PEW Poll: We Love Ourselves, We Hate Ourselves
The recent PEW Charitable Trust’s opinion poll of 1600 Philly residents told us something we already knew. In the love-hate relationship that is our hometown loyalty, we contradict ourselves. Answers to the following two survey questions reflect this defensive impulse:
Q. DO YOU THINK THINGS IN PHILADELPHIA ARE GENERALLY HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, OR WOULD YOU SAY THAT THINGS ARE PRETTY SERIOUSLY OFF ON THE WRONG TRACK?
RIGHT DIRECTION 39%
WRONG TRACK 42%
MIXED 16%
DON’T KNOW/REFUSED 4%Q. ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD OR WOULD NOT RECOMMEND PHILADELPHIA TO A FRIEND AS A PLACE TO LIVE?
WOULD 64%
WOULD NOT 27%
DEPENDS 8%
DON’T KNOW/REFUSED 2%
So, let’s get this straight: A large (and growing) precentage of us don’t think the road to success looks bright, yet we would still convince our friends to uproot their lives and invest everything in our uncertain future. Pride. It’s all we got.
[Photo by Urban Archives]
