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South Boston parker begs for mercy

No tire slashing, please

Eric spotted this note on the windshield of a car in South Boston tonight.

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Comments

Let's keep bashing Southie, f'n out of town yuppie, yaI'm talking to you adam.

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can see that Adam is Bostonian through and through, and a significant contributor to our local culture.

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Real yuppies park in the garage of their fancy condo building. Townies and wanna-be-yuppies need space savers!

Which has me thinking....which group is worse for SoBo? The townies or wanna-be-yuppies? I'll have to think about it some more and report back.

- The Original SoBo Yuppie!

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I just want to thank all the yuppies, both real and wanna-be, for making me a millionaire a few times over. I could not do it without you. Keep paying the high rents I charge and keep buying the condos I develop. It is nice being 45 and retired. Just keep it coming!!!

By the way, I am one of those stupid townies who live in the neighborhood.

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You're only a stupid townie if you do stupid stuff. Otherwise you're just a nice neighbor.

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who created websites like UHub where I can anonymously pretend to be a millionaire while I play Keno and day-drink at Touchie's."

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Wow, you've made money through investments and real estate?? I don't know how nobody has thought of that before ... what an innovator!

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to people you hate, so that you can complain about living next to them and bitch about how much you miss the old 'hood? Uh...OK. Congrats on that. You may have heard this term "don't sh*t where you eat." At very least I think you've forfeited your right to complain.

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Yuppies are worse, because normal people who went back to their homeland post-college (or were lucky enough to be able to go to college here in our fabulous Commonwealth) can't afford to live there anymore, due to the yuppies. Go home already!

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Instead of the sons/daughters/nieces/nephews/grandchildren of their long-time friends/neighbors?

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If you are looking to rent or sell a property, wouldn't you like to get top dollar? Or is there a Bostonian pride thing that leads people to leave money on the table and rent/sell to, say, a relative or neighbor looking for a new place? I understand that people would like to keep the neighborhood intact, but how anti-change are these natives?

I have spent a lot of time this week reading through pages of comments vilifying, and others defending/praising, gentrification in Boston neighborhoods. I've also seen others describing "real yuppies, fake yuppies, and townies". All this talk about rent going up makes no sense to me.

I'll clear the air and come out and say that I am a brand new (according to most on these comments) "Yuppie" in South Boston. Moved here in the beginning of the year. My friend bought a condo, and I rent from him (for a steal, I'd say...though not sure how much he bought the place for). I want to make a lot of money in my life. But at the same time, I don't look down on people who are contempt with their current and future income. But I feel the ambitious, entrepreneurial spirit that "Yuppies" may bring to a neighborhood is actually looked down upon.

This got me thinking about politics. I'd say I am a libertarian. I don't like parking tickets at all. I don't mind space savers really. I'll take the time to find another spot. Do I think the vandalism is ridiculous? Yes. But there are a lot of things that, though ridiculous, make sense to me. And that is just how humans are wired. Think of this: if you are waiting in line in the freezing cold outside for something, and someone cuts the line ahead of you...are you a person that would speak up? Or would you let it slide? Its sort of the same thing with space savers. There are those that don't care, and there are those that do. There could be vigilantes out there, be it the vandals, or those moving space savers. But either group are full of weirdos if you ask me. But I love observing (and reading comments of) weirdos. So I think its fun. But back to politics...

I cannot help but think that the people who are anti-yuppie are just not that hard of working. If your rent goes up, what are you going to do? Work harder? Or find a new place within your means? Is it up to you to decide whats within your means? Or is it the yuppie-infused (though some could say contaminated) modern housing market that decides that? Either way, as a hardworking person, "yuppie" as some call it, I don't care. Work harder. Get more money. Stop whining. Obviously I am the pathetic one, for I am whining about the whiners. But, like I said, I am sort of an internet troll when it comes to these message boards. But seriously, what is so wrong if a city turns from that of a hardworking blue collar city, to that of a rich,futuristic city?

It is all you entitled, cranky, stubborn people that go leaps and bounds to prevent that. Keep paying your union dues. Keep pushing the status quo. Be anti-innovative.

If you are complaining about higher rent, why not buy another house and charge some "yuppies" so much you'll think you're ripping them off. But if the check shows up on time, who's the loser?

