Authentic New York Behavior

New York's own reality show, "The Apprentice," is back for its second season. While it is a guilty pleasure, and the only program in the genre that I view, I've come to the conclusion that a real New Yorker could never end up the winner.

In the season premiere, the team that won Donald Trump's first challenge was invited to dine at the developer's lavish apartment. The contestants entered The Donald's pad as if on hallowed ground. In a voiceover, one awestruck ingenue expressed anxiety about making an error in etiquette at the dinner table. She watched Mr. Trump carefully as he ate, so that she would know what utensil to use. Although I am normally a restrained television viewer, I couldn't help but shout, "Oh, for crying out loud! He's from Queens!"

That's what a real New Yorker would have said - and Mr. Trump would then have said, "You're fired!"

That's because New Yorkers are now being defined by Hollywood via television and film. TV shows depicting New York create an illusion of who we are and how we appear. Unfortunately, many residents have bought into the illusion of such programs as "Sex and the City," "Friends," or "Will & Grace"- is that who we are?

New York women once were the epitome of style, but what passes for fashion here today is absurd. Breasts and navels on less-than-perfect bodies should be well concealed, not flaunted. Instead, women of all ages, even pregnant women, are letting it all hang out, and the results are painful to the eye.

New Yorkers have also had the reputation of being outspoken and brash. Remember the old war films that always had a "guy from Brooklyn" displaying grit, humor, and extraordinary bravery? How about Bruce Willis in the "Die Hard" films, portraying the tough New York cop, John McClane? Real New Yorkers used to tell it like it is. Today the voices you hear are too often those of the sycophants.

New Yorkers have been a tolerant breed, one that, co-existing with the international community, formed a true melting pot.

I don't know what to make of today's Gothamite. During the Republican National Convention, this town, with the exception of Staten Island, became replete with hate-filled pseudo-elitists, who viewed the GOP delegates as hayseeds and fascists. One reader recounted a sign he saw outside a Park Slope restaurant that read: "All you homophobes and racists that make it out this far, don't even think of coming in here."

What happened to the word "liberal?" It used to mean open-minded. Ha!

The biggest frauds in the city are those who arrive here thinking they have to behave and dress a certain way. They follow the dictates of the shallowest community in the country: Hollywood. They turn up their noses at anyone who doesn't meet their particular elitist standards. But that is not how an authentic New Yorker behaves.

Real New Yorkers do not live in ivory towers insulated by barriers of security gatekeepers and high walls. We rub elbows in the streets with the rich and famous and with the downtrodden. We grow up living next door to survivors of genocidal dictators and totalitarian governments. We open our minds to one another's stories, we learn to speak phrases of a myriad of languages, and we do not succumb to denigrating our own culture. At least, that's the kind of New Yorkers we used to be.

I saw these denizens emerge immediately after 9/11, when all New Yorkers rolled up their sleeves and lent a helping hand, without asking what was the political party of their neighbors in need.

I saw it last week when I went to my bank on Broadway near Chambers Street. A crowd had gathered at an accident scene. An ambulance, a fire truck, and two police cars blocked the street. An elderly Asian man stumbled through the crowd and was crying out in grief. I couldn't get close enough to see the accident victim, but it was heart-rending to witness the man's pain. The crowd of onlookers moved in to comfort him, some offering cell phones so he could call someone to help. Strangers tried to touch his shoulder, to demonstrate their concern.

Men in suits carrying briefcases; African street vendors; shoppers with discount store shopping bags; office workers; police officers, and firemen - all wanted to help someone in crisis.

No reality show could ever capture the essence and compassion of the real New Yorker.