Demarcation
The strike is over - for now - and there was much rejoicing. My feet are sore, my legs are numb and I need new sneakers, but I survived. In fact, we all survived. New York is nothing if not resilient.
Walking across the Brooklyn bridge and down queens boulevard and through midtown and... well, walking gave me time to think on things, and I started thinking about life in this city.
Life in New York is something that really has to be experienced. No matter how many stories you hear or movies you see, you can't truly understand it until you live it. Part of that is sheer volume. Can you really picture in your mind 7 million people? What about 9 million? You have to live it to learn it. But that's another discussion.
What I want to talk about is being a New Yorker. There are several arbitrary ideas about what is required to be a New Yorker. Some say you have to live here for 5 years, some say 6, others 8. A few claim you have to be born and raised here, but I'm not buying that. In fact what it comes down to is badges.
You see, every New Yorker wears this invisible sash declaring "I'm a New Yorker" (and, in small invisible print "Who the F@#* are you?"). And attached to that sash are the badges that they wear proudly declaring their New Yorkerdom.
Some of the badges are small and easily acquired:I put up with long lines for everything; I ride underground an hour each way to work and call it a good commute; I have an EZ-Pass; I have a year-long Metrocard; I know how to get to Times Square/empire State Building/the Statue of Liberty and how to avoid them ass well; I know where to get cheap Broadway tickets without a line; etc. These are the badges for the little horrors and privileges that are part of city life. They add up, but are so easily come by they have little value.
Then there are the medium size badges, the things that happen, but not too often: I was here during the blizzard of 20XX; I was here when the 59th Street bridge was shut down; I was here during the republican convention; a man peed on me once.
I have my fair share of small and medium badges, but they're no worth much. They have a lot of value out in the red states and other hinterland area, but everyone has them around here.
These smaller badges are part of the New York sash, but it's the big ones that are required to truly be a New Yorker.
I just missed out on the largest badge ever awarded. I moved here the year after 9/11, and people who lived through the falling of the towers are rightly proud of that. That one badge made you an instant New Yorker (for those who care, I was 90 miles away in Connecticut).
I have however lived through two major New York events - both coincidentally involving subway woes. The first was the blackout of 2003. While many experienced the blackout, the city was hardest hit as millions had to find a way home.
The second badge was, of course this week's Transit Strike. In my walks I was attempting to find positives in the strike and I finally did. I don't care what any other New Yorkers want to say about the 6-year rule, I've been a part of a distinctly New York moment. I've crossed the line, received the badge, ordered the t-shirt: Finally, I'm a New Yorker. And anyone who want to argue can go f@#* themselves.
Walking across the Brooklyn bridge and down queens boulevard and through midtown and... well, walking gave me time to think on things, and I started thinking about life in this city.
Life in New York is something that really has to be experienced. No matter how many stories you hear or movies you see, you can't truly understand it until you live it. Part of that is sheer volume. Can you really picture in your mind 7 million people? What about 9 million? You have to live it to learn it. But that's another discussion.
What I want to talk about is being a New Yorker. There are several arbitrary ideas about what is required to be a New Yorker. Some say you have to live here for 5 years, some say 6, others 8. A few claim you have to be born and raised here, but I'm not buying that. In fact what it comes down to is badges.
You see, every New Yorker wears this invisible sash declaring "I'm a New Yorker" (and, in small invisible print "Who the F@#* are you?"). And attached to that sash are the badges that they wear proudly declaring their New Yorkerdom.
Some of the badges are small and easily acquired:I put up with long lines for everything; I ride underground an hour each way to work and call it a good commute; I have an EZ-Pass; I have a year-long Metrocard; I know how to get to Times Square/empire State Building/the Statue of Liberty and how to avoid them ass well; I know where to get cheap Broadway tickets without a line; etc. These are the badges for the little horrors and privileges that are part of city life. They add up, but are so easily come by they have little value.
Then there are the medium size badges, the things that happen, but not too often: I was here during the blizzard of 20XX; I was here when the 59th Street bridge was shut down; I was here during the republican convention; a man peed on me once.
I have my fair share of small and medium badges, but they're no worth much. They have a lot of value out in the red states and other hinterland area, but everyone has them around here.
These smaller badges are part of the New York sash, but it's the big ones that are required to truly be a New Yorker.
I just missed out on the largest badge ever awarded. I moved here the year after 9/11, and people who lived through the falling of the towers are rightly proud of that. That one badge made you an instant New Yorker (for those who care, I was 90 miles away in Connecticut).
I have however lived through two major New York events - both coincidentally involving subway woes. The first was the blackout of 2003. While many experienced the blackout, the city was hardest hit as millions had to find a way home.
The second badge was, of course this week's Transit Strike. In my walks I was attempting to find positives in the strike and I finally did. I don't care what any other New Yorkers want to say about the 6-year rule, I've been a part of a distinctly New York moment. I've crossed the line, received the badge, ordered the t-shirt: Finally, I'm a New Yorker. And anyone who want to argue can go f@#* themselves.
posted by Chris at 11:51 AM
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