Slope Stroller Overabundance Making One Guy a Shut-In
Longtime New York Press columnist Jim Knipfel has a new rant about Park Slope stroller culture that sets the bar high for future diatribes on the subject. This is how it begins: This morning as I was leaving the bank, a woman recklessly pushing her armor-plated double stroller down the sidewalk veered sharply and unexpectedly…
Longtime New York Press columnist Jim Knipfel has a new rant about Park Slope stroller culture that sets the bar high for future diatribes on the subject. This is how it begins:
This morning as I was leaving the bank, a woman recklessly pushing her armor-plated double stroller down the sidewalk veered sharply and unexpectedly into an elderly man walking with a cane. He, in turn, fell into me. I was able to catch him and hold him upright and he seemed to be okay. Just a little flustered. The woman, of course, had said nothing, apparently considering an apology or even a simple excuse me unnecessary under the circumstances. She was a mother after all, and therefore privileged, so she simply continued careening on her way.
Knipfel says that the number of strollers in the Slope, as well as the neighborhood’s dog breed preferences (it’s really mostly the strollers, though) mean he can only leave his apartment for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time, because he finds the situation out on the streets too harrowing and exhausting. The writer says that for the past year he’s been counting the number of strollers he sees in the Slope (“I’m averaging 1.45 strollers per block. Think about it—there has been at least one stroller, and usually more, for every block I’ve walked. It’s insanity.“) Knipfel takes issue with the air of entitlement that he sees a lot of the neighborhood’s parents displaying and notes that he sees a good number of kids being pushed around who look too old for strollers. Also, he says, it’s not a subject that can be broached in polite, public Slope discourse: “The child-free adults in the neighborhood mutter and complain about the problem, but only behind closed doors, and usually in whispers. They don’t dare say a negative word when they’re outside, for the simple reason that they’re terrified, most of them. Indulgent, affluent parents are too powerful a lobby (and what’s more, those strollers can really hurt when you get rammed).”
The Statistics of Contempt [Slackjaw]
Photo from dailyheights.com
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12:08, it’s called satire. Dave’s actually a very compassionate person as I’m sure are many of the other satirical and quite funny posters here. This thread is like an All in the Family episode. We’re one Sammy Davis Jr. kiss away from making this a classic.
12:11 – I agree its cultural…so what can we do about it- how can we get these damn blacks to teach their kids to read and value human life, how can we get the muslims to see that Islam doesnt mean blowing up a bunch of women and children…..what can we do about these asians who love to consume endangered animals – how can we fix these peoples cultures???
Polemicist – they are very easy – why do you think so many low brow motels are opening up in Gowanus?
Their favorite is to ‘punish’ them for being such self-absorbed cunts
Exactly, 12:01, same reason we are tempted to move to another country when we have children. You can try to teach your kids manners but then they go to school and encounter the maniac kids who are such a bad influence. It has to be the entire culture that values being considerate of others, or nobody will do that. It’s frightening.
Why is it that Blacks and Spanish people are so much louder than they need to be? Why do they have to play music in their car at 100db with the windows open? Why cant they stay inside, instead of hanging out and getting drunk and stoned on the street? Why can’t Blacks learn to speak English so they can be employable? Why do their kids/teens wear thug clothing? Why do spanish people have to have such annoying car horns?
Why is that?
daveinbedstuy, I agree.
Do the moms ever go to drink anywhere? How easy is it to pick up these babes when they’ve had a couple mimosas or whatever they drink?
All I know is some of these chicks are very diligent at working off that extra weight from having kids. They wear these tight yoga pants all the time – DAMN.
Never tried to pick up a chick with kids in tow, but everyone agrees these women are narcissistic. They are the PERFECT mark. These kinds of women are VERY amenable to flattery, and likely don’t get a lot of attention at home.
It just seems like such a perfect opportunity.
Sure I’ve jumped out of the way of a motorized wheelchair, Daveinbedstuy, like once in my entire life. Not every week. Why are you even posting on this thread when you are such a nonsensical non-contributor?
Oh and by the way, there is a big difference between a handicapped person who can’t walk at all, and a stroller. Have some pity. The irony is despite the tragedy of their situation, the handicapped are the ones who are far more apologetic and sheepish about the bulkiness of their wheelchairs.
Here’s a couple of questions. I’ve lived in the north end of Sunset Park for about 10 years. Every now and then I visit Park Slope. There are tons of families with kids in my part of Sunset–mostly working class Mexican and Puerto Rican families. Many have strollers. I’ve never once had a bad experience with them in Sunset. Yet in my limited visits to the Slope, I’ve had at least half a dozen occasions where women with strollers have steamrolled over or by me without so much as a “sorry.” Why is that? When a Spanish family with small children sits down in a restaurant next to my wife and me, I hardly know they’re there. In Park Slope, given the same scenario, at least half the time the kid(s) is shrieking and running amok within five minutes. Why is that?