Gentrification, My Bad

A very funny opinion piece from The Onion.

My favorite line has to be:

"I mean, what's the point of supporting a local business if it's not cool?"

Or:

"I know this neighborhood would benefit from the diversity of more people like me moving in."

Hilarious, and yet, having recently moved into an "up and coming" area of DC, I guess I'm part of the problem. I'm not demanding a Whole Foods like some people, but at the same time I'm not opposed to the new Target or Best Buy either. And I just got here.

I guess, at the heart of it, I have no real problem with people wanting to live in and develop a neighborhood. My problem comes from the illusion people have that their urban area is somehow more of a "real" place to live than the suburbs, or anywhere else for that matter. I can understand preferring a certain lifestyle and area, but looking down on people who do not live like you, shop like you, eat like you, etc. is just snobbery.

Sometimes it seems the young and upwardly mobile just want to live in the "city" because the idea is slightly edgy and dangerous. There is nothing dangerous about cul de sacs, manicured lawns, and next door neighbors named Ron who drive mini-vans. That's not cool.

It is dangerous to live in the city. There is crime here, or more importantly, street crime. The kind that's on TV. Life feels more...real. Even as we seal ourselves away, or attempt to, with our gentrified walls, we can still pretend there is always imminent danger. And that is cool.

I know crime is a real problem here, for everyone. But the difference between what happens in the rest of the city versus the "gentrified" parts of town is like the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing it.

But what point can I make about that, I don't live in an area with that kind of danger either, and I never have.