May 15, 2006
NEITHER BLOOD NOR TREASURE
I love NYC down to the marrow of my bones, but one of its ugliest features is the municipal pronvicialism of its residents. Unlike Bostonites, who glory in their Freedom Trail and their hometown's history of Revolutionary battles, or Philadelphians who safeguard the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and their reputation as the Cradle of Liberty, NYers savor their separateness from the rest of the United States. An item by Gothamist.com a few hours ago about the reintroduction of a study to examine the idea of secession from the rest of the state by councilmember Peter Vallone has elicited a few representative and pitiable comments. The first was by me, regarding the history of secession by the city:
The secession movement during the Constitutional Congress was a case of powerful NYC merchants eager to strengthen the nation for purposes of trade, gain a national navy to protect shipping, and the continuance of federal largesse, as Federal Hall downtown (across from the current NYSE) was the seat of the national government. Upstater antifederalists were largely skeptical, feeling that the Constitution gave too much power to the central government. Secession of NYC from the rest of the state was eventually suggested so that the city wouldn't be left out of a newly formed union. In this particular case, both sides were partially right. The upstaters' stubborn recalcitrance was eventually rewarded with the promise of an adoption of enumerated rights once the Constitution was ratified with their support. And that's how "upstate bumpkins" helped secure us a Bill of Rights.
This was not the last case of NYC residents putting personal interest in front of national unity. In the 19th century, the Copperhead municipal movement arose to protest the Civil War. Understand that NYC was a city largely built by slaves and financed by the slave trade. 19th century residents saw little purpose in an aggressive war against southern states to stamp out a practice that had buttered its bread from the city's founding. The ensuing 1863 Draft Riots laid waste to the city, resulted in the outright murder of hundreds of black people, and are a historical blight on the honor of Gotham.
Unfortunately, the city's stature as the greatest town in the country/world affords its citizens some regrettable conceits. Here is another comment from the aforementioned Gothamist.com piece:
I don't feel American anyway, I always refer to myself as a NYer. I hate being associated with people from the South and upstate NY. They're all toothless, classless and physically repulsive, with their fat, Disneyfied lardasses trotting around with stone washed denim shorts and footlong hotdogs.
That type of sentiment makes me sick. Jesus! Even southerners, whose land was laid to waste by Union forces have more of an affection for the U.S. than that. Yeah, we don't all agree. Nor are we demographically the same. You'd think a NYer could appreciate that. That's what makes New York State and the U.S. itself incredible. I'm going to hope that second comment was written by someone young and stupid, with an emphasis on both "young" and "stupid", and an inverted relationship between the former and latter. These United States are not a nation of party line-conforming automatons who all wear the same "cool" clothes and choose the same lifestyle. And sometimes, they feel a duty to preserve a good life their nation has provided them, even sacrificing their lives to free black people who might threaten their jobs. That might not be the height of metropolitanism; but it is patriotism, and that is not as uncool as it sounds.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at May 15, 2006 3:41 PM
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Comments
Remember in NYC around 98-99 when most guys seem to think that it was appropriate to wear leather pants for activities other than visiting S&M bars?
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being fanny pack level of repulsiveness, I would say that seeing your neighbors hanging out on a Saturday afternoon wearing varying levels of snug leather pants is about a 9.5. NYers should not be casting any first stones.
Posted by: Tom at May 15, 2006 5:43 PM
Agree completely
www.forgotten-ny.com
Posted by: Kevin Walsh at May 16, 2006 12:49 AM