It has occurred to me many times more often than not, how pretentious and uptight the citizens of Seattle can be. moving here in 1994 from Tallahassee Florida, i thought i had finally arrived at a pinnacle of personal happiness, seeing as how beautiful the area was, and my first impression with the people couldn't have been more pleasant. but as time wore on and i began to mature into adulthood i soon realized how wrong i was. not only was i 14 when i had my first encounter with the folks of Seattle but apparently completely naive also. after turning 18 is when my eyes finally began to open up to the realm of people's attitudes towards others in this city. i slowly but surely began to realize how closeted, self kept, and clique minded a lot of the people here were. now i am by no means a pretentious asshole or for that fact even close minded or even more so oblivious to my surroundings, but now being 27 years old and having the hardest amongst hardest times meeting people i can't help but think to myself..... why??? why are the people of Seattle so self-driven to only be around those they know or have known all along? then again there is also the element of people who find it so socially crippling to know that they were just approached by another person whom in one way or another doesn't " fit In " ......another of the qualities many seattleites exhibit is the patented " no eye contact with anyone else move " why is this so prevalent here? why are people so scared of acknowledging another? do they have something to hide? is it against their religion? did they look at another woman or man and feel the wrath of their wife or husband catching them? what is it.... i was raised to look another person in the eyes, it's only customary, and respectful especially when engaged in a conversation. a good example of the " patented no eye contact move " can be found everyday on the bus here in Seattle. it doesn't matter who it is , how old they are, or how they are dressed...... should you inadvertently make eye contact with them they will immediately either bow their heads or quickly look out the window as if a multi-colored unicorn just flew by. now i know this cant be a national epidemic, seeing as how i recently went to new york city for the first time ever, and not only was i completely shocked at how friendly that city was, but was completely blown away by.... get this...... people actually noticed and talked to each other..... even complete STRANGERS!!!! so i ask myself this one question????
what the hell is wrong with the people of Seattle????
if you yourself have never had the opportunity to come here for a visit, do it at least once especially for the scenery, and you won't have to worry about other people caring about what you look like or are saying as they won't be looking at you anyways!!!
i must profess however that amongst all the inept cliquey folks here.... there actually is a small population of sincere, honest open-minded, friendly, funny people. I should know I'm one them.
hopefully in due time, the attitudes here will change or people will actually pull the wool from their eyes and realize that we are all human and are subject to the same respect and acknowledgment as others....... ahhh who am i kidding, that will never happen.
but Seattle has surprised me before, so maybe there's hope? who knows......
Until next Time!!!!!!!!!
