Y, Wild West

Youngstown is like nowhere else. It's been compared to a lot of places, of course, with varying degrees of success. It's a little like New Jersey (at least the Sopranos version of New Jersey), it's kind of a cross between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, it's sort of a smaller version of Chicago, it's possibly the point where the Midwest, the Northeast, and Appalachia all meet, and, maybe, it's reasonable to refer to Youngstown at times as "Diet Akron." Still, though, Youngstown is a place all its own. But... if I had to compare it to anywhere else, I'd compare it to the Old West.

Sure, there's nothing typically "western" about the city (with the possible exception of the Chaney Cowboys), but there are a lot of more abstract similarities. First, there's that pioneer spirit. It's a hard life in Youngstown, and over the years, people have done a lot of crazy things to get by. Maybe you can say it started with John Young and his expedition to the Western Reserve. Ingenuity, creativity, hard work, and the odd effects of cultural isolation are all symptomatic of life in the City of Youngstown. We still value hard work, perseverance, and a fighting spirit. I've written a lot about Kelly Pavlik on this site, and for good reason- he's in many ways a living embodiment of what it means to be from Youngstown and that's one of the reasons Youngstowners find him so easy to root for. He's like us, he's one of us- boxing is the most "Youngstown" of all sports, and not just because of Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini (Youngstown's Own Hands of Stone). It's the purest display of an individual's physical and mental toughness- and that's what it takes to grow up in the Yo.

In line with this, Youngstown also has an obvious appreciation for the culture of the outlaw. While we never really had any cowboys (except for, again, Chaney), we've certainly had our fair share of mobsters. And, as many others have said, Youngstown hasn't rejected this part of its identity. Rather, we've embraced it. Whether it's the "Mobtown USA" t-shirts at the Brier Hill Fest or the fact that we've voted for Traficant time and time again, there are clear signs all around town that we're proud of that aspect of our identity. Most of us recognize that organized crime and the political corruption that came along with it is one of the primary reasons our city has fallen apart, and most of us also realize that there's no place for organized crime in the city's current resurgence movement. Still, though, we think it's pretty cool that we had mobsters here.

Perhaps the most obvious sign of our "Old West" identity, though, is the general lawlessness of the city. Believe it or not, that's sort of a positive thing. Like one of those isolated mining towns in 19th century Arizona, this is a place where we pretty much make and enforce our own rules, ignoring the petty stuff so that we can go about our business. This is probably most obvious when it comes to driving. I think it's reasonable to say that no one in the city of Youngstown has properly used a blinker since the early 1970s. In addition, red lights and stops signs are pretty much optional for us. We've got bigger things to worry about around here- I'll drive how I want, you drive how you want, and we'll leave each other alone. Of course, you don't ever want to get into an accident, since pretty much nobody has auto insurance- but if everybody plays along, it should all work out. What's even better is that local law enforcement pretty much recognizes this fact. They'll take care of the robberies, the murders, and the other big stuff- just try to keep it under 65 on the side streets.

Obviously, this is all pretty tongue-in-cheek. The point is, though, that Youngstown is still, even after all these years, a place all its own. It doesn't really fit in with anywhere else. It's nice that the people at Cleveland Plus thought of us, but we're not really part of that crew. It's a special place, and maybe it's a place only those of us who grew up there can ever really understand or appreciate. Regardless, its our city, and its worth preserving, revitalizing, and defending.