NYC: What the Fuck is Wrong with this City?

I'm not angry solely because I'm hungry although hunger does tend to breed desperation. (It's Day 5 of the "master cleanse" and I'm seriously pissed because a) I'm hungry; b) it's fried chicken day in our cafeteria and I'm surrounded by the smell of it; c) still no sign of mucoid plaque.)

Anyway, enough about my colon. To keep my mind off of the fried chicken fumes, I was listening to the Brian Lehrer Show. The last segment was about yuppie Manhattan parents (blah blah blah), but one guest threw out a tidbit that really stung. He said that rich people in NYC are 52 times richer than the poor, an income disparity that is similar to that of Namibia. Aaargh!

So, what's wrong with this fucking city? (Yes, I realize that there is something wrong with this entire country, but right now I'm talking about New York, which is clearly the center of the universe.) We've all started to face up to the fact that NYC has gotten rich, expensive, and boring in recent years. In addition to the obvious visual cues--chain store upon chain store, Avenue C being a playground for suits, and too much Kobe beef--doesn't it seem like we've all gotten complacent, even those among us who aren't rich?

In our defense, I know that there are many many things to be angry about, and it's really difficult to stay on top of this much injustice. Every day a sad or infuriating story hits the news. (Just this week alone, two things that people should be SCREAMING about: more evidence of rushed cleanup after 9/11 and pre-RNC police spying.) Maybe our lack of focus is due to sheer volume? Given the constant media blitz we live under, when a story comes to prominence, it seems to get coverage above the fold for only a couple days.

Or is it the political climate that's to blame? We have such a warm and fuzzy relationship with our petite mayor Bloomberg, but do you remember the days when we bonded together in mutual hatred for Giuliani? People got pissed back then! Doesn't it seem like we've lost our collective sense of outrage? Did the angry people move away or is it just the anger that left?

Well, I certainly blame myself for my own personal failures. And I'm going to pass the buck to rich people and their rich person trappings. For instance, sometimes I'm stomping down the street, nursing an acceptable anger level (say a 7.5 out of 10), then I pass by a cutesy bakery. Next thing you know I've forgotten about the homeless person I just walked by (get a job, loser!), and I'm stuffing a cupcake in my mouth. Which pretty much instantly subdues the beast.

In sunnier news for Gotham, an urban beekeeper on the Leonard Lopate Show says NYC's bees are in better shape than rural bees.