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Comment by enthdegree | Hacker News Reader

Really interesting content, it is fascinating and somehow heartwarming to see a picture of an environment like this one. Unfortunately this is in stark contrast to the narrator, who at times seems like a total jerk. Why be so snarky to the photographers? They're just trying to do their job! I have to admit, I had to stop reading and start skimming when I got to this line:

> I consider asking the boys if they appreciate music beyond the norm, maybe bebop or grime or chiptune, but luckily realize the ridiculousness of that line of questioning. So instead I ask about their favorite rappers. They amass a respectable list: Kendrick, Wiz, Jeezy, Kanye, Juicy J.

There are many more lines just like it scattered throughout the article, and I hope I do not have to explain why they leave a negative impression of the author. I am sorry Mr. Sorgatz but your culturally-savvy, hard-edged commentary makes me feel like you are a phony.

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The line you quote seems completely innocuous to me. If he actually asked teenagers if they like bebop or grime or chiptune, I imagine the answer would be something like, "Uh, noooo, I don't listen to anything weird" or "I don't know what those are." So he asks a safe question about rappers. The writer is explaining his thought process in a lighthearted way.

We both read the same thing, but I like the author and you dislike him. Which is really interesting, because this is a totally uncontroversial article. It's funny that subtle choice of words have hugely different effect on different people.

I read the comments before reading the piece, as one tends to do, and I started out on the side of the narrator being pretentious, if that's the best word to describe enthdegree's feelings on the conveyed tone. Interestingly, however, I am now most the way through the piece and am strongly identifying with the narrator, have warm fuzzies, and completely trusting of his or her good intentions.

Maybe I should start reading posted content more often, rather than reading only the comments?

Not that it matters a lot, but isn't this pretentious:

> Every spring, around 20 new kids don graduation caps, celebrate their nascent adulthood with a class party in a rye field, and return to the farm the next day to plant corn or milk holsteins.

It's like milking holsteins and planting corn is inferior to complaining about it. As if the author is the only one smart enough to complain.

I take that as just an honest description of what happened.

I more read the article as a study of the author's own regret at going back to a place that they no longer understood or felt part of. The line you quote, to me, just emphasises the author's own feelings of awkwardness and isolation.

Also, the photography was amazing (and I'm glad that Photog2 was a character!). It's worth skimming for the photos alone.

I think you're being overly harsh. I read the entire article and enjoyed it very much, including the author's commentary.

I didn't interpret their tone as trying to be hard-edged or snarky; I felt it was just them honestly showing the process of someone returning home to a place that was incredibly isolated 25 years ago, and then trying to rectify what it's like for these kids in that same town who now have access to so much more information and avenues of communication.

I liked the different asides where they mentioned what was popular in the town 25 years ago versus what the kids like now, and how the kids interests today compare to bigger city tastes. I grew up in a town that's 5x larger than Napoleon but still pretty small, and I see many parallels with this story that match my experiences.

"makes me feel like you are a phony."

Funny as it is, that's the author's confession of his own feelings as the last sentence.

I'm with you. The author just keeps returning to his reflexive self-cringe, and (for me) it distracted a lot from what is otherwise an interesting piece. Gonzo journalism doesn't really work if the narrator has no self-confidence, and has to keep telling you that.

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