<p>The word “ghetto” comes from medieval Italy when the Jewish community was forced by the government of Venice to live in a particular, crowded awful area alongside a factory. The factory name was “Ghetto” so that became the name of the entire neighborhood.</p>
<p>The word came into being to describe people being forced to live somewhere due to discrimination. I realize that word meanings and usages change, but not for everyone and at the same moment.</p>
<p>The irony is that the self-selecting collection (“ghetto”) of techs and nerds is based upon their free choice. I saw HGFM as responding to an insult to those who cannot readily leave an AA ghetto due to poverty. </p>
<p>It’s informative to know that the community itself might even use or not object to that word, but HGFM’s instinct is correct that “ghetto” connects to Jewish experience and not all are free today to play around with the term. What’s a joke to one might still hurt another.</p>
<p>EDIT: The old connection of “ghetto” to Jewish community isn’t so arcane. If you read “Merchant of Venice” and recall the lead character Shylock, you’ve encountered ideas from the era of “ghetto” in Venice. Subsequently, prior to WWII throughout Europe,
antiSemitic laws requiring Jews to leave many neighborhoods and move to another single neighborhood in extreme crowding (Warsaw Ghetto) was a first step of stripping them of rights, even before Nazis marched in. So “ghetto” is recent as well.</p>
<p>HGFM, your teachers have taught you well. It’s worth hearing the perceptions of those who live in such upscale or wealthy “ghettos” that they consider the word no insult today. Still, you have a handle on the history and are correct in the origin of the word.</p>
<p>Well now we see how diverse So Cal really is. (and PC) Strangely enough, the person I was quoting happens to be Jewish. Ill be sure and tell her how truely nasty she is.</p>
<p>No …she has got it coming. She’s a an out of work television writer and thats as nasty as it gets. Maybe thats why she is out of work. Used that<br>
G-word on prime time one too many times.</p>
<p>Bay, you forgot to add that NYers get their workout by walking minimum 30 blocks/day, even when its below freezing. I do it myself, & I was just there recently. By the time you decide you should hail a cab, youve walked 20 already so why not add another 10 or 20? Youre on a roll, LOL.</p>
<p>The differences between the two metropolitan areas fascinate me. The person who brought up how geography affects culture made an important point. But just some observations here:</p>
<p>I think the notion of the film industry dominating is not so much off-target as a matter of perception & media emphasis, as well as, yes, a larger critical mass of people active in some phase of that just as there is a significant population of aspiring & current stage actors in NYC. (Not to mention an arm of the film industry which maintains dual residences or even a primary NYC residence.) The film industry, while hardly the sole revenue source for the region, is significant in that revenue source. But mostly, lets face it, the media would find it sexier to play up that than to feature the many other cultures & subcultures which historically have also made L.A. a home professional writers, such as Joan Didion & many, many others; lots of studio artists; the museum community, historians, academics. They present a different, non-superficial side of L.A. </p>
<p>People often associate American Jewish history with NYC, but in fact theres tremendous Jewish history in L.A. There is also a section near Wilshire where if you close & reopen your eyes, you would believe you are on a live, realistically done Hollywood set maybe one featuring a Back to the Future version of the Lower East Side. Its basically Chabad City. Except for the paved roads, it just feels like a transplanted Eastern European village. </p>
<p>I am not an Angelino, but just as some people say they like to visit NY but choose not to live there, I can say the same for myself with regard to L.A. In the past I have enjoyed the playful stereotyping/contrasting which Woody Allen has done, such as in Annie Hall. You cant take this kind of stereotyping too seriously; its obviously meant to be parody. Im a big city nut and a history nut, so I enjoy & appreciate both for what they offer.</p>
<p>XD this is why I freaking love online forums-people have no idea of your personality and then try and tell you what’s wrong with it.</p>
<p>If you knew anything about me, musicamusica, you’d know I’m one of the most sarcastic people you’ll ever meet. Pardon me for disagreeing with your omniscient and 100% accurate view of Pasadena. I’ll go fling myself off a cliff for being so stupid as to disagree with someone whose perceptions are obviously so superior to my own.</p>
<p>are you being sarcastic now? sorry I couldnt resist.
Im sure you are an extraordinarily perceptive and sarcastic ,humorous young lady. I can pick that up from your posts.</p>
<p>Here’s a tip for everyone: sarcasm is always bad. Period. If you think you’ve found an exception, you’re wrong. Sarcasm is especially bad in writing, where there is no body language to soften it. If you think you’ve found an exception, you’re wrong.</p>
<p>There’s not much I know for sure, but this is a lesson I’ve spent two or three decades learning.</p>
<p>Howzabout irony? Ya I need to put the sarcasm in check. This is what the entertainment industry does to a person. And please, Hgfm, do not jump off that cliff! We nerds in Pasadena invite you to visit!
Now what was the original posters question. Oh----La culture? Well I think he just got a little taste of it!</p>
<p>You raise another important contrast: As made famous by the Missing Persons with their song “Walkin’ in LA,” nobody walks in L.A. (Unless they are wearing running shoes and a sweat suit or skimpy spandex running shorts and a sports bra, intentionally trying to get exercise, that is.)</p>
<p>As CD Bales says in the movie Roxanne: Oh, ho, ho, irony! Oh, no, no, we don’t get that here. See, people ski topless here while smoking dope, so irony’s not really a high priority. We haven’t had any irony here since about '83, when I was the only practitioner of it. And I stopped because I was tired of being stared at.</p>