Behind Enemy Lines

Darkpriest667 · Feb 19, 2019

I had to make a trip to New York City this weekend. I had a pretty good time, but I even told my buddies there I felt NAKED without a gun (or even a pocket knife thanks TSA.) A few observations.

1) New York City is not like the rest of the US. There are businesses and cultural phenomenon that would not exist anywhere else in the United States

2) almost NO ONE in New York City is fat. They're all walking 10 + miles a day

3) People are generally friendlier than what is said. As long as someone isn't trying to get somewhere you can stop and talk to them

4) The cost of things isn't as high as I expected. The real price difference is Rent. My buddy pays 3k a month for an apartment in manhattan literally smaller than my bedroom.

5) Within 5 hours of landing I had met an MS13 gang member, in a bar. I checked out some gun shops the next day. (no pics they're strict) Let me tell you. It's MUCH easier for me to get a firearm illegally than legally. It's not even THAT expensive. I checked.

I realize a lot more now why the electoral college exists. I met plenty of Trump supporters, but they're discouraged and don't vote. For every Trump person I met there were 20 people acting as if he was the anti christ. They're woefully uninformed voters, even though many people in the city are highly "educated." they take their marching orders from the talking points and it shows.

vmax · Feb 19, 2019

I've been to Chicago a few times and felt the same way.
They are not like us ...at all.
They dont value the same things..at all

Many dont own cars or private lands ,or houses...and dont care to.
They take the subway to their office jobs and come come and repeat that for 5 days
They depend on government and we dont want it in our lives

Dawico · Feb 19, 2019

Sounds like an interesting and educational trip.

oldag · Feb 19, 2019

Been to NYC on several occasions, left nothing there worth going back for. Did not enjoy any of the trips.

Did not find people particularly friendly. Living packed like sardines in those stacks of concrete with so little grass, trees, etc. would warp anyone. Much less after generations of such conditions.

Back before all the airport security, had an interesting experience in LaGuardia airport after having a late flight canceled. Was waiting alone in an empty area of the terminal for the hotel shuttle to arrive. Armed security guard (may have been airport police) saw me and freaked out. "What are you doing here by yourself? That is a good way to end up dead." About that time a gang of teens comes around the corner. The guy would not leave until my shuttle arrived and he kept a hand near the holster.

karlac · Feb 19, 2019

oldag said:
Been to NYC on several occasions, left nothing there worth going back for. Did not enjoy any of the trips.

Did not find people particularly friendly. Living packed like sardines in those stacks of concrete with so little grass, trees, etc. would warp anyone. Much less after generations of such conditions.

Back before all the airport security, had an interesting experience in LaGuardia airport after having a late flight canceled. Was waiting alone in an empty area of the terminal for the hotel shuttle to arrive. Armed security guard (may have been airport police) saw me and freaked out. "What are you doing here by yourself? That is a good way to end up dead." About that time a gang of teens comes around the corner. The guy would not leave until my shuttle arrived and he kept a hand near the holster.

Felt that pain, and only one time in NYC.

Had taken leave to fly back to Texas from Germany in 1972, to fulfill the requirement of actually "standing on the land" and meet a Texas VLB agent on a little piece of Texas I was buying.

In the subway part to JFK to fly back to Germany, alone late at night, was confronted by three of NY's crowded rats, apparently with robbery in mind ... although we never got that fact settled.

Their problem was that all four of us were unarmed, three of us were no more than brats, and only one of us was a former boxer ...

Don't plan to ever avail myself to NYC's "hospitality" again.

toddnjoyce · Feb 19, 2019

Darkpriest667 said:
1) New York City is not like the rest of the US. There are businesses and cultural phenomenon that would not exist anywhere else in the United States

3) People are generally friendlier than what is said. As long as someone isn't trying to get somewhere you can stop and talk to them

4) The cost of things isn't as high as I expected. The real price difference is Rent. My buddy pays 3k a month for an apartment in manhattan literally smaller than my bedroom.

5) Within 5 hours of landing I had met an MS13 gang member, in a bar. It's MUCH easier for me to get a firearm illegally than legally. It's not even THAT expensive. I checked.

