Stapleton resident Vince O’Hara launched a new blog this week called 80238: Stapleton – We are the top 0.9%”
“Yep, I know about the ‘We are the top 1%.. What I was looking to do was to highlight that we are not only in the top 1% for all that cool stuff like income and education, (they left looks out of the article by the way), but what’s even better is that we are in the top 0.9% in terms of handwringing.”
Some Stapleton residents have criticized the “We are the 1% blog” as just a way for people to assuage their guilt about living in an elite neighborhood like ours, and O’Hara looks to capitalize on this with his blog.”
“Yeah, we seem to be not just in the top 1% which we can of course brag about to our friends and family who don’t live here. Oh, did I say brag, I meant, work into conversation in subtle ways so we don’t look like, you know – complete jackasses. Really though, we can also feel good about being so progressive and thoughtful in addition to knowing that we’re, well, in a place that is, um, better, uh, I mean well educated.”
O’Hara’s research shows that among the top 130 zip codes, Stapleton is in the top 90% when ranked by the percentage of residents who are aware they are in the top 1% and actually feel a little bit guilty about it.
“I know it sounds like I have too much free time, but I did a poll of 1,000 people in those top 130 zip codes by looking up phone numbers on the web and calling them. I then polled people here in Stapleton, and it seems that most people in the top zip codes know that they are in a top zip code and feel a little bit guilty about being a top zip code. The exception really just was New York. When I polled New York City residents I would often get disconnected or answers like, Who the f— is asking such a #$%@ question!?!?”
When I compiled this data, I found that Stapleton was in the top 90% of the 1%.
Ohara’s neighbor, Steve Whitlock, who has contributed to the Blog, commented, “you know, those folks in Boston or Berkeley who are in this top 1%, I mean, do they really care like we do? I think the fact that we are in such an elite zip code, and still socialize with, you know, people who aren’t as well educated as we are says a lot. I mean, do they have a place like our King Soopers in Boston where you have to stand in line with people from other neighborhoods?”
O’Hara commented, “You know, I even have some people from Aurora come to mow my lawn and shovel my front walk – and did I mention that I say hi to those guys who are out with the leaf blowers on 29th Ave? I don’t think those guys have gone to college.”
A neighbor of O’Hara, pointed out that she interacts with some diverse folks whenever she takes the Skyride to DIA. “Yeah, I really do think we’re different here. I mean do you see those folks on the Upper West Side taking a bus to the Airport like we do?” She said she hasn’t added a comment to O’Hara’s blog, but she plans to after she picks her husband up at the Stapleton Park n Ride.
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