Oh, 'New York Observer,' What Hath Thou Wrought?
We know how it goes. You have an amusing little conceit — say, a battle brewing between north and south Brooklyn. You know that it's sort of true, and that it's also sort of bullshit, and you're intrigued by the intellectual exercise of spinning it into an argument you can sustain for, oh, maybe 2,000 words. How clever!, you think, as do your colleagues and friends. But here's the thing, which we all forget: Exercises like this hurt innocent people. Pity the poor Californian, set imminently to move eastward for a new writing gig in New York, whose flummoxed plea arrived in our inbox last night:
I was particularly interested in that Brooklyn Feud post because I'm trying to decide on where to live. (I arrive in the city next week and will start looking at placed then.) I'd prefer Manhattan but might head to Brooklyn to save cash. I was thinking Williamsburg bc it's young and hip, but the hip might be overwhelmed by the hipster, and that article seems to indicate that if I like books I'd feel more comfy in the South.
See? What about the children, Observer? Think about the children.