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This is one of the multitude of reasons "natives" hate you people. You are so full of yourselves, part of this new generation of people raised with these massive egos who think you are the center of the fucking universe. Yuck. Just read what you wrote, it's foul. Not a drop of modesty in there. Who mentioned unions? "Anti-innovative" Innovation, talk about a word so overused it's devoid of meaning. Calling OTHER people entitled? Listen to yourself. Yes, everyone who is a non-yuppie is a lazy townie bum trying to skate by life. Seriously, dude? I'm not even a townie (Springfield Puerto Rican), never been to Southie, have no love lost for those people and don't really give a damn about the neighborhood at all, but Jesus man I'd take their side any day. I can assure you Hispanics and African-Americans also being priced out by Boston gentrification have the same feelings towards these kind of attitudes.

As far as the spot saving bullshit goes, time to end it once and for all. Of course, Walsh would NEVER do it.

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What do you think should happen then? South Boston is a good place to live. It's 1-2 miles/10 minutes from downtown Boston. Guess what happens there? Lots of people are employed! There's things to do! Land and real estate in proximity to it are VALUABLE, because if everyone could why wouldn't you want to live close to where you work and entertain yourself? Are landlords that have probably owned, rented out, refurbished, dealt with every sort of tenants imaginable, dealt with the shit bureaucracy - are the assholes for trying to make more money? Or for gutting a place built in the 50's that rents for $700 because it's a dump? Yes, it is someone's home. But it's also someone else source of income and how they get by. Should we put a ceiling on housing values so everyone can keep their home? Let's make everyone happy. I've busted my ass working to make money, so fucking what if I want to live in South Boston and spend it on a $400,000 condo, like I did. There is a great dude on my street that's lived in his house for 35 years and guess what he gets to do when he retires? Sell his home that he paid pennies on the dollar for for a bunch more zeros. That guy is a dick for doing that, right? I didn't drive up the property values. It's becoming a decent spot to live....that's what happens in cities. I'd love to live in Cambridge if I could afford to buy there, but all those fucking yuppies that live there are making it too expensive!

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by the guy who claims to be a townie who's allegedly made millions by renting and selling real estate to those crummy yuppies. That's the kind of hypocrisy I love. I have no dog in the Southie fight, personally--my family left there a couple of generations back--but to think it's all black and white is really oversimplifying things, IMO.

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I keep asking Adam why he has a hair across his ass when it comes to parking in Southie. He won't answer. Then his little band of internet troll followers come and stick up for him. This website is like high school all over again. Can you pick what group Adam and his band of misfits are in???

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Yes, there are parking assholes in other parts of the city. I even note them, as you can see on the Parking page here. But you people (and by "you people," I mean you people who love to hate every last thing I post about South Boston, not every last person who lives in South Boston) are so blinded by your paranoid persecution complex that you're unable to see posts that aren't about South Boston.

But, hey, as long as we're talking about South Boston, can you point me to other neighborhoods where people have had their tires nail-gunned or their faces punched over parking issues this winter? And as long as you're on the Parking page, please note how many of the South Boston posts come from Citizens Connect - the place where Bostonians complain about other Bostonians. It must be terrible, being paranoid and all and knowing that your very own neighbors are now ratting you out.

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Thank you for proving my point!!!

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Reading comprehension isn't your strong suit, is it?

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On the top of your head, is what.

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Blessed be, you're in a special group all by yourself, aren't you?
Your family, friends, "homies", etc. must be so proud. For your
homework today, look up "projection". And, because you're so special,
it's OK to have your Mom help you out with it.

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... that smashed driver-side window tomorrow morning. Stay warm!

Really, the person who left the questionable, anonymous note went through the effort rather than be a decent human being and find another place to park? People like the passive-aggressive note writer are a big part of the reason for violent-aggressive spot savers.

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Who owns the space?

Did the the person in question park in someone else's driveway or deeded spot, or on the street? Or are you saying that taking public property for sole private use is somehow acceptable.

And how is smashing windows on a vehicle that is legally parked in a public parking space "being a decent human being"?

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There was nothing to shovel!!!

These damn townies and wanna-be-yuppies are ruining SoBo.

- The Original and Real SoBo Yuppie

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I didn't say that destroying someone's personal property makes one a decent human being - I said that finding another parking space after realizing you took a claimed one rather than writing a passive-aggressive note would help do the trick. My first sentence was basically forecasting what is par for the course in Boston, as reported here quite often.

