One would probably not expect much
drama to arise from a site which concerns itself largely with
restaurants, art exhibitions, and community gardens. Nonetheless,
BushwickBK has the most drama-prone readership of any outlet with which
I have ever been associated. There is no way to discern what this means
for Bushwick itself; our audience is obviously self-selecting, and our
commenters even more so, and matters are confused further by
non-residents who post as well. But to the extent that a regional
outlet's commenters reflects the nature of the region, a good number of
our neighbors clearly need to calm the fuck down.
A few months ago, I wrote a piece to the effect that Life Cafe charged too much and was aesthetically irritating to boot;
this prompted a 72-comment fight concerning Life's desirability as a
local staple and my abilities as a writer. Likewise, it prompted the
owner to reduce prices on some items. This was probably the only thing
I've ever written that has resulted in some actual positive effect on
the world. And for the most part, the comments were understandable.
Later, though, Hrag Vartanian, one of this site's more thoughtful critics, provided a fine overview
of the most recent Bushwick Biennel. But he neglected to mention a
certain installation, this being a mobile trailer filled with plants
and park landscaping, and he consequently drew the wrath of the artist
herself. The piece, noted creator Kim Holleman, was so "cutting-edge"
and local as to merit a mention. "It was also built in bushwick over
the course of one year, ON THE STREET by a bushwick artist who is TEN
YEARS strong in bushwick proper," noted the deranged harpy. As Holleman
notes on her website, "Trailer Park is a site of paradox. It is
nonfunctional, yet completely functional in its repurpose... By
going inside, you will be able to go outside. A mobile metaphor and
transcendent experience." Oh, absolutely! Likewise, Vartanian's stated
desire to see street art in a gallery was clearly that of "the typical
white guy who wants graff[iti] to somehow be 'counted' inside a world
where it doesn't belong," at least according to a white female who
presumably did a stint with the Latin Kings before moving on to
conceptual art.
Then there was, of course, the bike affair, whereby contributor Diego
Cupolo's account of his beating at the hands of some would-be thief
prompted more than 450 comments, most of which were insane. These fell
into several categories: racists who held this up as proof
that the local blacks are animals and that liberal whites will all soon
be torn to shred in an ironic uprising of violent natives; non-racists
who thought otherwise; anti-cop
sentiment; pro-cop sentiment; fascist comments by anonymous NYPD
officers; apologies from other anonymous NYPD officers for the fascist
sentiments of their colleagues; debate over who perpetrated 9/11;
challenges to fight; attacks on The New York Times; unhinged
advice to Diego to the effect that he ought to launch a punitive strike
against the pair of neighbors who failed to render aid (from me); and
comments to the effect that muggings are bad.
Most
recently, a generally positive review of The Hibachi Tiki Hut, also by
Diego, prompted a somewhat more critical comment by Bushwickitywack to
the effect that the place was still rough around the edges; co-owner
Lorien Flinn responded with a comment of her own to the effect that
several of the problems would be addressed soon and further suggested
that bushwickitywack might be too poor to appreciate the menu's better
offerings and too fat to have been comfortable in the resident booths.
She later apologized.
The point of all of this is that I demand more comments. Also, lol, clip show.
Notes from the Outside World
* It amazed me that there were actually people within the fold
of the Democratic Party who looked at John Edwards and said, "That's
the guy. Let's make him president." Yet the populist douchebag was
always hovering around 12 percent during the primary, which just goes
to show how easy it is to fool southerners. One of Edward's supporters
whom he happened to be fucking as well seems fairly representative of
the rest; it is now reported that he told the ugly woman with whom he
had the affair that, just as soon as his cancer-stricken wife died, the
two would be wed in a rooftop ceremony presided over in part by The
Dave Matthews Band. What a stupid bitch.