I hope so ;) but it's sometimes hard to convey (or be sure on the detection of) sarcasm over online comments (especially with someone you're unfamiliar with). Sad thing is I've heard very similar arguments from people who were absolutely NOT using satire in any way... ah well. let's all go get a drink!
Remember when people were responsible for their own actions? I really think some people go overboard trying to pin social problems on one particular thing or another. Bars are for people who want to drink, end of story. No one is forcing anything on anyone, and to blame a local business for catering to what the people want is in my opinion laughable and more than a little misguided. If a working class Joe can't make ends meet and a pint of bud is going to make or break him... well, it's his decision to either walk by the bar or walk in, isn't it?
I haven't been to either of these bars yet (but am interested in the quality of the beer selections, especially the Flying Bison offered at Ulrich's), but I would be willing to bet that their prices are either about the same or lower than the majority of bars/restaurants in the area. Little local places usually aren't the ones to jack up prices... if I wanted an overpriced martini there are plenty of newer, trendier establishments I could go to. Which I do, occasionally. And I know what I'm getting into when I do... if I can't pay my mortgage, I skip it ;)
Colin - They are sometimes.
bars aren't passed off as a means of economic development
Couple quick examples are BERC taxpayer loan aid, with economic dev as justification, of One Sunset, and the Snooty Fox. Economic dev claims are lame for both casinos and bars, but it's claimed for bars too.
they aren't created in order to funnel more of our money to Albany, and they don't involve ceding sovereignty over parts of our city
Alcohol sales funnel a lot of money to Albany, as will the casino (even though not 'taxed' - semantics). One trivial property was ceded, and part of the deal involved Senecas dropping some land claim suits. There's many bigger parts of NYS that are sovereign tribal land so this doesn't change much. I'd prefer full legalization, but efforts to change the state constitution always failed so far.
Heather's subtle point is pretty good in comparing casino impacts to those of all bars in the city in total.
These places are in business just to sell over-priced bear to working class people who are already struggling to make ends meet. Why do we allow bars to stay open when all they do is victimize the less fortunate residents among us. They target the poor working class and students, making it easy for them to quickly waste all of their money on one night of fun. I bet that there we have more crime because of the bars and I know that the pawn shops are making a killing off these poor defenseless souls who happen to wander in and are quickly sucked in to the lifestyle. Pretty soon they are stopping by every night on the way home, then they start to stay longer and longer, pretty soon they can't control themselves, they are spending more and more money and losing everything that they work for. I can't stand to even talk about the horrors of bars and casinos. These places must be stopped!
1. Paul's right about the bogus sarcastic comparison between a local bar and a casino. Other reasons why the comparison doesn't hold is that bars aren't passed off as a means of economic development, they aren't created in order to funnel more of our money to Albany, and they don't involve ceding sovereignty over parts of our city. Besides that, though, the comparison is right on . . .
2. I'm taken.
Although I appreciate HeatherSmiles' attempts to be sarcastically clever, tarring these locally-owned small businesses into the casino debate to make a point that victimization is a non-issue does a disservice to them. (All vices have victims -- suicide hotlines can attest to that -- but that's a separate discussion.)
Local bars, restaurants, dry cleaners, bakeries, corner markets, etc. -- these are all tax-paying businesses under the jurisdiction of local courts and police. They are also part of the fabric of the community and have a personal relationship with their customers -- reasons that Ulrich's and the others have managed to stay in business for so long.
if all of the bars closed in Buffalo.. I would move.. you know you lost your soul to anywhere America when the corner jin mills close up shack. Those are the only non-pretentious places that anyone can walk into and sit down and talk to anyone else without worry of class, money, race ANYTHING.
Heather, are you serious? You sound like you're coming straight from the temperance movement of the 1840s and 50s (read the following to see just how close your fantastical nightmare vision of bars resembles the novels that this period produced: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4744 ). I think your idea of what happens in bars is quite limited, and incorrect for that matter: "all [bars] do is victimize the less fortunate residents among us." Have you been in a bar lately? How about a restaurant with a bar?
Beer is much cheaper in grocery stores than it is in bars, should Wegmans's beer section be closed down too? Or are you more fearful of the class difference that you perceive between yourself and a bar like the Malamute than you are of drinking beer itself?
The two you mention are more like standard support for small business. The only time I can think of that a bar has been presented as a development strategy in itself was the brewhouse fiasco in the theatre district.
LightoftheMoon - No comments here look to be seriously opposing bars or alcohol.
Heather's comment looks like satire illustrating arguments about bars and alcohol abuse/addiction similarly to how people sometimes make moral arguments against casinos and gambling abuse/addiction.
Yes the bar business is the one safe bet, sure thing in this town. I mean look at Breckinridge Brewery on Main....on mean Empire....I mean Ya Ya...I mean......
PaulBuffalo - ever been to Burboun street in New Orleans?
I've always thought a neighborhood bar was a sure bet. Simply, people drink when they are happy...people drink when they are sad.
Population Shrinks, economy weakens.... ForgettenBuffalo shows some of the old bars I wish I was around for.
I can't wait to get drunk with all the other struggling, working-class people at the Snooty Fox tonight. Does anyone know where the closest pawn shop is?
Whether true or not, Oliver Street in North Tonawanda was known years ago as having a higher concentration of taverns than any other street in the United States.
Buffalo=Bars and it wont change unless you tree huggers let other companys come in and create more jobs.
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