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* One of the weirdest things about Chicagoans is how sensitive they often are to outside criticism. I remember years ago when some tiny publication once dissed the city and the Chicago Sun-Times put it on the front page. As if the criticism was somehow legit or meaningful or even accurate.
So, I don’t really care if a native New Yorker who now teaches theater at DePaul, who also bizarrely predicted shortly before Rahm Emanuel’s election that Chicago would never, ever elect a Jewish mayor and who wrote a book called “Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show” penned some moronic book review that blasted Chicago without actually seeming to have any real understanding of the city in which she currently resides.
The hyperbolic responses say more about Chicago than Rachel Shteir’s remarkably illiterate “book review” ever could.
Sheesh.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 3:15 pm
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I care so little about what Ms Shteir thinks that I am not even going to ignore her.
Comment by Knome Sane Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 3:19 pm
New Yorkers have been calling Chicagoans “windy” boosters since the 1890s. Yawn.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 3:26 pm
Referring to her review, no one can seem to understand the difference between murder rate and number of murders.
Chicago’s murder rate is about middle of the pack among big cities. Some, like New Orleans, St. Louis, Memphis and Detroit, have much higher rates.
It did last year have the highest number of murders of any big city.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 3:30 pm
Word:
My question is this: what does murder rates have to do with any of the three books she was purportedly reviewing? She took the opportunity to trash the entire City of Chicago under the guise of reviewing three books with narrow subject scope.
Oops, I was supposed to be not ignoring her…darn you Wordslinger!
Comment by Knome Sane Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 3:36 pm
Perspective …
“Second City”
Those who do NOT understand Chicago;
“Hah, Hah, 2nd to New York …Ha!”
Those who do understand Chicago;
The “Second City” os often to refernce the “rebirth” of Chicago after the Great Fire, rising from ash, to be stronger, bolder, and better than the city that was no more.
Whenever I hear about someone demeaning, or speaking derogatorily about Chicago, I take a moment and think, “How would they answer ‘What does “The Second City” term mean?’ when asked about the origin of the nickname?”
ALWAYS, it comes up for me the Former.
Who cares what SHE thinks, I care about what I already KNOW about Chicago.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 3:37 pm
She made reference in one that Chicago had the second highest murder rate. It does not.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 3:41 pm
I find her article and the response to be a great affirmation of First Amendment values.
She exercised her First Amendments rights ripping Chicago, and now many here are exercising their First Amendment rights letter her know what people think.
So far I haven’t read anything from her whining about response, which is nice.
Comment by HenryVK Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 3:48 pm
Exactly right. Thank you for saying.
Comment by Tom B. Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 3:53 pm
Wordslinger: ==She made reference in one that Chicago had the second highest murder rate. It does not.==
Yes, the author makes reference to the murder rate, which you aptly corrected. But my point was that nowhere in her review of the books is this point made. It was not and is not relevant to the actual reason for critiquing the books.
Comment by Knome Sane Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 4:01 pm
Rachel who?
Comment by Brendan Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 4:26 pm
It is always amazing when the work of morons gets ever expanding attention. We guess the NY Times runs because it …. Well, we will let them explain. But Mike Miner and the Reader? Giving slop attention only gives it crediblity in the eyes of some.
Baffling
It is similiar to the plight of the right wing. Becuase their constant focus is on the failings of others — usually minorities and not any good accomplished by wing nuts or whack jobs it is unlikely they will ever persuade enough indies or Ds to cross over to their causes.
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 4:42 pm
We Chicagoans might need to grow thicker skin. We need to be like Cubs fans, just keep smiling no matter how bad things are.
@wordslinger,
In some good news, the homicide rate in Chicago fell dramatically for February of this year, and possibly for March. I think the February rate was the lowest since some time in the 1950s. The CPD is targeting violent hotspots again, and it seems to be working.
It’s been a cool spring. I hope the homicide rate stays low and doesn’t shoot up (no pun intended) when the weather turns warmer.
Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 4:52 pm
Her review had little to do with the books and lots to do with self-loathing. My question was why did her editors choose that piece of pretentious drively to be on the front page of the prestigious NYT book review section.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 4:56 pm
Henry, I think you’ll find some whining here. http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/Felsenthal-Files/April-2013/Rachel-Shteir-QA/
Comment by soccermom Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 4:58 pm
The classic college paper approach: throw in sort of connected concepts, drop enough names/facts/events, and use words like ‘gravitas’ as icing. Package may sound smart, but who cares?
Comment by zatoichi Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 4:59 pm
Chicago is the City of the Big Shoulders
And every shoulder has a Big Chip on it.
Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:
They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
“Chicago” by Carl Sandburg
Comment by MrJM Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 5:00 pm
I read the review and it was horrible as criticism. The books reviewed may be good or bad, but she did not demonstrate any skill in being an arbiter of literature. The whole opening section of the review was trashing the city without relating it to the books reviewed or any other salient point. The opening was a beard to cover the fact she doesn’t know anything about the city or literature. Chicago is fine, it’s the New York Times Book Review that has a problem demonstrated by printing this third rate crap.
Comment by anonx Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 5:07 pm
Dear Rachel Shteir: oh, I get it, you want to be Frank Rich in his heyday of slamming productions just for the fun of it. well, ok. I thought your job of teaching theatre would indicate that you are, as most in that amazing community in Chicago are, open, raw, honest and emotional, present. instead, you are stuck in the whining past. the past being New York, from which you hail. and to which you should return as fast as possible. hoping to never see you at the theatre, A
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 5:13 pm
My favorite exchange in her response speaks volumes about her:
CF: When you were a student there [at the U of C], starting in 1982, did you leave the campus and explore the city?
