- Joined
- Sep 28, 2011
- Messages
- 15,113
- Reaction score
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- Location
- SF Bay Area
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Conservative
As a young man I did loved old Portland, other than the weather. And I still like, as a senior citizen many towns outside of Portland. What I loath now, however, is the cultural transformation and fusion of Portland into the mass of a 21st century culture of white Anglo-Saxon protestant "liberalism". To understand Portland you first have to appreciate what is not, and what it is:
- it's not an immigrant city with a history of multiple cultures.
- it's not N.Y. or L.A. It has none of the love of argument, eclecticism, individuality, and culture clash of such cities - it dreads conflict and real diversity.
- it's a homogeneous northern white WASP liberal cultures - conformist, passive-aggressive, and polite to a fault (i.e. to the point of patronizing).
- it's as if the 60s/70s communal "greens" and counter-culture was hybridized into an odd mix of "volvo" liberals, boutiques, and a huge street people population.
- it's not a live and let live it privacy, its obsessed over public displays of virtue. Yard signs of "Our America is" are on every block in upper-middle class neighborhoods, the newspaper gushes over a high school play that has a major character in a wheel chair, and editorials whine and worry over inclusion.
People here reminds one of the society in the original Star Trek episode wherein each glassy eyed citizen walks about in a lethargic daze, assuring each other that that are "of the body?" (telepathically linked to Landru). Everyone here is in this metabolically slowed state, driving slowed down to perfectly obeyed speeds and all driving is timid and hyper cautious.
The Portlander's "of the body" wear bland causal clothes, preferably a monochromatic shade of black, grey or dark green. Particularly unnoticeable are the women, who are uniformed the same as men: jeans or on occasion "dressed up" in leggings. Quilt polyester coats, rain jackets, and bland shirts or tops. A stylishness to their informality is rare. The women often have short chopped hair, no makeup, and look like they just rolled out of bed. This is not a town that has women in dresses, heels, makeup, long hair, or of girlish allure. Heck, plainess on the level of the old Mao suit would be an improvement.
More importantly, Portlanders cannot or won't argue, they walk away in anger at the first sign of disagreement; an emotionally stunted culture of weanies, constantly concerned with creating offense. As such, they have ZERO sense of humor. They can't tell a joke, don't understand good-natured teasing, cannot appreciate light-hearted poking, and are mystified by humorous sarcasm. Polite "seriousness" over perfectly shared values without any disagreement is their highest value; a robust debate is unheard of (and impossible to have).
And this "diverse" community of "inclusion" is relentless in suppressing the diversity of non-conformity, and eliminating it. When two Portland women opened a Burrito cart, hoping to sell the most authentic food possible, they were accused of "cultural appropriation" and forced to shut down.
My personal experience in Portland incinerated the last shreds of affection for Portland. Over one week, I went twice in public with my old mother to do everyday business. During our outings we banter and poke each other as we normally do, a Seinfeld styled humor. Twice on separate occasions Portlanders intruded on our conversation, assuming that my mild joking were serious and that I was mistreating an old person - even after mom explained to them that we tease each other, the Portlanders looked at us like we were from Mars...one of them feeling compelled to telling me what he thought even after my mother explained.
I've never found a larger group of humorless, waspie straight personeas, of whack-a-doodles as in Portland.
- it's not an immigrant city with a history of multiple cultures.
- it's not N.Y. or L.A. It has none of the love of argument, eclecticism, individuality, and culture clash of such cities - it dreads conflict and real diversity.
- it's a homogeneous northern white WASP liberal cultures - conformist, passive-aggressive, and polite to a fault (i.e. to the point of patronizing).
- it's as if the 60s/70s communal "greens" and counter-culture was hybridized into an odd mix of "volvo" liberals, boutiques, and a huge street people population.
- it's not a live and let live it privacy, its obsessed over public displays of virtue. Yard signs of "Our America is" are on every block in upper-middle class neighborhoods, the newspaper gushes over a high school play that has a major character in a wheel chair, and editorials whine and worry over inclusion.
People here reminds one of the society in the original Star Trek episode wherein each glassy eyed citizen walks about in a lethargic daze, assuring each other that that are "of the body?" (telepathically linked to Landru). Everyone here is in this metabolically slowed state, driving slowed down to perfectly obeyed speeds and all driving is timid and hyper cautious.
The Portlander's "of the body" wear bland causal clothes, preferably a monochromatic shade of black, grey or dark green. Particularly unnoticeable are the women, who are uniformed the same as men: jeans or on occasion "dressed up" in leggings. Quilt polyester coats, rain jackets, and bland shirts or tops. A stylishness to their informality is rare. The women often have short chopped hair, no makeup, and look like they just rolled out of bed. This is not a town that has women in dresses, heels, makeup, long hair, or of girlish allure. Heck, plainess on the level of the old Mao suit would be an improvement.
More importantly, Portlanders cannot or won't argue, they walk away in anger at the first sign of disagreement; an emotionally stunted culture of weanies, constantly concerned with creating offense. As such, they have ZERO sense of humor. They can't tell a joke, don't understand good-natured teasing, cannot appreciate light-hearted poking, and are mystified by humorous sarcasm. Polite "seriousness" over perfectly shared values without any disagreement is their highest value; a robust debate is unheard of (and impossible to have).
And this "diverse" community of "inclusion" is relentless in suppressing the diversity of non-conformity, and eliminating it. When two Portland women opened a Burrito cart, hoping to sell the most authentic food possible, they were accused of "cultural appropriation" and forced to shut down.
My personal experience in Portland incinerated the last shreds of affection for Portland. Over one week, I went twice in public with my old mother to do everyday business. During our outings we banter and poke each other as we normally do, a Seinfeld styled humor. Twice on separate occasions Portlanders intruded on our conversation, assuming that my mild joking were serious and that I was mistreating an old person - even after mom explained to them that we tease each other, the Portlanders looked at us like we were from Mars...one of them feeling compelled to telling me what he thought even after my mother explained.
I've never found a larger group of humorless, waspie straight personeas, of whack-a-doodles as in Portland.