stupid it makes them look. I honestly think this is done, because they are so low brow and uneducated, they have to make little girl gestures as they have no other way to express their deficiencies). I wouldn't move and had he had to step onto the curb. Hey, just because you try to walk and in my path and hit me, I still won't move (he was much taller than I). I just laughed as a reaction, he just walked away screaming something.
I pulled one of my headphones out and asked this lady behind me what the hell was he saying, and she said he was saying (again like the story above) something about me thinking I am so big (I was wearing dress shirt, and nice shoes, pants--you see I work for a large firm, and need to dress for it). She also said he didn't like the way I combed my hair was another part of his rant; true story. Do a search, and you find similar stories, I am not making any of this up.
Chicagoans have major self esteem (and mental) issues, and as I have said before, I have lived elsewhere, and people elsewhere; including New York, LA, San Francisco, and smaller cities, do not act like this at all. I spent time during a transfer in San Antonio (along with the above cities) for six months, and those people were more than nice and courteous to me.
I cannot wait to leave, I just mind my own business and try to stay clear of these low brow, low IQ, racist rednecks, and just ignore them until I can leave.
Good blog BTW, and good luck on it.
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