neil was saying that jamie, after spending 5 days in cleveland, where she grew up, felt so much more appreciative of pittsburgh. he said, pittsburgh is just a little more liberal. i mentally started laughing because i've heard people describing raleigh, north carolina, as the "liberal pittsburgh." yes pittsburgh is more liberal than cleveland for sure, the border between the two cities is where the blue states end and red states start, but that doesn't guarantee pittsburgh's status as a liberal city, people here sneeze at the sound of berkeley, and quite a few friends of mine here are republican.
i reflected, then i said, pittsburgh is actually rather conservative, but it's the most uninhibited north american city i'd ever lived in? it's that Flash Dance mentality - girls are not afraid of getting on the counter top and dance and take their tops off, but if guys ever yell "show us your tits" they're not afraid of giving them a deadly kick on the chin, either. my co-workers have no qualm about talking about her cousin who was murdered at the age of 17, and his girlfriend who tattooed his name on her shoulder. she'd say, i know that she loved him, but she's being stupid. and the whole steelers nation thing. they're just not ashamed of what they are what have you, they have no taboo, they laugh at pretty much everything. that's just outrageously delicious for a continent that's largely puritan.
neil said, have you noticed how pittsburghers pay for their beers? they put a $20 on the table, and a beer here costs $2, and the bar tender puts the change on the counter. pittsburghers don't put the money back. they leave it fanned out there for the next drinks. until it's all gone. when they go to bars in another city, that's what gives them away as pittsburghers.
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