Hey Brewster: Here’s some advice for YOU about dissing St. Louis
- Brewster McCracken
If your name is Brewster McCracken, you might have had a hard time at recess when you were a kid. Maybe people still pick on him — and that explains why he picks on others.
McCracken, you see, wants to be the mayor of Austin, Texas. But instead of running an ad saying why he’d make a great mayor, and what he can do for that city, he’s running one ad that disses St. Louis — hard. He points out that in 1904, St. Louis hosted the World’s Fair and probably thought it was the center of the universe. According to Brewster, things have gone downhill since then.
“Entire sections of St. Louis urban core have been abandoned for decades. There’s a warning to cities all over the country from St. Louis’ story.”
Really? Entire sections? I’m sure Brewster did careful research to back up that claim.
We know St. Louis has its problems. I’d venture to say Austin has better Tex-Mex food, hotter summers, and no world championship caliber baseball. But is the best way to run for office in one city really to talk smack about another one?
I’m sure Mr. McCracken would appreciate hearing from St. Louisans about our city. His email address is info@brewstermccracken. com. Maybe he’ll enjoy getting some e-mail from the Midwest.
But meanwhile, what do you think of his campaign tactics, and what do you think of his attack on St. Louis?
You know it’s funny, but I can’t seem to remember the last time that Austin hosted a Men’s Final Four, Women’s Final Four, or Major League All-Star game. I guess when your city achieves the status Austin has, you just don’t NEED those events. People simply whisper its name and the magic happens…”Aussssstinnnn…”
Amanda’s focus completely missed the target. Yeah, there is a question - why did he choose to take on StL (the answer is: because it is a symbol of a decay). More important question is - are the things about StL he mentioned incorrect? The answer is no - they are the truth, and that’s why an outrage here, because the truth can hurt.
There is no bigger looser in urban decay in the 20th century than Saint Louis. It was also singled out because yes, in 1904, it was one of the coolest and most prosperous cities in the world. To mention decay of KC or Cinci doesn’t emphasize the point as much, as they were never close to what StL once was.
truth - ya ever heard of Detroit?
I do not agree with his tactic, but I can’t say he is wrong in the facts. There are great parts of the city that continue to develop, but for the most part that is not due to city management or funding, it is private development. The areas that have fallen into decay could have been supported by city funding and policing, but instead they HAVE remained neglected and and continue to spread like mold.
Maybe instead of worrying about what McCracken said, we should worry about why he picked St. Louis as his example. If we can answer that, it might lead to a larger conversation on what we can do to fix the problems currently being faced and which were probably observed by McCracken.
Either way, he does seem too dorky for a cool city like Austin.
he is a texas leaguer, and won’t make it to the big leagues. plus in st louis’s hey day it was the supply center for building the west. and that includes texas. and as the west was settled, the settler went with it. even than gov. johnson move the state capital to marshall, texas during the war in 1861.
maybe we need someone like brewster here in STL. this place is a dump and everyone knows it.
Another tempest in a teapot. Who is really concerned with what some society-climber in another part of the country thinks one way or another? Ill-conceieved comparisons or petty responses to them on our part do nothing to advance anyone’s causes.
I hope, as do others who have written, that we do not debase ourselves with a juvenile hate-mail campaign. The man has a right to his opinion, and he does make some valid points. St. Louis is a good town with good people, but we’ve got a LOT of work to do to turn our city around. No shame in that, and we’ve got company all over our country. We’re supposed to be the Show Me state — well, maybe we can show old Brewster and everyone else that St. Louis can rebound. There are signs out there that it just might happen.
I forgive Texas for inflicting George Bush on us for the last eight years, so I can easily forgive Mr. McCracken for any misdirected potshots he may or may not have intended to take at St. Louis. Besides which, with a name like Brewster McCracken, this guy may have more problems than we know…
I think Mr. McCracken is at least partially correct.
If you have ever had the pleasure of taking Grand Ave or Kingshighway from the Midtown to Hwy 70, or if you have taken a Sunday drive down Natural Bridge to the intersection of Newstead…you just don’t know what you are missing! Such beautiful homes and quaint neighborhoods…it’s surprising that this area hasn’t made the top 100 “Best Places to Live” list! (Abundant Sarcasm included)
What’s with “well….we got better sports”?
Big deal - they’re surrounded by sports teams in Texas…
Their city is absolutely beautiful….something St. Louis hasn’t been able to say for decades…
What next? “Buh buh buh…we gots pork steaks”
I believe that he just made the St. Louis reference to prove a point. Yes, St. Louis was the center of the universe at the turn of the century (1800’s to 1900’s). With the many companies and innovation being created here. It is nearly extinguished today. The spirit of St. Louis meant something that it doesn’t quite meant today.
I love my city, but it’s divided for a reason. There are sections of the area abandoned for a reason. Those who left, never to return, know why they did so. They have their reasons.
To leave communities without its base of wage earners and educated people leads to ruin.
I think this is what he doesn’t want for the people of Austin.
1. A city divided against itself ( for whatever reason)
2. The flight of the wage earners and educated folk from the core of the city.
3. Not to mention, bad management of city resources.