And no, of course the note writer did not take a "deeded" spot or park in someone's driveway. The topic of the post was in relation to public space-saving as was my comment. As you can see, I do not need the help you do with reading comprehension.

By the way, you asked four questions (you also need help with your exclamation points). Enjoy your bike and the 'burbs!

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Wow. Does being so arrogant keep you warm and toasty at night? It's good that the internet is still a haven for the phony tough...

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1) What if there weren't any other spots?
2) Do you know what passive-aggressive means? There's such thing as notes that aren't passive-aggressive notes.

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Why would "a decent human being" find another place to park, instead of simply parking in an open street space. Even if you do believe in saving spaces that you've shoveled, it's not like there was actually any snow to shovel -- it took me all of about 45 seconds to clear my space.

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I bought a home in Hyde Park last spring and as a former resident of Jamaica Plain, picking this particular neighborhood (and a house with a driveway) was, believe it or not, a major striking point.

I was merely offering a suggestion rather than being a punk and writing a note long after realizing you took a spot. Next time don't even leave a note and just be all "fuck you" about it - I'd be less pissed if a spot I shoveled was claimed without one than a note basically saying "sorry, I'm lazy, deal with it."

It took me five minutes to shovel my driveway and sidewalk... Loved every second of it.

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rather than be a decent human being and find another place to park?

Get bent, loser.

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Stay Warm!

Go to H---!

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Do all yuppies work in offices? Or can they be skilled tradesman (ie, finish carpenters) or restaurant people or teachers who have a little cash and prefer living in the city? What do the people who disparagingly use the term yuppie typically do to pay the bills?

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"disparagingly use the term yuppie"...impossible.

Yuppie = smart, open-minded (ie not racist), peaceful, clean, pays a crap load of taxes, doesn't resort to violence, doesn't deal drugs in the community, does vandalize cars, doesn't break into houses...etc.

- The Original SoBo Yuppie

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You left out "modest".

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Open-minded and not racist? Hah! That's a laugh. I don't recall those traits having anything to do with the definition of yuppies. If yuppies are so open-minded, why did they drive the gay population out of the South End? Yuppies are self-involved and have an undeserved inflated ego. Yuppies are only concerned about themselves.. they'd screw over their own mother to get what they want. Yuppies brag about the high paying jobs Daddy got them and the expensive BMW they rewarded themselves with after the last trust fund check came in. It's all about material wealth, greed and one-upmanship. Don't fool yourself, it's not admirable to be called a yuppie.

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Just so everyone is clear Yuppie = "young urban professional" or "young upwardly-mobile professional"

So basically if you are young and went to college you are a yuppie and you should feel ashamed of your achievement.

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Wrong. Yuppie is considered a pejorative term. Oh, I'm sorry... you don't know what pejorative means do you, TheVanJones. Look it it up!

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All I know is my sister got lucky, married a yuppie. She took him for all he was worth and now she's a swinger dating a singer...I can't decide which is worse

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Wow....blaming the yuppies for driving the gay people out or the South End?!? I cant tell if this post is a joke or not. There is no way someone can be this stupid right? i am also willing to bet that no one has ever bragged about how much money they make to this anonymous poster, you are definitely making that up. Screwing over their mother to get what they want? you got some issues for sure! Daddy got all yuppies their job, holly crap this post has to be a joke!

You reek or jealousy and you are the type of townie that ruin the reputation of all the other people that come from southie.
Your life seems pathetic

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I'm not a townie and I don't live in Southie or the South End. I don't rip on other neighborhoods or blindly judge people who grew up here or did not grow up here. I live in a decent Boston neighborhood, though you perhaps may not think it's right for you. I have a college degree and am financially stable and happy to be living here. Not disgruntled at all -- simply correcting ignorant comments. Expand your horizons. Get to know different people and explore more neighborhoods in Boston and then maybe your bitter spitefulness will subside.

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How can you say you don't blindly judge people when you blindly judged all 'yuppies' for having daddy get them all jobs and buying BMW's with trust fund money. that is the definition of blindly judging!!!

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Deman, read the wikipedia entry for yuppie. It is a label that was invented to be a derogatory term. What don't you part of that don't you get? It's defined as a young wealthy person who boasts about their material possessions and who is mainly concerned with status. That's inherently pejorative!

