Oh early September, you ever experience a day that’s so nice that when you hear other people having sex in your neighborhood, it doesn’t bother you? And those people could be students. And they could live happily ever after yadda yadda yadda, (someone call a Hollywood exec already).
Anyways.
A friend of mine once said that ‘the bro’s who own it are the ones that ain’t too bad’ & that help me put a new spin on what a townie is, and isn’t. At the very least they hold fast to their culture. A culture, whatever it is, distinctly their own in the face of the dilution of not just what it means to be from Boston, but what it means to be from a place anymore at all.
A city once built of brownstone brick & tile Church steeples is now turning toward the green & orange haze of designer condos and competing Sushi-rito chains (I fucking hate sushi-ritos), but what can we do? The truth is, starting an underground social revolution probably isn’t part of many of our daily to-do lists. More importantly, we should remember that the new students are people too, just like your drunk uncle Kenny, who drinks Miller High Life’s and orders Chinese food with a bad Chinese accent.
I’ve come up with, for my own sanity, a handy list of dos & don’ts for dealing with students and tourists alike in the face of what can only seem like a slow descent into a Bladerunner-esque type future.
First things first: Be Nice.
I do this thing at work where I just blurt out that today is going to be a good day and it really helps. And often times, freaking out makes everything worse. When I take a breather from the bleak depression that is our culture, I find that being alive & appreciating that fact is still mind-boggling because you’ll always have your thumbs and thumbs are pretty rad. PMA all day, even if you’re doing your thinking within a hopeless fraud of a place like America.
A good place to take all your angst & insecurity is a local community meeting! There are organizations devoted to Tenant Rights, Homeless Rights, City Beautification, Political, & Social organizations that are designed to get you involved and listen to why you feel the need to get out & help. Try not to go to any ‘free speech’ rallies though, I’m not sure they’ve got it all figured out.
You can always start your own thing.
Whatever that may be: being a heartthrob Hank Moody wannabe, creating your own Etsy account… hell start a political party! I’ll probably go to a meeting or two and tell my friends. Or, you know, you could do nothing. Doing so is not contributing to the problem at all…
I know that shop-local is now a bourgeoisie term, with many local businesses catering to their needs seeming to muscle out the older shops. But there are a hell of a lot of good restaurants, local affordable shops that care & old restaurant staples that are hopefully not going anywhere soon, with your help.
Support your local music and arts scene!
Boston is being drowned out be a new wave of consumerism tailor made for grad students, & the not-so-great liberals alike. The wholesale yuppification of a city is invasive to & exclusive, perhaps not particularly to Middle America, but to the city’s poorest & repeatedly marginalized citizens. So don’t let the deluge of newcomers to this city be a weight, but rather an asset to more inclusive & vibrant scenes.
Chris Hughes is a contributor to the Boston Hassle. He can be reached at [email protected] or crsjh_ via instagram & twitter.
