Portland: "Gary, Indiana With Trees" (Jack Bog's Blog)

Our raccoon piece about a week back got a former Portlander, now in Texas, talking on his own blog about his own raccoon experiences in the Rose City. Now, in his followup comments to his blog post, he's written some thought-provoking words about Portlandia generally. You may disagree with the sentiments expressed, but you must admit the fellow does have a way with words:

A few months back, I realized that the sign of a truly great city is when outsiders and locals can point to serious flaws in the city's organization, layout, or government, agree that these are major flaws, and start suggesting ways to fix those flaws.... Portland, though, is the left-wing fundamentalist opposite of Biloxi, Mississippi: both cities don't take criticism well, any residents who frantically attempt to validate their decisions to live there by screaming "So what do you think?" get incredibly pissy or even violent if the response is anything but positive, and both figure that the best way to counteract negative publicity is to stick fingers in ears and hum really loudly.

His post and comments are here.

Comments (10)

LA LA LA LA etc.

Posted by Allan L. | June 30, 2008 7:01 AM

Some find it uncomfortable to have (some outsider) force you to look into a mirror.

Posted by David E Gilmore | June 30, 2008 7:45 AM

I don't completely agree with the TxTriffidRanch's point of view, but I do hold that this area has been resting on its reputation for a heck of a long time.

We were innovative back in the 70s and 80s, but we've rested on our laurels since then. Remember Vera and her "cap the 405" campaign? We think big but we don't walk the talk so much anymore.

Posted by Samuel John Klein | June 30, 2008 8:35 AM

Ah, yes -- not enough money in the world to sink I-5 on the East side, so the city could be connected to the river on both sides again, but plenty to cap 405 for more condo towers. Never enough for an inner East side community center at the sitting-empty Washington HS, but plenty to turn Lincoln HS into another humongous high-rise give-away of public money for the usual fat cats.

Posted by wants a ward system | June 30, 2008 11:08 AM

Breaking News: nice city has not-nice parts.

Portland is nice, but, oh noes11!1!!!!11, SE 82nd is not so nice.

Really, is this some sort of special news bulletin? Does this guy really think he's the first person who ever discovered this startling bit of knowledge?

Posted by Dave J. | June 30, 2008 11:48 AM

If Vera wants to eat pasta overlooking I-405, what is the big deal? I'd be glad to set up a stool for her.

Regarding not accepting constructive criticism, so true, imo. That Portland and Oregon need improvments hardly means they aren't nice. Being open to improvment is what life is about and what any good relationship is based on: helping each other be all they can be. The inability to engage in give-and-take does strike me as a kind of rigid fundamentalist orthodoxy.

I think the fear of dialog in some quarters is related to the fear of having high level corruption exposed, but the inability to handle criticism here seems to extend to those charged with investigating those charges. Weird indeed.

Posted by Cynthia | June 30, 2008 12:12 PM

Couldn't agree more.

Posted by Matt Davis | June 30, 2008 2:07 PM

I used to live just minutes from Gary, IN and I'll tell ya- the difference between PDX and GI are like night and day.

GI (Gary) is a grey-aired, run down, stank-ass pile of crap with gang problems up the wazoo.

PDX is not anything like that, at least where I've been.

Posted by crallspace | June 30, 2008 4:08 PM

Here is my own personal Portland raccoon story:
My elderly neighbor lady told me that she was pretty sure that a raccoon had taken up residence in her attic. It had pulled away some roof shingles next to a dormer and was in a enclosed area not accessible from the inside of the house.
Not knowing what to do she asked me for help.
No problem.
I called Multnomah county animal control to report it and was advised that they do not deal with "animals" only dogs and cats.
After some questioning they said I could trap it myself provided I used a humane trap... and oh by the way, if I was successful I would need a permit to transport it!
There are regulations that need to be followed!
Needless to say after five nights of trapping neighborhood cats (catch and release) I gave up and called Critter Gitter who came out and advised me that I was not using the right bait.
Marshmallows...It's what raccoons like and cats don't.
So he set his trap and after two nights of catching the same cats that I had, he decided to go a different route.
He put rags soaked with coyote urine in the void in the attic.
That night, as my neighbor tells it, she heard the raccoon leaving with it's three babies. She counted three thuds as mom dropped them off the roof onto the deck.
Apparently they moved three doors down and took up residence because Critter Gitter was hired by the owner of that house.

Posted by James J | June 30, 2008 4:26 PM

Another sign that the media loves Portland just a little too much:

Portland is ranked 5th in the Nation for Architecture and Design.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2008/06/new-study-chica.html#more

Hahahaha... look I love Portland as much as the next person, but uh, there's a reason we're called Stumptown, and it's not because of our diverse and inspiring skyline.

Posted by Justin | June 30, 2008 5:58 PM

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Monday, June 30, 2008

Portland: "Gary, Indiana With Trees"

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