RS: No, I rarely left Hyde Park.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 6:27 pm
Its just New York projecting its insecurities on us. Political corruption? Family Dynasties? Future Detroit? How about NYC when the public Pension funds wake up and stop letting Wall Street rip them off…..
Comment by RNUG Fan Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 6:28 pm
Frank Rich had no heyday.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 6:56 pm
Once again, but more drawn out–I must concur with your original assessment on this one–Sh…eee…zz!!! (No need to get oversensitive about some silly Big Appler’s non-opinion to those of us who live around here. We ARE, after all, as Illinois’ very own Carl Sandburg once so much more eloquently than I could ever dream to describe, the “City of (the) Big Shoulders!!!”
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 7:32 pm
Twas meant to read “…describe it AS, the “City of…!!!”
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 7:34 pm
Grandson, the first few months have been very good regarding homicides. Not enough for a trend, obviously, but just the facts.
Tracy Swartz at the Red Eye is doing some of the best reporting in the state on this subject, tracking every homicide in the city, every day, and breaking it down by race, age, cause, location, etc.
In the print edition, they do a previous month’s breakdown on the first of every month that is really top notch.
great old-school heavy lifting reporting, and as far as I can find, the definitive independent resource on the subject.
http://homicides.redeyechicago.com/
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 7:40 pm
Folks who understandably don’t pay any regular attention to the NYTBR should realize that the “quality” of this piece is in keeping with where that publication has been for circa 8 years now. They’ve just named a new editor, but don’t hold your breath for any qualitative improvement. Labels beginning with the word “cluster” generally apply to this problem.
Comment by The Historian Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 8:10 pm
@Responsa, heh heh!
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 8:32 pm
From her interview:
–Overall, he inherited a difficult job in a difficult city … The biggest problem is the pension mess sucking money out of the city and state–
Yikes. Bet she has a bunch of pretentious friends on the civic committee.
To call the pension situation worse than the kids shooting each other, is disconnected from reality…
Comment by iThink Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 8:35 pm
show me how the stats look when the temps go up
Comment by Plutocrat03 Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 8:43 pm
Pluto, they were down month to month from 2012. You can look it up yourself. Might cheer you up.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 8:56 pm
so she’s a dramaturg. those people are usually silent in their story shaping. wish she had stayed silent on this matter.
she’s giving herself way too much credit for insight into the character and social context of Chicago.
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 10:19 pm
Word, we had 80 degree temps last March. I agree we’re seeing good signs, but temps might have a small part to play here. I think a lot more has to do with resource allocation from CPD, but we can’t dismiss the temps completely.
Comment by Jimbo Tuesday, Apr 23, 13 @ 10:50 pm
On the one hand, yes Rich. On the other, I like making fun of people. So here we are.
Comment by Will Caskey Wednesday, Apr 24, 13 @ 7:43 am
Can’t wait for Michael Shannon’s dramatic reading of her article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/22/michael-shannon-deranged-sorority-girl-rebecca-martinson_n_3132152.html
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Apr 24, 13 @ 8:07 am
Sorry, last anonymous was me.
Comment by 32nd Ward Roscoe Village Wednesday, Apr 24, 13 @ 8:08 am
Chicago and Illinois do need thicker skin. The book review is just silly and a bunch of blowhard blather that give Chicago’s biggest booster blowhards a run for their money.
Chicago also needs to get over its perennial second-class view of itself. This probably goes back a lot further than the Olympics bullpuckey, but Daley’s whole blather about Chicago needing the Olympics to put us on the map as a Global (or World?) City. Umm…no. Chicago IS a World City. It’s internationally recognizable. Rio needed the boost, not Chicago. Rio is a huge city, and is well known, but isn’t a world city by any means. They lost their status as Brasil’s capital decades ago (when the city of Brasilia was built), and then the city has since had it’s image beaten down by the gangland crime in the favelas. It’s still a pretty hot tourist destination, especially for Carnival, but otherwise it’s not a big deal internationally, especially with the emergence of Sao Paulo as Brasil’s main economic city. But Rio is a huge city, and has a great deal more potential than just being an oversized tourist destination (as was true with Barcelona). So, the Olympics give them a great opportunity to boost themselves up.
Anyway, that article she wrote about Rahm never becoming mayor wasn’t just ludicrous in the idea that Rahm didn’t stand a chance (whether seen in hindsight or upfront - he was the annointed one, and the odds on favorite from day 1), but in the aspersions and insults it cast against Chicago (and Illinois). The insinuations that Illinois doesn’t elect Jewish people (nice cherry picking in there - Illinois hasn’t elected a jewish state senator or US senator - ok, those things may be true, but there have been plenty of state Reps and US house members who were jewish. And, Illinois has had 2 jewish governors). And casting Scott Lee Cohen as some kind of victim of anti-semitism in being ousted from the Democratic ticket. Yeah, he was ousted because the jews liked. Not. He was ousted because he was an abusive deadbeat dad and Quinn didn’t need that millstone. And, she writes that the evil media cast him as a ‘millionaire pawnbroker’. Perhaps because he is a millionaire pawnbroker. Sheez. The NYTimes degrades itself by publishing her drivel. Chicago media degrades itself by gettng upset over it. But, it sells papers, so we continue to make our city look like a bunch of hyper defensive dweebs.
Comment by jerry 101 Wednesday, Apr 24, 13 @ 10:28 am