Massachusetts residents take pride in their rich history–one that includes the Mayflower, Paul Revere’s ride and Ralph Waldo Emerson–yet perhaps it is the legacy of the blue-blooded Boston Brahmin that has left the most lasting impression, depicting city residents as cold and elitist.
Christiana Fischer, a College of Arts and Sciences senior from Toms River, N.J., said she fell in love with Boston immediately, especially with the Red Sox. However, when it comes to one aspect of the city, she said Bostonians are downright impolite.
“I have driven a car around Boston and I think the drivers are incredibly aggressive and can be very rude,” Fischer said. “My perception has been that people are nice unless behind the wheel of a car.”
Chris Conley, a College of Engineering senior and a Walpole, Mass., resident, said Massachusetts residents are so aggressive on the road — and have such a bad attitude — because there are so many drivers coming in and out of the city on a daily basis.
“So many people are entering and exiting the city that a 15-mile commute can easily turn into an hour-long gas-break party,” Conley said.
“Personally I think cab drivers and traffic are the reason for a lot of [driving aggression],” he added.
Kathryn Lynch, a CAS junior from West Chester, agreed that drivers in Boston are terrible.
“Drivers in Pennsylvania are definitely more willing to let a car in than in Boston,” Lynch said. “There is definitely an every man or woman for themselves mentality. But besides being terrible drivers, I think people in Boston are usually nice. And their accents are kind of cute.”
While Massachusetts natives may be known for their bad – and even dangerous – driving habits, Boston philanthropists said the rage mentality certainly does not carry itself into all aspects of the residents’ lives.
Rick Wallwork, the associate director of corporate relations and marketing for Boston Cares — a community service group that tutors kids, works with environmental issues and spends time with seniors with its more than 5,000 volunteers working year — agrees that there is a great deal of community service being completed in Boston.
“I do think that people in Boston are eager to volunteer,” Wallwork said. “Not everyone, of course, but some people just don’t know where to get started or they don’t have the time. [Boston Cares] serves as a bridge for people who would like to give back to the community but don’t know where to get started.
“There is a lot of service going on that people don’t know about,” Wallwork continued. “Bostonians have historically given in a quieter way to charities, without a lot of hoopla.”
George McCully, president of the Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy – a committee that ranks each state’s charitable donations based on the total income of residents and the total amount given to charity – also said Massachusetts residents are charitable. But, he added, they could afford to give much more.
“For 2003, Massachusetts is 3rd in income and 39th in giving,” McCully said. “However, Massachusetts’ donors have continually improved their rank since the Generosity Index came out. We doubled our charitable contributions from 1997 in just 4 years. This was the fastest increase in charitable contributions in the nation.”
McCully said the highest ranked states are usually those in the Bible Belt and the lowest ranked states are those in New England and the West Coast.
“People who have the most are giving less,” McCully said. “Nationwide, the giving is not related to income, but to culture and more specifically to religion.”
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