Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Please Shoot Yourself (I'll Load the Gun)

As was posted below, the recommendation was to drop the Austin Road arena, leaving a city site as a possibility. The Dayton Dail News has reported that this is indeed what the County Commission has voted.

And the paper also opened its online comments section. Predictably its about as negative as always. You can read the goings-on here (and note there is finally some pushback by other reades against the grouches)

One comment just struck me by its utter miserableness and nihilism, prompting the post title.

From "Siobahn":

Dayton is an armpit, plain and simple. There is no success in downtown Dayton; it is filled with abandoned buildings, thugs and thieves. To say there are plenty of activities in Dayton and the surrounding suburbs is a lie. Adding a hockey arena will not make this place any better, it will just add another subpar point of interest to the list of already lame “things to do” around here. I regret the day I ever came to Dayton, and will certainly rejoice the day I leave.

Honey, Cincy is just down the road if Dayton Life just too much for you and you need a break.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I don't listen to anyone whose oh-so-trendy first name has a bunch of silent consonants. :p

Seriously - I believe that where there is smoke, there is fire. I have never seen any other city that collects as much negative karma as Dayton. I don't think you can really blame individuals - they are simply responding, albeit negatively.

I could easily write stuff just as negative, and have. The Dayton region reached such heights of grandeur in the early 20th century. And those of us with family roots extending back to the days of Boss Kettering, etc find it intensely frustrating and painful to see exactly two aspects to Dayton in 2009: resolutely ghettoized trash culture and people, and utter bland, sterile corporatism. And nothing in between, except a few local bohemian types who try to keep the flame of congeniality and interest alive.

In terms of the Austin Rd arena - one of the posters in that thread cited the decreasing population base of the metro area. I agree with that assessment. Also, you've got two negative things pulling on a choice of a site: the center of "monied population" of the region has definitely shifted to the Warren County line; and, a downtown arena would mean less crappy Miami Twp. sprawl (which is already out of control.)

I don't see any good choices or dynamics for this decision. It's as though Dayton has so little going for it to energize people that public works programs are used as a periodic "stimulus". IE, a Soviet style convention center, etc.

You yourself observed that an arena would be cheapened from any artist's conception, and I agree with that, too. Would we even like it once it was built?

Jefferey said...

I actually can get into the nihilist aspect...in fact that was the original intent of this blog, but just can't keep that attitude going for very long. Or maybe its a more informed nihilsm which comes across as ironic and snarky but not as bitter?

Maybe I'm just not that miserable enough to post these negative rants like the DDN posters do.

As for the crime thing, I used to pretty much go downtown every weekend to the gay bars and nary a problem. You'd think gays would be more of target for violence and whatever, but that wasnt the case. I dont go out as much and maybe things are worse, but I don't think so.

Jefferey said...

One thing I noticed is that there is some push-back on the negativity in the comments section, so its not just me feeling "enough already".

Anonymous said...

You're not the only one who tires of the nihilism. What's keeping these losers from leaving? Are they just the type that sits back, lets life happen to them and complain until a good time falls in their lap?

Brian said...

It's hard to get a good sample of what the majority of the population think when 5-10 people keep reposting comments over and over again. Don't lose complete hope, the whole of Ohio is suffering and few urban areas have found how to get things jumpstarted again. Heck even Cincinnati has only started picking things back up again in the last 10 years or so. Cleveland struggles the same way, as does my native Toledo, which in my opinion (at least up until the last 5 years or so) was much WORSE that Dayton ever has been.

Dayton has it worse than most at this particular time, and even though the indifference and fear of downtown has been going on for much longer than the last year, I am fearful as a result of the economy things are simply going to get worse before they get better.

There are those who love their neighborhoods and love their city. They won't give it up yet.

Anonymous said...

Ouch. Soda out my nose.

Name one city who isn't feeling a pinch right now. We adjust, we open our eyes, we get to work, OR we move out if that isn't appealing.

Anonymous said...

DDN naysayers thrive because the Most Metroids hyperventalate on anything that presents Dayton as being anything less than Kubla Khan's Zanadu.

I retired my Papa Ubu alter ego, as juvenile as it was, because he was causing lower intestinal tract blockages among certain Most Metroids.

Jefferey said...

^
Heh, yeah, no one picked up on the handle's connection to Jarry, which I thought was funny.

Anonymous said...

Dayton has things to do. They just are not centralized.

A Professor at WSU who grew up in New York who studies urban issues put it bluntly "Dayton is a real city" in reference to art, music, culture and things to do.

I never had a problem finding something to do in Dayton....it was just getting there that was the problem!