The Strange, Angry Fear of Cincinnati

Perception, even distorted bias, is everything. A recent editorial from the Cincinnati Enquirer tackles the perception of downtown on the part of people from the region who live in the outer exurbs. Associate editor Byron McCauley relates the tale:

One of the students in a class I teach at the University of Cincinnati recently startled me when he said his mom, who lives in one of Cincinnati's outer-ring suburbs, won't step foot into Cincinnati for fear of being mugged, shot or killed.

This is a familiar scenario. The fact that we bought a house in a city neighborhood last year was met by stunned expressions when I told coworkers, some of whom seemed at first confused, then offended. "We think the city is really going downhill," said one guy.

The plural must have included his wife, who wasn't even part of the conversation. When pressed for detail he cited crime and lackluster city government. The second item I let pass - political ineptitude is hard to dispute - but when pressed for evidence on the second item he talked about gang and drug related violence in the core city neighborhoods. Then he admitted he'd never really lived in the city besides an apartment after college. Finally this same person made some thinly-veiled reference to “certain cultural groups” at which point I lost interest in hearing his perspective.

McCauly continues:

I live half my life downtown; the other half in the burbs. Both have their inherent advantages, but this column is about why we all have a stake in the future of a strong downtown.

I spent a lot of time this year listening to folks cast doubt on living, working and playing in the central city. I also spent a lot of time hearing the opposite while walking and running about downtown, from Over-the-Rhine to its western, southern and eastern edges. I spoke with common folk and opinion leaders.

Almost to a person, they say perception is skewing reality. Those who live, work and play downtown want you to come and see before passing judgment. It's wise counsel. If I didn't have a downtown job, I'd be down here often for the urban vibe.

Perception ebbs into the most radical form of judgement so quickly: Here’s one blogger’s account of a discussion she (a Muslim woman) had with a neighbor about the city. If it sounds implausible – trust me it isn’t. And what baffles me about this mindset is that it isn’t content to merely move to Westchester, or Mason, or wherever. Many who make this decision want to convince you that you are nuts for making another choice – for taking a different position on the value of city life, and the risk/reward tradeoffs that come with an environment that isn’t a sub-development. And some are actually angry if you don’t see things the same way.

For some, variety is not the spice of life. Conformity is solace. I'ts hard for me to understand (possibly because I'm a conservative too, but one who hails from the East Coast) but think it has to do with a remembrance of a 1950s-like past that maybe seemed to exist longer in Cincinnati than elsewhere.

This is a city, of course, to which (Mark Twain famously observed) one could go when the world ended – because it’s always 20 years behind. Perhaps hardcore social conservatives can’t reconcile themselves to a Cincinnati that has changed. And might this be connected with the recent changeover of the city and county government to the Democrats? Have many old-guard Republicans evacuated to the ‘burbs, where, at the expense of a sterile, corporate anonymity, the perception of an environment like the 50s lingers?

Hat tips Brian and the Dean.

Tags: Cincinnati