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Sat
8
Dec '07

A letter to New York Holiday Shoppers

I can tell that I am now a New Yorker, at least in part, because I agree with every word of this Open Letter by Matt Kressel of Senses Five Press

Dear Pedestrian Shopper,

Please note that, while you gawk at the tall buildings and meander down the sidewalk carrying giant bags of material goods, others are struggling to get around you to get their places of employment. As advice for you in the future, I suggest you adhere to these four simple rules when visiting New York:

Please study that before you come to visit me.

6 Comments »

  • http://www.dontlookzine.com Mary

    You know, I believe I’ve written a similar letter to the drivers on Central Florida road. One would think people would realize that not everyone in Florida is retired or on vacation.

  • Kai Jones

    Yeah, well, as a person who works downtown in a city that gets a lot of tourists, I say pfui.

    Tourists are part of the life of the city. As our guests I believe they deserve more consideration. Part of that is to have lower expectations from them: they’re lost, they’re doing something unfamiliar. Just because their goals are different from mine doesn’t justify treating them poorly or expecting them to accommodate my goals (getting to work on time, getting lunch inside an hour).

  • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

    Gotta disagree, Kai. There’s a big difference between tourists in Portland and tourists in New York. And there’s no excuse in either place for stopping at the top of the escalator. Why do people do that?

  • http://www.chrisbillett.net Chris Billett

    Agreed. I think it’s morally ok to push people down escalators when they do that!

    London (have you been to London, Mary? Just curious…) has a huge problem in the same way. Oxford Street and Regents Street are horrible (well, they’re horrible anyway, but all the more horrible for the tourists) and the worst thing is the people handing out flyers on the corners. Thank God I used to be a runner, and so learned the back streets!

  • -e-

    I agree that stopping at the top of an escalator is inexcusable… especially since escalators are a familiar phenomenon, regardless of where one is visiting from… but I must agree with Kai that tourists are a part of city life, and learning how to navigate around them, and build time into your schedule to accomodate their admittedly aggravating foibles is one of your duties as a resident.

  • http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Mary Robinette Kowal

    Hmph. Well, I don’t think that means that you have to like it or wish they wouldn’t do it. And I certainly am not singling them out. I push old ladies down, too.

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