Is the reporting about the storm aftereffects is distorted by misunderstanding local culture?

[hedgehog]

New Yorkers turn out to help one another when the going gets tough; we all learned that on 9/11. But they have never been shy about complaining, especially about their local government. On the other hand, Garrison Keillor has made a running gag out of the way Midwesterners refuse to admit that anything is wrong or that they need help. Does "we're all dying out here on Staten Island" actually translate to "I'd like the power to come back on and someone needs to get rid of that downed tree blocking the road"?

[liberal N proud]

1. New Yorkers have a special way of communicating.

One that many west of Pennsylvania don't get.

I am sure there is some legitimacy to their complaints and some of it is New York.

[Blue Meany]

2. Well, I would say that Staten Island is different from the rest of NYC and many

New Yorkers (including those on SI) say it should be part of New Jersey. It's more like the NJ suburbs than the other boroughs of New York--whiter, with more single-family homes, etc. That may be part of the reason we are hearing more about Staten Island than, say, Queens, which seems to have gotten the worst of it NYC.

[TDale313]

3. probably to some extent...

Everyone's going to react differently in a crisis. There's no question people are suffering in the aftermath of Sandy. Let's cut people some slack if their nerves are a bit frayed. Jmo.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Yes...

[Sekhmets Daughter]

5. Exactly!

I think the "squeaky wheel" approach was formulated in NYC....

[customerserviceguy]

11. And it's spread throughout the region

Believe me, I deal with it every workday at my job in NJ. However, let's not forget that distrust plays a large part in that attitude. Once someone feels they can trust you, they stop squeaking. I do that with my rural Northwestern accent, which people know doesn't originate in this area, and they know that folks from other areas of the country are more trusting and perhaps trustworthy.

Photo ops with Cuomo handing out supplies with a dozen National Guard troops around, and hugfests between the President and Gov. Christie Cream are not going to engender trust. It's going to take results to produce that. I'm afraid of all the pissed off people there will be on Tuesday morning who will not be too happy to stand in a line to vote after having waited four hours to get a couple of gallons of gas for the car or generator.

[hrmjustin]

6. No it means they are dying out there.

I was in Staten Island yesterday and it is a disaster. There are no words to describe it. People who just don't have power understand that they were luckier than the people who live in Zone A.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Yes, it's a disaster area

Aid is tricking in. FEMA is moving in en force, food and water is coming in...zone A was designated as such for a reason.

[RagAss]

7. Honestly speaking, they don't come across as likeable people.

Just sayin.

[hrmjustin]

9. Come and visit us and you will find we have a special charm.

[norahs8]

8. good point!

But there are spots there (SI, coastal towns, etc) that really need all the help they can get..

[customerserviceguy]

12. What brought people together eleven years ago was the sense of a common enemy

It's difficult to muster up the same feelings of determination with a natural event. At 9/11, radicalized Islam was an easy target to stand up to, and the government (through the media) delivered the bearded, turbaned Osama bin Laden as the face of that enemy.

In this situation, Hurricane Sandy does not have a face to put on a wanted poster, and people will start looking for another enemy to blame. In the absence of effective help, that enemy may well become government. It's no wonder that elected officials are out there trying to get in front of cameras and microphones to either call for action from higher-ups, or are announcing what actions they have been able to mobilize.