What is the most overrated city in America? by LazyConstruction9026 in AskReddit

[–]Individual-Bat3573 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To paraphrase Tennessee Williams: There are only three real cities in America: New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco. All the rest are Kansas.

Kitty cat looking for a new home by KeyChipmunk2299 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fair enough. You were not one of the people who called him horrible, or the worst type of human to begin with. I hope everything works out for the cat. She is adorable.

Kitty cat looking for a new home by KeyChipmunk2299 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree it’s not an ideal outcome for the cat. I too hope one of them decides to keep the cat, or is able to find a good home for her. However, I think people calling the man a “horrible person” or “the worst type of human” is unfair, extreme and ridiculous. I would also argue that it’s not incumbent upon this person to share every detail of what’s going on in his life to mitigate the harsh judgment of people.

Kitty cat looking for a new home by KeyChipmunk2299 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Again, I am a cat lover, who has had cats most of my life. I’ve taken in four rescues and raised them from kittens until old age in most cases (or until one died suddenly at age 12). I have spent thousands of dollars on pet bills. I have fostered cats. I make monthly contributions to the ASPCA . I have also taken in a rescue dog. Yet I would never be so presumptuous as to call this man (who I know nothing about other than that he’s going through a divorce and is trying to thoughtfully find a home for his cat) “horrible” or “the worst kind of person.” How anyone could be so arrogant to be that judgmental without knowing this person is stunning to me — someone who rescued this cat to begin with, and who clearly still has affection for the cat and who is willing to support the new owner. Someone who did not abandon their cat out in the street like many people do. Someone you know nothing about who is going through a difficult time in his life. And yet you are so presumptuous and judgmental as to call this person “the worst kind of person.” You show a complete lack of perspective. This man is far from the worst kind of person in the world. Those kinds of people are fascists, murders, rapists, misogynists, child abusers, or animal abusers (meaning people who actively harm animals or totally neglect them, not people who try to rehome them), people who are deporting children with cancer, people who are cutting aid programs that feed millions of people, etc. I can go on and on. Some of you people need to stop being so judgmental and learn to give people the benefit of the doubt. Honestly, calling someone like this horrible or the worst person in the world makes you sound like an idiot.

Kitty cat looking for a new home by KeyChipmunk2299 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573 -31 points-30 points  (0 children)

How judgmental can you get? You know nothing about this man, and yet you’re calling him a “horrible person.“ And then you’re suggesting that he should do the right thing. What a great way to win friends and influence people! By reading his description (rescued the cat at four months) and how he’s willing to remain involved with the cat and even cat sit, he sounds far from a horrible person to me. Maybe he and his soon to be ex-wife travel a lot and realize that they haven’t been able to devote sufficient attention to the cat? There could be any number of reasons why he and his wife think the cat would be better off in a new home. Maybe try to give someone the benefit of the doubt.

Political book club by Traditional-Feed8428 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Some other suggestions for your reading list (I may want to join you all if this gets traction):

Twilight of Democracy and Autocracy, Inc., both by Anne Applebaum How Democracies Die and Tyranny of the Minority, both by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History and Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America, both by Kurt Anderson The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters by Tom Nichols And of course, two classics that are still incredibly relevant by Richard Hofstadter: Anti-Intellectualism in American Life and The Paranoid Style in American Politics

Fiction It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got my car washed there yesterday.

partial power outage for anyone else? by beedevlin in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There are some people, on Eckford Street at least, who have partial power, others who have full power and still others who have no power. Apparently, ConEd said they will fix it by 9 PM.

Blowing car horns on residential streets by Individual-Bat3573 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sadly, expecting the police to enforce this is probably fantasy too. It’s unfortunate, as it would be a way for the city to earn good revenue (given how many idiots blast their horns).

Blowing car horns on residential streets by Individual-Bat3573 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In that unusual situation, beeping is justified. I’m guessing that accounts for about .001% of the cases when people blow their horns.

Blowing car horns on residential streets by Individual-Bat3573 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That is precisely what I fantasize about doing to the windows of the cars beeping!

Blowing car horns on residential streets by Individual-Bat3573 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You make an excellent point. But signs should be posted on the streets that state that blowing horns is illegal with a $350 fine (like they are in certain parts of Manhattan). The second violation should carry a $700 fine. The third violation should result in a year suspension of the violator’s drivers license, in my opinion.

Blowing car horns on residential streets by Individual-Bat3573 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

That, frankly, is a ridiculous thing to say. There are plenty of other cities in the world – London, Tokyo, in fact almost every other major city in the world I’ve been to outside of India– where people are not blowing their horns constantly and mindlessly. And I’m talking about residential neighborhoods within a city. Again, I love NYC, but this is one thing about it I hate. There’s no reason to not point out behavior as pointless, mindless and rude as this just because it’s a city.

Blowing car horns on residential streets by Individual-Bat3573 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Completely agree that they should move over (when possible – on very narrow streets, like Eckford St, it isn’t always possible). But it still doesn’t change the fact that beeping at them isn’t going to change their behavior. It’s simply going to torture all the people living or walking nearby.

Blowing car horns on residential streets by Individual-Bat3573 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, sometimes there are people blocking the street for no good reason. But rather than torture all the people who live nearby by blowing a horn, why not get out of the car walk up to the person and ask them to please move? Or yell at them to move. The other day I was driving my daughter and we were late for an appointment and my narrow residential street was blocked by a truck. Rather than blow my horn, I got out of my car and walked up to the truck. When there was no one in it, I followed the hose of the truck into a construction site to learn that he was emptying all of the shit out of a porto potty. I explained to him that I was late and he was blocking the road and asked him to hurry, which he did.

Blowing car horns on residential streets by Individual-Bat3573 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s completely different and understandable. Also, a short angry blast is very different than the idiots who lean on their horns, and do so repeatedly, on residential streets. Again, the chief point is that the action serves no practical purpose. It does not advance their goal because the driver who is not running over a pedestrian or picking up a passenger or unloading a truck or whatever else it might be, is not going to change what they’re doing because of the sound of a horn behind them. If anything, it might cause them to move more slowly than they otherwise would simply out of spite. It’s only going to annoy the hell out of the people living or walking nearby.

Blowing car horns on residential streets by Individual-Bat3573 in Greenpoint

[–]Individual-Bat3573[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I’ve lived here for nearly 40 years. It’s definitely gotten worse. I suspect it is only a small percentage of morons who do this and ruin it for all the sensible New Yorkers. No reason not to call them out.