Economically disadvantaged – it really is the new politically correct term for “homeless people” or “welfare bums”. Please. Most people my age living in NYC would consider themselves economically disadvantaged.

I’m not judgmental when it comes to homeless people. I don’t believe they are all lazy or that they are all addicted to drugs or alcohol. It’s sad to see so much of it on the streets of NYC.

What I don’t understand, however, is when and why homeless people began to act so entitled – to my money. Last week, two of my co-workers came into work irate over two separate incidents that had just occurred in front of our building. One “economically disadvantaged” woman harassed my co-worker as she came out of Dunkin’ Donuts. When she did not offer up any spare change, the woman spewed at her, “I know you got money – you can afford to buy coffee and breakfast but you can’t give me any money? You make all this money and you can’t give me nothin’?” A similar comment from an “economically disadvantaged” man was made to another co-worker. He was insulted that she was going into a “big fancy building where you must make a lot of money” and she couldn’t spare any for him.

Like I said, my co-workers were pissed when they came in. One of them said, “Yeah, I have money and it’s because I work hard for it. Why should I feel like I have to give out change just because I can afford to buy a cup of coffee every morning? What makes them entitled to my money?”

It’s an interesting method to try to get money – are these “economically disadvantaged” people appealing to our guilty conscious? Like, if they make us feel guilty enough about having money, we’re going to give it them? Maybe it works for some people – but for me and my co-workers, it just pisses us off.

I appreciate people who don’t make me feel like I owe them anything, but instead, those who have creative methods – like this guy who sets up shop in the corridor between Port Authority and Time Square station.

I’ve never felt the desire to tell him off – but I do enjoy giving him my change.

overheard, rants | No Comments »

This has been bothering me for awhile – since I moved to the city a year ago, actually. New Yorkers push their kids around in strollers with plastic coverings.

I noticed it more in Queens than in the city, which confuses me even more. All packages that come with plastic bags clearly indicate not to let children play with them. It’s a pretty well-known fact that plastic bags + kids do not mix. So why then are parents enclosing their kids in plastic as they walk down the street? I don’t even like kids and it bothers me. What’s the deal?

I found the above picture on isawyournanny.blogspot.com. It’s actually a pretty cool website – people (usually remaining anonymous) recount stories (rat out) nannies. There’s some entertaining and scandalous stories – one tipster reported seeing a nanny binge drink while with her charges in a park in Arizona. Click here to read what one Jane Doe saw a nanny do with a plastic stroller cover. Also, while I was perusing the sight I stumbled upon this post, which bears a striking resemblance to one of my posts!

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As July 4th approaches, I think it’s important to remember what country we live in. And what language we speak.

And before you start rolling your eyes, no, I’m not going to begin a tirade about the immigrants and foreigners who can barely say hello in English. (Although I could, because in this city, it’s a serious struggle to communicate.)

No, this is about fellow Americans who have gone out of their way to incorporate British lingo into their vocabulary – without actually making the effort to live in the country or pick up the accent.

I first noticed it at work when a client called and asked to be called back on his “mobile.” I wrinkled my nose when he said it and thought, “Who does this guy think he is, Tony Blair?”

Last weekend I attended an event at the Puck building and a young woman asked me in crystal clear (non-accented) English, “Can you tell me where the loo is?”

I stared blankly at her for what seemed an eternity as my brain tried to comprehend what she was asking. Obviously I know what the “loo” is, but without a British accent to accompany it, I was lost.

Sure, British accents are cool. I even enjoy some of their slang (if I lived in England, I’d say “bloody fantastic” 24/7). And yes, the English have a way of sounding proper and sophisticated. But an American accent + British lingo just screams, “Fraud!”

Seriously, what’s so bad about our jargon that Americans have found the need to steal dialect from a culture across the Atlantic Ocean? Come on America, where’s your sense of patriotism? Did your heart not swell with pride when “bling-bling” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary?

I don’t know if this use of Brit slang is a new trend for 2008 or simply another way Americans have found to make themselves look like assholes. Either way, I’m over it.

As in, “Hey, I’m goin‘ to the bathroom to use my cell.”

rants | No Comments »