traceimage
New member
IHO's crime statistic topic got me thinking: why do some people seem to actively hate Irvine?
We've all seen it. There's a crime in Irvine, or bad news/statistics about Irvine, and certain people race to post it and dissect it, as if to say, "See? Irvine is not so great!" Where does that come from? I live in Irvine, and yes, it's not perfect. It's a little boring, a little bland, and doesn't have enough independent, non-chain restaurants. But it has good points too: it is safe (five times safer than Santa Ana, as we learned today), has lots of parks, and has good schools. No place is perfect, and I think we all realize that. But I can't think of a city I actively hate, a city that makes me positively jolly when I read bad news about it. I know for some people, the Irvine hate may be the result of living in Irvine in the past and having bad experiences, but what about for other people, who've never lived here yet hate it all the same?
My theory is that people who hate on Irvine are the ones who like to think of themselves as independent-minded, don't-follow-the-crowd, out-of-the-box thinkers who don't want to be like everyone else. They equate Irvine with bland suburbia and all that is evil in the world, so they distinguish themselves from the masses by living in Anaheim/Santa Ana/Orange and doing non-Irvine things, like eating at Haven Gastropub and Mil Jugos and thinking they have street cred.
The funny thing is, that when Irvine haters seek to separate themselves from the idiot masses and mock Irvine, they are really behaving like the biggest sheeple of all, in my opinion. How is it original to criticize bland suburban Irvine when all the pretentious hipster wannabes are doing it, too? Why are the people who think they are cool and independent the ones who stereotype others the most?
We've all seen it. There's a crime in Irvine, or bad news/statistics about Irvine, and certain people race to post it and dissect it, as if to say, "See? Irvine is not so great!" Where does that come from? I live in Irvine, and yes, it's not perfect. It's a little boring, a little bland, and doesn't have enough independent, non-chain restaurants. But it has good points too: it is safe (five times safer than Santa Ana, as we learned today), has lots of parks, and has good schools. No place is perfect, and I think we all realize that. But I can't think of a city I actively hate, a city that makes me positively jolly when I read bad news about it. I know for some people, the Irvine hate may be the result of living in Irvine in the past and having bad experiences, but what about for other people, who've never lived here yet hate it all the same?
My theory is that people who hate on Irvine are the ones who like to think of themselves as independent-minded, don't-follow-the-crowd, out-of-the-box thinkers who don't want to be like everyone else. They equate Irvine with bland suburbia and all that is evil in the world, so they distinguish themselves from the masses by living in Anaheim/Santa Ana/Orange and doing non-Irvine things, like eating at Haven Gastropub and Mil Jugos and thinking they have street cred.
The funny thing is, that when Irvine haters seek to separate themselves from the idiot masses and mock Irvine, they are really behaving like the biggest sheeple of all, in my opinion. How is it original to criticize bland suburban Irvine when all the pretentious hipster wannabes are doing it, too? Why are the people who think they are cool and independent the ones who stereotype others the most?