Sullivan County, NY - Enough Already
A recent column in a local paper
A good friend who has a big heart but at times a questionably sized brain told me that he's had it with all the crazy summer traffic.
"I can't stand all those people. They don't know how to drive. They don't belong on the road."
I said he shouldn't talk about Yankee fans like that.
He looked confused. I egged him on.
"Those people - you're talking about 'those' Yankee fans, right? I'm with ya, can't stand those Yankee fans. Nothing but road hogs."
"No, I'm talking about Hasidics. Those people can't drive. How'd they ever give those people a license?"
I told him to send me his forwarding address, because "those people" are staying. If he wants to spend any more summers in Sullivan County, he might want to show a bit more tolerance and a lot less ignorance.
He's not alone. You'd have to be deaf not to hear this talk and dumb not to think it hurts.
A good friend who has a big heart but at times a questionably sized brain told me that he's had it with all the crazy summer traffic.
"I can't stand all those people. They don't know how to drive. They don't belong on the road."
I said he shouldn't talk about Yankee fans like that.
He looked confused. I egged him on.
"Those people - you're talking about 'those' Yankee fans, right? I'm with ya, can't stand those Yankee fans. Nothing but road hogs."
"No, I'm talking about Hasidics. Those people can't drive. How'd they ever give those people a license?"
I told him to send me his forwarding address, because "those people" are staying. If he wants to spend any more summers in Sullivan County, he might want to show a bit more tolerance and a lot less ignorance.
He's not alone. You'd have to be deaf not to hear this talk and dumb not to think it hurts.
posted by VOS IZ NEIAS @ 7/28/2006 06:26:00 AM
19 Comments:
At 12:32 PM,
Anonymous said…
In a recent column, Lisa Ramirez urged civility in Wal-Mart. I'd like to take it out on the roads, where we're all trying to first get to the stores. Or anywhere else for that matter.
Civility shouldn't be tied to money, but let's begin with the perception that Hasidic and Orthodox Jews don't contribute to Sullivan's economy.
What, you think they just crowd the roads, the main streets and all the stores and leave empty handed? Locals say shop on Saturday to avoid the crowds. That's cause the rest of the week people are buying.
The sales tax revenue last year in the summer months increased by $3.5 million, to $9.9 million, nearly one-third of the total sales tax revenue for the entire year. That's just one economic indicator. There are property taxes paid as well.
Regardless, all summer there's loathing that borders on anti-Semitism: "Those people can't drive."
"Those people come up from the city, and they think they own the county."
"Those people are so pushy."
Substitute "those people" for blacks. Hispanics. Or just use the word Jews.
Blacks can't drive.
Hispanics think they own the county.
Those Jews are so pushy.
Not in a million years.
Yet, for 10 weeks, folks in Sullivan walk around with a chip on their shoulder the size of skyscraper and a fuse already sizzling because Hasidic or Orthodox Jews have the nerve to drive on our roads, use our passing lanes and take our parking places.
And the hostility comes from Jew and Gentile alike. Year-round Sullivan County Jews tend to separate themselves from "those people."
I've said it myself. That's wrong, and I'm ashamed.
As a Jew who does not wear a yarmulke (a skullcap) all the time, and who doesn't have peyos (side locks), I'm not given the evil eye or the tongue-lashing by folks who show the patience of a 3-year-old.
I may not look like "those people," but I am those people. And so are my Jew and Gentile friends. We're all Sullivan County people. Some just spend more months here than others.
Yes, it is a two-way street. I've had my share of near-misses. I can't tell you the number of people who I've seen behind the wheel of a car who shouldn't be allowed behind a shopping cart. It can be insane.
But it's not an excuse to spew hate.
"We should be able to live shoulder-to-shoulder, without anyone being nasty and saying 'you people' every time we're on the road," explains Rachel Mayer, who comes up every summer from Borough Park in Brooklyn. She and her husband are going to Village Court next month to deal with a road-rage case.
"When I see a Hasidic person driving wrong and being disrespectful, that hurts me more than what other people say. It reflects badly on us. It allows people to generalize. We should all be good neighbors."
That's the kind of talk we should be hearing.
At 1:20 PM,
The Chainik Hocker said…
It's true... we can't drive.
When you drive in the country on a Sunday on the way to Walmart the way you would drive in Williamsburg four minutes to lecht benchin, you make a chillul Hashem.
At 1:39 PM,
Anonymous said…
who is Lisa Ramirez ?
At 1:50 PM,
Anonymous said…
It's only in Sullivan County! They don;t know how to drive in Brooklyn either. I am one Jew that is happy they all go upstate for the summer.
At 1:56 PM,
Anonymous said…
To Times Herald-Record:
I agree with you and we need to step out of the Shtetl mentality if we are going to mingle with society and there is no reason to feel badly for showing up in a county for the summer where for the most part we obey the laws and act civilly like the next person. (note I did not say Jew or Gentile). Mind you, I stay home in Brooklyn all summer so I think my point is pretty objective. Just act like a Mentch wherever you are and we'll all stay out of trouble.
