Goodnight."
Of course I don't mean to deny that the people who live in Brooklyn are
themselves largely responsible for the perpetuation of the silly jest.
They subscribe to it in a spirit of meekness that is characteristically
local. Ask a man from Cherry Springs or Binghamton where is his home and
he will quietly say, Cherry Springs or Binghamton, as the case may be.
But the resident of Brooklyn is apologetic from the start. He
anticipates criticism by saying, "Well, you know, _I_ live in Brooklyn,"
and he looks at you in tremulous expectation of the usual condolences.
If by any chance one should omit the traditional reply, the man from
Brooklyn begins to fear the worst. On both sides of the East River the
principle seems to be accepted that inasmuch as there are places like
Cherry Springs or Binghamton there must be people who live in them, but
that it is by definition impossible to bring forward a valid reason why
one should live in Brooklyn.
The question is really a complicated one. Harlem's disapproval of
Brooklyn is not of a piece with Harlem's disapproval of localities
outside itself.
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