The amount of people still boggles my mind. Every car of every subway has people in it. Almost every seat on the train to and from NJ is full. It's hard to describe to someone who's never been there. It has to be seen to be believed. I think most tourists go straight to Times Square and immediately see this city, which is home to millions of people, all different kinds, as some kind of theme park or artificial attraction. Maybe it is somewhat. But in the few months I've been going there for work, I've become aware of more than just the glitz and glammer, which fades away rather quickly once you get into the heart of the city itself. The thing that really runs this enormous machine is the people.
From snazzy business-people to street vendors to immigrants to homeless to Park Avenue millionaires, their collective breaths make up the constant beat of the city; the inhale and exhale of every street, avenue, and park. Millions are one whole suddenly. It is an anthill instead of a mass of ants; a pointilism painting made of million of person-dots. Walking down the street, you can't possibly look at every face, take in all the endless signs and lights that you pass. No wonder that all these people eventually become robots outwardly, looking straight ahead stopping for nothing but lights and cars (usually). Outwardly they are all the same, and outwardly they are all so different. To think that behind each set of expressionless eyes is a person hiding safely inside their protective cocoon. I'd like to think that at least some of these people would like to show more emotion, personality, and their real selves. But I suppose it's easier to just turn it off when joining the masses in the grids of asphalt and cement.
It seems that most people don't talk to each other, don't make eye contact. Everyone in NY is, for at least one moment in the day, alone in a crowd. The long term effects of millions of people effectively ignoring each other in this way can be horrific to think about. The only one that matters is you, the place is where you're heading to. With that philosophy, of course there's crime. What's a murder when the other people don't matter? Why not steal when others aren't affected? But everyone is connected. everything that happens affects someone in some way. And every second of every day, millions of people are affecting each other without even knowing it, while staying in their private cocoons and thoughts. It makes small town life sound heavenly.
Of course, this is how I see the city. I don't live there, and so don't have a network of friends and neighbors to relate to. To me it is a lonely city, because everyone is always going somewhere else or with someone else, and I have my own places to go to. Maybe living there would change my perspective; of course it would. But I would much rather be among trees and grass and animals in a place where the people all know each other and there's no pressure to keep up with the flow of foot traffic or watch the street lights for the exact second that it's ok to cross the street. The suburbs are a strange mix of the two worlds, where you see some grass and trees, and know some of your neighbors, but still have to drive to the city area to get food, jobs, etc. But such is modern life.
Would I trade modern conveniences for old world community and values? I'm still not sure.
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