These observations are generally true of many, if not most, major cities in the US and most well-known ‘international’ cities. The only difference would be substitute the gang affiliation.

True story, I was in Bahrain in 2000-ish for a CENTCOM tactics conference. We’re all shacked up in a nice hotel downtown.

Had cocktails with a Hezbollah or Hamas dude whose job it was to ‘overhear’ any conversations the Americans were having. One of many working that bar for 3 nights straight.

What made it hilarious is those cultures have a different concept of personal space and figured we wouldn’t pick up on the fact there’s all these beard-wearing jihadis were crowding us while we’re out drinking.

Outside of the vault, we limited our conversations to alcohol and pork.

cwo4uscgret · Feb 19, 2019

My first visit to NYC was for 3 weeks while I attended the Coast Guard Recruiter's School. I wandered into Manhattan almost every night; oblivious to the dangers of a big city. NOT! In the first part of 1979 NYC was undergoing a reign of terror - people randomly pushed off subway platforms into trains.

Two incidents come to mind: The first one, late at night; alone in a Battery Park Subway Station. Down the stairs comes one of the biggest people I've ever seen - about 6'6" 300+ lbs. He said it's cool man - then flashed me his NYPD Gold Shield! Whew to that one. The second - same trip to NYC, on the subway to visit my cousin on Central Park West. The more stops the train made the more Hispanic and African-American passengers. A nicer grandmother said the next stop is Harlem and you don't want to be there after dark! Yes - it was my stop!

My last visit to NYC was 4 years ago - and as a retired Federal LEO I maintain my annual quals and carry concealed under LEOSA. There were 3 officers standing outside my hotel one night; I introduced myself to them and none of them were "worried" about legitimate concealed carriers but were concerned about gang bangers...

BRD@66 · Feb 19, 2019

I always wanted to visit NYC. Never got to go. Eventually came to terms with my terrible loss.

MTA · Feb 19, 2019

Darkpriest667 said:
I had to make a trip to New York City this weekend. I had a pretty good time, but I even told my buddies there I felt NAKED without a gun (or even a pocket knife thanks TSA.) A few observations.

1) New York City is not like the rest of the US. There are businesses and cultural phenomenon that would not exist anywhere else in the United States

2) almost NO ONE in New York City is fat. They're all walking 10 + miles a day

3) People are generally friendlier than what is said. As long as someone isn't trying to get somewhere you can stop and talk to them

4) The cost of things isn't as high as I expected. The real price difference is Rent. My buddy pays 3k a month for an apartment in manhattan literally smaller than my bedroom.

5) Within 5 hours of landing I had met an MS13 gang member, in a bar. I checked out some gun shops the next day. (no pics they're strict) Let me tell you. It's MUCH easier for me to get a firearm illegally than legally. It's not even THAT expensive. I checked.

I realize a lot more now why the electoral college exists. I met plenty of Trump supporters, but they're discouraged and don't vote. For every Trump person I met there were 20 people acting as if he was the anti christ. They're woefully uninformed voters, even though many people in the city are highly "educated." they take their marching orders from the talking points and it shows.

Fun fact, I got my bachelors in NYC. You wont see how awful it is until you live or commute there. I still cant believe I went from growing up in rural Texas to going to college in a shit hole like manhattan. Life sure is crazy

EZ-E · Feb 19, 2019

I wouldnt mind checking out UP STATE New York, but F the city.

MTA · Feb 19, 2019

EZ-E said:
I wouldnt mind checking out UP STATE New York, but F the city.

My uncle, a native Texan, has a beef farm in upstate NY. Long story but upstate NY is like most rural areas of the country. Sheriffs dont enforce unjust laws, people are good although more cold on a first meeting than a southerner.

He bitches all the time about the blue politics and I always ask him why the hell did you leave Texas. He got tired of the heat but I really dont get it :facepalm:

RobertTheTexan · Feb 19, 2019

MTA89 said:
My uncle, a native Texan, has a beef farm in upstate NY. Long story but upstate NY is like most rural areas of the country. Sheriffs dont enforce unjust laws, people are good although more cold on a first meeting than a southerner.

