Samantha:

There were inconsistencies in both the Rushkoffs blogs (which have been pulle down)regarding the weapon used in the incident (gun/knife), which was compounded by their failure to report the incident immediately. They put their neighbors and the community at risk, because they felt the need to whinely report on their blogs. A couple of Gothamist comments were posted and the Rushkoffs came back with even more self-serving drivel and then left in a huff when they were called on their behavior.

It seems that yesterday's wunderkind, internet and cultural commentator has yet to come to grips with the fact that he is just another middle-aged guy with a wife who wants something that his paycheck can't cover and that his behavior after his mugging was less than heroic. The inconsistencies in his and her web postings and the tone in their reactive posts only made it worse.

That type of self-centered behavior obligates the blogger to issue an apology to his neighbors and community, not a never ending self-serving attempt to use the incident to manipulate the net to garner attention to his less than full bank account and his transparent attempt to make it about larger social issues.

I don't think any reasonable person would consider any neighborhood in this city a Shangri-La, especially when you see "reality" walking next to you on the street everyday.

If anyone is interested, "agita" is a dialect form of the Italian word for "acita," (AH-CHI-TA)

meaning acid. Therefore it's used to describe the feeling of stomach acid occuring due to something unpleasant.

In Italo-english dialect slang it's pronounced:

AG-E-DA

"Rushkoff's asking why he's paying what he's paying is fine -- it's when he tries to justify the decision by denigrating the neighborhood ("It's too dangerous" "There's nothing but soulless stockbrokers" "There's no community," to paraphrase) or tries to make it sound like he's taking a moral stand against gentrification that he grows tiresome."

I don't remember his saying anything of the sort. He was saying that it was a neighborhood that's been flooded with money and is inhabited by many who, including him, were lulled into thinking it was some kind of Shangri-La. He never says Park Slope is "too dangerous" - he says it might be too dangerous for him to stomach paying out the nose to live there. He's not saying there's no community, he's saying that it's not the *only* place to find a community. I don't think he's hypocritically anti-gentrification, I think he's pointing out that people in gentrifying places need to think about the burdens that accompany the benefits of moving into such neighborhoods. I don't see any of this as unreasonable.

I, too, don't think any of these things are a revelation and have chuckled slightly at his naivete. I do, however, think a lot of people are taking what he's saying way out of context.

Actually, poster #9, there is a game out already:

http://www.gsn.com/minigames/minigame.php?id=13

"Rosie vs. Trump"

Actually, poster #9, there is a game out already:

http://www.gsn.com/minigames/minigame.php?id=13

"Rosie vs. Trump"

Bad Idea Jeans; I was going to use a condom, but then I thought, when am I going to be in Haiti again?

Rosie = "portly comic" - whatever, New York Post. What does that have to do with anything?

bad idea "jeans"?

Does anyone else think it's serious bad-idea jeans to put large fuel stores right next to the Holland Tunnel?

I don't have much respect for the t-shirt in the photo.

Folks who had burned American flags did so because pro-war "patriots" had so abused the American flag, by violating the US Constitution, that it amounted to treason.

The irony is, the same anti-Vietnam War protesters the guy in the photo is reacting AGAINST had to win court cases to put the US flag on jeans, T-shirts, and backpacks.

THEY defended and won his right to wear that flag on that t-shirt. Talk about missing the point...

> "all my life ... grew up in Brooklyn ... what is agita?"

I guess you have to live in Queens to know what agita is.

Man, do I hate proxy errors.

No problem, next time just press the post button once even if it takes forever to refresh. As for Rushkoff, he can jerkoff in the 'burbs if he still feels violated.

Man, do I hate proxy errors.

Dude, server errors and multiple posts -- awesome!

Teddy, that's pretty much what agita means. It can also be used to describe grief in general.

Rushkoff asking if his cost of living is worth it is fine -- it's when he tries to justify moving by denigrating the neighborhood or making it out into some great moral stand against the evils of gentrification that he gets tiresome.

As for sanctimoniousness, check out his recent blog post, where he dismisses anyone who disagreed with him here or elsewhere as being the work of a troll: http://www.rushkoff.com/2007/01/sock-mobs.php

Rushkoff's asking why he's paying what he's paying is fine -- it's when he tries to justify the decision by denigrating the neighborhood ("It's too dangerous" "There's nothing but soulless stockbrokers" "There's no community," to paraphrase) or tries to make it sound like he's taking a moral stand against gentrification that he grows tiresome.

As for sanctimoniousness, check out his latest blog post, where he dismisses anyone who disagreed with him here or elsewhere as not really existing: http://www.rushkoff.com/2007/01/sock-mobs.php

For all I’ve bothered to post a comment on this topic again, let’s hope this is the last we hear about it here.

bad neigborhoods, poor people plus good neighborhoods, people with wealth divided by the subway equals crime.

As a native New Yorker who grew up in Brooklyn during the 80s, I can say that this city is now as safe as it ever will be. Unless someday the government surgically implants a device in everyone's brain which can eliminate deviant behavior or takes care of poverty (I'm betting on the former).

Thankfully, I've never been a crime victim. Maybe it was "street smarts" or more likely, plain luck.

One more thing, what's "agita" ? I looked it up and found out that it's Italian-American slang for heartburn or upset stomach. Unless, it was Attica [prison] he wanted to say.

bad neigborhoods, poor people plus good neighborhoods, people with wealth divided by the subway equals crime.

As a native New Yorker who grew up in Brooklyn during the 80s, I can say that this city is now as safe as it ever will be. Unless someday the government surgically implants a device in everyone's brain which can eliminate deviant behavior or takes care of poverty (I'm betting on the former).

Thankfully, I've never been a crime victim. Maybe it was "street smarts" or more likely, plain luck.

One more thing, what's "agita" ? I looked it up and found out that it's Italian-American slang for heartburn or upset stomach. Unless, it was Attica [prison] he wanted to say.

bad neigborhoods, poor people plus good neighborhoods, people with wealth divided by the subway equals crime.

As a native New Yorker who grew up in Brooklyn during the 80s, I can say that this city is now as safe as it ever will be. Unless someday the government surgically implants a device in everyone's brain which can eliminate deviant behavior or takes care of poverty (I'm betting on the former).

Thankfully, I've never been a crime victim. Maybe it was "street smarts" or more likely, plain luck.

One more thing, what's "agita" ? I looked it up and found out that it's Italian-American slang for heartburn or upset stomach. Unless, it was Attica [prison] he wanted to say.

Let's face it. I've lived in many areas for the past 10 years and only here in NYC do I find people making pathetic excuses such as "It happens in EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD". No, it does not and no it should not. We shouldn't be living as if we were in some dangerous 3rd world country. Heck stop making excuses when just across the Hudson River in New Jersey for the same price it is safer (and more convenient) than Brooklyn.