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Read the wikipedia is your answer?! Are you playing dumb or is this all authentic stupidity? Blindly judging people is calling someone a yuppy without ever meeting or talking to them. Again, exactly what you did.

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claiming the "yuppies" drove "the gays" out of the South End is the dumbest thing I've read today and demonstrates a colossal ignorance of...well, a lot of things. Boston. History. Real estate. Human nature. MC Slim pretty much covers it but the notion that a bunch of homophobic BMW-drivers got together to drive the boys out of the South End is making me chuckle.

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I mean, if we were to believe what certain Russian presidents say, wouldn't we have expected those BMW drivers to have enslaved all the boys instead?

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"I'll never forget the night that The Yuppies banded together and finally drove The Gays out of the South End."

Gonna guess you probably don't know many South End yuppies or gay people. I'm one of the straight people that moved to the South End at about the time that its gay population probably peaked; I think a few things contributed to their exodus. Most took advantage of the fact that their long presence and investment in the neighborhood had caused property values to soar, so they cashed out their considerable equity and moved to neighborhoods where they thought they might repeat the process, like Dorchester and Fort Hill, among others. (It's an essential cycle of gentrification: it's going on big-time in Southie right now, and I think / hope there's a bit of upside left yet.) Significant but less important, increasing tolerance of gays has made it easier for them to live anywhere they want: they don't have to cluster in specific neighborhoods to feel safe and part of a community.

Sure, a few were probably driven out because they were renters and could no longer afford it (which makes it an issue of class, not sexual preference), or decided that all those tacky straight people with their horrible taste were too much to bear. I had gay neighbors who bitched mightily about the tenants I put above them with children who run around and cry, but I made sure they understood that city living (and the law) doesn't entitle you to live in perfect peace and quiet during daylight hours: that's what the suburbs are for. They're still there, as are a lot of their gay friends -- the boys still have a huge presence in the South End -- but they don't call me complaining about the kids anymore. Presumably they're pleased at how the neighborhood and its real estate values continue to improve, even if it's not the mostly-gay place it used to be.

So, make a case for the horror that is the Invading Yuppie Menace if you like, but it will help if you ground it in reality.

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The night they drove the South End down
And the bells were ringin'
The night they drove the South End down
And the people were singin'
They went, "Na na na na na na na na na ''

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I can agree with much of what you said. But there are a couple of items that I would like to expand. The former reason for gay ghettos is as you pointed out a matter of feeling safe and comfortable instead of having to hide sexual orientation. But I believe that there is a simple reason of wanting to live around people who share fundamentally similar traits, whether the traits are cultural, skin color or sexual orientation. So if there is a noticeable number of similar people moving out that generates a domino effect.

But why have many gays moved out of the South End in the first place prior to considerations of being around like people? Same reason a lot of straight people do not buy or rent in the South End. It's just too expensive. But as you suggested then it is a matter of economics.

As for what your neighbors had to deal with I somewhat disagree. They do have a right to a reasonable level of peace and quiet. City living can bear upon how reasonable is defined. From a legal perspective the city has specific noise limits. Children running around comes across as noise to the neighbors. If the children are violating those noise limits then at least their parents are liable.

What if the shoe was on the other foot? What if the neighbors were doing something which though legal, annoyed your tenants enough that they wanted to move when their lease ended? Do you just say "Tough, deal with it." If your tenant deals with it by moving doesn't that cost you? Plus if you piss off a neighbor where you own a property how are you helping yourself? Especially if that neighbor pays part of the costs of maintaining the envelope of the structure? I don't see how a "Tough, you live in the city, deal with it" response helps.

I also wonder why the use of the term boys? Were the neighbors boys or men? And gays move away because of tacky straight people with horrible taste? That's funny. Good one!

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As a longtime trustee on the board of a decent-sized condo association, and a longtime landlord, I've been managing noise issues for years; it's the number one bone of contention among condo neighbors. My association has quiet hours from 11pm to 7am: no loud music, TVs, etc. I insist that my tenants take reasonable steps to reduce noise: rugs and runners on hardwood floors, etc. Our first response as trustees to noise complaints is, "Talk to your neighbor and work it out", and that resolves 90% of them. We're grownups; we have to live together. When talking doesn't work, we warn for a first offense, then start fining; the situation rarely gets past the first fine. I make sure my tenants understand this; they have to read and sign the condo rules along with the lease.