He bitches all the time about the blue politics and I always ask him why the hell did you leave Texas. He got tired of the heat but I really dont get it

I worked in upstate NY for a couple of years. It wasn’t a bad gig because I flew up Sunday or Monday and and flew back to The Republic on Thursday. Most of the locals I ran into we not that different than me. They enjoyed hunting, owned a gun or two, hated that due to the population density of the city vs. the country that they didn’t feel they had an impact on how elections turned out (Federal/State). While they weren’t as redneck as me, they definitely fell into the country boy bucket. My client was a company that did business with almost all of the dairy farms in upstate, but definitely a lot of beef in that area. Milk n’ beef.

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EZ-E · Feb 19, 2019

MTA89 said:
He bitches all the time about the blue politics and I always ask him why the hell did you leave Texas. He got tired of the heat but I really dont get it

I'll take our summers over having to shovel snow

Kar98 · Feb 19, 2019

EZ-E said:
I wouldnt mind checking out UP STATE New York, but F the city.

My wife's from there, and I visited once or twice. It's a beautiful piece of American countryside, freeze your nuts off cold in winter, and economically as dead as a run-over squirrel in the coma ward.

deemus · Feb 19, 2019

I've spent some time up there too. NYC was cleaner than I expected. It was a couple years after 911, so the mood and attitude of the people was very different than I had heard about previously.

Spent a week in the Catskills, gorgeous up there. We stayed at a working dairy farm, which was really nice. It was a 100+ year old farmhouse. Farming is done very differently up there. The lady of the house was the daughter of a man who was Chief of Indian Affairs under Nixon. That house was like a museum with all the native American artifacts and memorabilia.

Also got to see the Baseball HOF, which was a lifelong dream for me.

I loved my time up there, but it is way different as others have noted, especially in the city.

easy rider · Feb 19, 2019

I've only been to New York city once and although it was cool to see many things I'd only seen on tv, my take on it is this. If living in New York city added 10 years to my life, I'd rather die younger.

Pops1955 · Feb 19, 2019

My oldest daughter moved to NYC right out of HS. Spent 18 years there. Came back to Texas with family in tow. She is happy to be home BUT she misses to good stuff. Just NOT the people. We would visit (several times) I remarked my first time there that I now realized why they would not allow me to carry. Rude people everywhere. I did notice that the folks that made money off my business were always real nice. Struck up a few conversations with good folks. Food was a great part of the adventure. Mostly good.

Daughters overall observation:
1. The people were moistly rude.
2. EVERYTHING was a competition of survival.
3. Good food when you learned where to find it.
4. STUPID politics.
5. Cab drivers suck.
6. Everyone's got an angle.
7. Weather sucks.
8. Everything cost too much.
9. Too many people, too little space.
10. NOT A SINGLE DECENT TEX MEX RESTRAUNT TO BE FOUND. EVER.

MetalCutter · Feb 19, 2019

On my one and only visit to NYC (not my choice, my kid brother was getting married on Long Island) from the observation deck of the World Trade Center Tower (obviously pre-2001) looking north over Manhattan all I could think of was a huge fire ant nest that had been stirred up by a lawnmower. Too many damn people in too little space, couldn’t get outa there quick enough!

Darkpriest667 · Feb 19, 2019

There was a TON of section 8 housing. You know 20 story tall red brick apartment buildings. They would be built in plots of 4 to 8 buildings and you could tell 5 thousand people lived in each one. I'll let you guess the demographics yourselves

NYC is a lot cleaner than I had expected and it did not smell like I had expected. It's an interesting place and I do not mind visiting. I got to see the 9/11 memorial, the NY federal reserve bank, and wall street. Those would be the main things I'm interested in checking out as a tourist. I only ate out twice.

I plan on going again for another weekend. I've got several friends that live up there behind enemy lines and as much as I hate liberal meccas I love them more.

EDIT here is a picture, I wish I had zoomed in more the white plaque in front of it is a dedication to some politician.

BillFairbanks · Feb 19, 2019

I was in LA a few weeks ago. Every single news story on the local channels out there is either about Climate Change or Hate Crimes (with a pic of Trump)

My coworker out there lost some guns in a tragic boating accident

I feel naked as well walking around strange cities without my gun

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