by Garrison Frost

Every civilization is governed by its prevailing schools of thought, and the South Bay is no different. Often overlapping, often subtle, these guiding philosophies manifest themselves in almost everything we do. Our tastes are governed by them, as is nearly every social interaction. Community discourse and politics are also greatly affected, as are general aesthetics.

While no list of this sort can be truly comprehensive, we have made an effort here to highlight some of the dominant themes:

NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard): Always a classic, especially with its South Bay variants WYNYBY (WhY Not Your Back Yard) and ISGICWEE (It Should Go In Carson With Everything Else).

IDYD (I Develop, You Don't): A necessary logical frame for community members that are adamantly against tearing down nice old houses for McMansions and condos, unless of course it's the McMansion they've always wanted.

Surf Ethos: Even to people who have never touched a surfboard in their lives, the surf ethos is a major influence. It guides what people wear, how they talk, even how they hold themselves in public and how we view ourselves internally. It explains how, no matter how conservative or corporate we've become, there will always be a place in our hearts for the big wave, the beach towel and the sunglasses.

Bigger-ism: Giant SUVs, industrial ovens for the house, dogs the size of bears and a fascination with our children's percentiles.

Parochialism: Even though it is inextricably linked to perhaps the greatest megalopolis in the history of mankind, the South Bay often acts as if it is an island surrounded by wide oceans. Thus, we complain about traffic as though it doesn't come from anywhere, and we complain about airplane noise from the international airport that didn't exactly sneak up on anyone.

Forever-ism: People in the South Bay tend to believe, despite all available evidence, that some things will go on forever. Real estate prices will continue to rise indefinitely. There will never be a natural disaster. Crime will always be on the decline. Test scores will always be better than last year.

Now-ism: Very similar to Forever-ism is this notion that history doesn't exist, that how we got here is far less important than that we are here. This can cut both ways. On the one hand, people in the South Bay don't get hung up on the past, and don't let pedantry stand in the way of progress. On the other hand, the traditions and history that make up a strong community often get trampled.

No-ism: Very similar to IDYD, this philosophy relies on the concept that no is always better than yes when it comes to big ideas. It is this philosophical strain that has stood in the way of almost every capital project ever proposed for the South Bay, making it hard to do almost anything.

(June 21, 2006)

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