<p>I found this on Ithaca’s Rants and Raves on Craigslist, while it mostly pertains to life outside Cornell, I thought it might be interesting to post here. </p>
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As long as I can remember, there have been two factions in Ithacathose who love it and praise it as a gorgeous, tolerant, borderline utopian communityand those who see it as self-contained, hypocritical, and the opposite of all the values that it preaches. Ive spent my time on both sides of the fence. Especially growing up, I loved itI loved the natural beauty and found the alternative, hippie lifestyle that is prevalent here to be novel and exciting. Later in life I became very disillusioned with all of those sentiments, finding that Ithacans were only tolerant of people who shared their same convictions. When I left Ithaca, I thought good riddance and honestly didnt think I would ever come back.</p>
<p>After some significant time out of Ithaca, Ive come to the conclusion that maybe both sides of the argument are faulty, because they both place unrealistic demands on a town that is not a utopian communitylike any other town, its just a town with its own characteristics. Of course its characteristics are going to suit some people more than othersits a large town/small city with a large population of liberals and a strong economic and cultural emphasis on education. Thats what it is and has been for a while. Its not a utopian community where every person, regardless of political beliefs/economic stature is going to wildly flourish, even though there are those who make it out to be something like that.</p>
<p>Its just a microcosm of the debate, but Ive seen a ridiculous amount of hate directed towards Gimme coffee for being too pretentious/expensive. It may be both of those things, but its all just something that comes along with living in a town like Ithaca. If Ive learned anything by moving around, its that everywhere you go, someone always has to get the short end of the stick. Its never any fun, and I dont blame you for posting rants about it. Also to those who praise Ithaca without acknowledging its faultsyou are ignoring a vast number of people who havent had the same experience living here that you may have had. I just think that Ithacans sometimes forget that it is not a utopian community, and should not be judged as such.
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