At 2:26 PM,
Anonymous said…
someone ought to tell him that "those people" are the ones who keep their towns economy from being in the toilet all year by spending millions of dollars upstate in 8 weeks.
if not for "those people" the little towns would be deserted and falling apart.
anyone drive down broadway in monticello this year? count the empty storefronts.
looks to me like the "locals" cant support their town and make it flourish while "those people" do exactly that and more over the course of the summer.
what chutzpah!
At 2:27 PM,
Anonymous said…
WHAT ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE FROM THE SECOND CRASH? THOSE KNOW HOW TO DRIVE?
Two crashes, one dead, in Sullivan
.....
About 20 minutes earlier, deputies answered a 911 call of a pedestrian who was struck by a minivan on State Route 42 near Lake Kiamesha. The pedestrian, Keith Cardone, 18, of Fraser Road was walking with traffic, westbound on State Route 42 when a minivan, driven by Pamela Davis of Monticello struck him. Cardone suffered a head injury and was flown by helicopter to Westchester Medical Center where his condition is currently unknown.
At 3:04 PM,
Anonymous said…
The turth is they are coming up from the city where they rarely drive on open roads and they don't know how to drive. I live in Monroe and drive on the 17 a lot. You can really see a differnce in the way people who are used to drive on these roads year round and those who are not. I can't drive in the city because I rarely drive there and people from the city can't drive in upstate. That's a fact.
At 3:32 PM,
Anonymous said…
As a long time frum resident of Sullivan county I have to agree. We get a great influx of summertime visitors and we need them.
But our visitors should also respect where they are. They cannot and should not drive as badly and as "chutzpedik" as they do at home.
The greatest and smallest talmedai chachamim seem to lose derech eretz when they get behind the wheel(including the" tzadekesdas") .
At 3:34 PM,
Anonymous said…
And while you are at it please remember chevrah that when driving, the left lane is for passing . You may be driving safely but causing accidents when drivers pass you on the right in frustration.
At 7:25 PM,
Anonymous said…
yeah people drive like animals when they are in the country so what they bring money in summer whats more important money or life ?
At 12:29 AM,
Anonymous said…
This has nothing to do with being hasidic nor orthodox, it has to do with driving in the city.
In fact, the locals in the Hampton's have the same complaints in the summer, and it is not the Hassidics there.
When you drive in NYC you learn to drive aggressively.
At 3:42 AM,
Anonymous said…
Go Yankees!
At 8:05 AM,
Anonymous said…
Go Yankees!
At 9:21 AM,
Anonymous said…
Go Mets
At 10:26 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hey, Met Fan,
I see you are trying to copy me and that makes me MAD!
But if you think I'm concerned.......
What, me worry?
At 1:01 PM,
Anonymous said…
L"maaseh, lets get real. Drive carefully, dont pass if you dont have to, dont honk; you are not in Wmsbg. or Boro Park, respect the rights of others in the supermarket and all over, and whereever you go, make a Kiddush Hashem.
At 1:16 PM,
Anonymous said…
Go RedSox ;)
At 12:40 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hassid Hate - Hassid Hate
---------------------------
No matter what the Hassid will do he will be criticized.
Drive like a mentch and they'll start complaining what type of car you drive. (The Hassid's with the Escalades think they own the world or The Hassid with the Station Wagon....)
You'll never make them happy (unless you disappear).
I was in New Hampshire for two weeks this summer, the local yokels were complaining about the Hassidim too. (No, not about their driving, just that they "takeover" the area when they come).
Why is it that when some little accident happens and the locals take care of it, the Herald will mention every agency involved, but when Hatzolah does a great job, like they did on Glen Wild road, no mention of Hatzolah, just "rescuers". Generic people, “rescuers”. (And Of course no mention of the Hatzolah Medic who was stopped -maybe for a valid reason) but NOT LET GO!!!!! WHY?????
They HATE Hatzolah.
They HATE the Hassidic Jews at Wal-Mart (they do like their money though)
They HATE the heimishe Bungalow colonies.
They HATE Viznitz for trying to erect a village under their noses.
They DESPISE AND HATE Kirys Joel and all it's "Hassidim" - Read the Herald and you'll see that KJ gets more coverage than the war in Iraq.
They HATE the little "enclave" (as they call it) called New Square.
No matter what we do we are HATED will be hated and despised just because we are different. PERIOD.
Acting nicer will make a kiddush Hashem but you will still be hated.
Now, all you self-hating Chassidishe bloggers who love to scorn your fellow brothers for whatever it is they do. Don't think for one second that "they" like you moreThey want to get rid of you just like they want to get rid of the rest of us.
Sullivan county jail is full of LOCAL thieves swindlers and rapists, that's not a problem, the local violence (drugs, stabbings and the like) is not the problem, the REAL problem is the few HassidIm who come here in the summer who clog up Wal-mart and drive like maniacs. (Anon 2:27 is right, what about the "other" accident that day?)
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