Thematically related post from months past:
Re: The New Suburbs
Another great, smug article on how the affluent (and primarily white) are figuring out how to shut out the rest of us: the less financially-gifted, the people who don’t speak English as their first language, the people who drive rusted-out Plymouth Furies. And this time, it’s for good.
Let’s face it, me old chinas: affluence is tasteless. Tasteless, that is, until it’s been given time to develop a romantic patina. Then it’s timeless, antique, and heirloom.
That’s a great paradox. Since time immemorial, the term “nouveau riche” has pretty much implied tacky, showy wealth. However, all rich people are newly rich at some point, so only their great-grandkids can benefit from the mellowing that age brings: tasteful, classy old money.
I live in Berkeley, where there are quite a few old Victorian houses. While they’re funky and beautiful NOW, I have to wonder what the neighbors must have thought of someone who’d build a house with a turret. I mean, A TURRET! Is there anything more pretentious than that?
I have to picture an “Antiques Road Show” of some 70 years from now. A middle-aged housewife from the Midwest stands, excited, next to a well-dressed balding man in his late 30’s with a tony northeastern accent.
“What you have here is a Starbuck’s ‘Barista’ electric espresso machine. Do you know much about its history?”
“My Great-grandmother got it as a wedding present. It’s been sitting in the attic for years.”
“Well, years ago, people used to go to these shops to buy cups of specially-made coffee. Espresso was an especially strong form of coffee. Eventually, these shops became so popular, they began selling their own brands of machines that people would use to brew their own at home.”
The housewife nods appreciatively.
“I believe at auction, this espresso machine, since it has all it’s original parts and probably still works, could fetch up to 1,000.” And so on.
Personally, I don't see where I fall in the spectrum. I'd fall in the "Urban Dweller" demographic if it weren't for the fact that I'm too anxious for the claustrophobia, high rents, poorly maintained buildings, utter lack of parking, rampant homelessness, lack of plant life, and high crime. Is there a classification for professionals with arcane cultural interests forced into suburban life through agoraphobia?
7:23:00 AM 
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