Still, the law (per our association's attorney, who specializes in condo law) is quite clear: it says that kids have the right to be kids. They're going to run around and jump up and down in the daytime, and if you buy into the legal compact that is a condo association, you have to be willing to deal with some of that. (Quiet hours are still sacrosanct: we're quick to squelch people who try to throw loud parties that last till 3am.) Some noise is a non-negotiable cost of city living. Do you like to complain about bus noise, noisy patrons exiting a bar on your block, airplanes taking off from Logan, the toddler upstairs stomping down the hallway of his own home in the middle of the afternoon? Sorry about that. Maybe a condo in a dense urban neighborhood just isn't for you.

"The boys" is a slangy term I use for the community of gay men, meant respectfully. You read me correctly: the gays that moved out of the South End overwhelmingly did so because it was highly profitable. And plenty stayed put, so I don't buy the notion that they're having trouble dealing with the yuppies. We provide fodder for snide jokes about our terrible clothes and haircuts, so there's that.

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Muffy lit a Messermeister Cheflamme while Biff brandished a hand-forged Sneeboer Raised Bed Cultivator

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wait, "does vandalize cars". You were good up until that point...

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Can yuppies also be craftspeople (i. e. ceramicists or silversmiths, for example) who also prefer to live in the city?

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Enough already. I'm sick of reading about it. If you're that much against it either raise hell with City Hall or toss the gd thing into the friggin' street.

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If you're that much against it either raise hell with City Hall or toss the gd thing into the friggin' street.

Or, alternatively, use the resources available to you (in this case, the power of the press) to hold it up to ridicule and shame the perpetrators.

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Since one or two people have already been stabbed over a damned parking space, how long does everybody think it'll be before someone actually gets killed over a parking space. When that happens, it'll really be too late. I'm admittedly not a Boston resident, let alone a Southie resident, but I'll say this: If Mayor Marty Walsh is smart, he and his administration will move right in and put a stop to this whole space-saving business city-wide, before somebody really does get killed over a stupid parking space.

Maybe petitioning the city to do a better job of snow-removal in the winter would also lessen the need for, if not eliminate the practice, completely, which really should be done.

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The more Southie acts like a bunch of whiny brats when the whole rest of the world doesn't pull this space saver shit and gets ridiculed for it the more likely Southie will grow the Hell up and stop with the nonsense.

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with parking, parking spot savers, Southie is becoming really creepy. Borderline OCD. Really scary.

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With my posts about South Boston is becoming really creepy. Borderline OCD. Really scary.

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What people do in South Boston is supposed to _stay_ in South Boston. The rest of the city is just supposed to butt out.

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This wouldn't have happened if they didn't start busing, true story.

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What?

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There's just no excuse for such bestial behavior on the part of people over parking spaces on public streets that everybody's taxes go to the upkeep and maintenance of. If the city moved in, ordered better snow removal, and put a stop to this stupid practice, it would save lives, as well as people's pride. If people want communities that they're really and truly proud of and feel loyal towards, certain kinds of behavior must be altered before that can happen.

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You realize, of course, that you have the option to NOT READ this site, yes?

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And the resulting response from the mouth-breathers in southie is the best result of it all. You idiots do realize that by bashing Adam for these posts, you are affirming everthing the rest of the world mocks you for.

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Why are people even saving spots to begin with? This wasn't a storm that required anyone to have to spend hours digging their car out. Charlestown got a couple of inches, and I doubt the rest of the city got anymore than that. This is about entitlement, plain and simple. Nowadays, people are more comfortable hating each other than they are trying to at least get along with their neighbors.

Forget about your own overinflated sense of importance and take a deep breath. Then ask yourself, "Do I really need to save this spot, or am I just getting swept up in the collective hysteria that drives our modern society?" I'll bet it'd be the latter.

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Looks like a space saver, could be a bomb. Make it a homeland security issue. Space savers could be hiding something, ya know! Maybe get some old worn out backpacks or those bags from conferences that nobody uses, stuff them with newspaper, shove them under that lawn chair or a bunch of old pressure cookers and call it in.

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So, what happened when this guy got to his car this morning? I imagine "stay warm" hit a nerve.

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