It wasn’t until I got to college that I realized how badly the preconceived notions were about Long Islanders.
“Oh, you’re from Long Island?” Upstate folks ask with pure disdain dripping from their features. Followed by questions like, “Is like, everyone rich there?” and “Do y’all live on beaches?”
I often fight the urge to roll my eyes, but simply smile and humbly explain that no, not everyone here is rich, and no, we don’t all live on beaches. Very few of us are fortunate enough to actually have sand and an ocean in our backyards.
Sure, we brag about how great our pizza, bagels, and coffee are, but we’re really not as bad as you think - of course we have our moments, but then again, don’t we all?
I don’t know when and where the stereotype became so prominent but it’s time for it to be broken.
Our streets are not littered with BMW’s and Mercedes, because again, not all of us have parents who are Lawyers or Doctors. Obviously there are affluent parts of towns spread in between upper and lower middle-class suburbs, but like almost every place in America, you’ll find people from almost every socioeconomic background.
As for our accents? We may pronounce our ‘o’s’ like ‘aw’ (i.e, ‘cawfee’, and ‘New Yawrk’), but does this make us bad people? No. So please don’t make fun of the way we speak, we can’t help it. Plus, you’d be surprised to find that not all of us ‘tawk’ like Theresa Caputo from Long Island Medium - we don’t all know her either. So no, we are not always that loud.
I’ve also been told that Long Islanders are not friendly people, and that’s putting it lightly. While we not be extremely gregarious the first time we meet, I promise once you get to know us, we’re really fun and we won’t bite your head off. Some of us may come off as conceited, but frankly, we’re just proud of where we come from. Please don’t take it personally.
Girls from Long Island seem to be placed under the category of ‘basic’, but what does that even mean? Yes, some of us wear Uggs with leggings and “Pink” sweatshirts while carrying our Iced ‘Cawfees’ from Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, but I’ve seen people from all over the world who dress similarly. So let’s be honest; Long Islanders did not invent the term, ‘basic white girl.’ And again, we’re not all ‘basic.’ In fact, we own shoes other than just Uggs. I actually prefer cowgirl boots and Converse over anything… shocking, I know.
Apparently, many people also make the assumption that we’re either all Italian or Jewish. This is also false. I’ll admit there are certain towns that identify more with specific ethnicities or religions, but Long Island is a huge place, thus there is a large extent of diversity.
So, next time you meet a Long Islander, please don’t assume the worst. Try to form your own opinions and disassociate from the preconceived notions about us.
