Mon 3 Nov 2008
Las Vegas. What does that location say to you? Fun? Shows? Gambling? Partying? A good friend of mine once said that Vegas is a two star experience with a four star façade. Where else will people wait in line to sit on the outside patio of a restaurant that is totally enclosed within a larger environment. I’m thinking Dysan Sphere without the tech.
So here I am, stuck here in Vegas for eight days on a business trip. Since I don’t fancy gambling away my money on the extremely remote chance of a large payoff nor does drinking until I have an intimate relationship with the toilet sound appealing, I am at a loss to find activities to pass the time. I guess blogging is a good one. So, how did I address this Vegas dilemma? I got into the rental car and took a drive. Unfortunately, it didn’t help. I found the area surrounding the Vegas strip to be reminiscent of a demilitarized zone. Grant it there was no checkpoint, but the constant construction took on the appearance of the constant repair from shelling and fighting in a war zone. The presence of tactically armed security in every 7-11 validated the warnings that locals said about the danger off the strip. It was like gangland. The graffiti on the walls showed loyalties to various street gangs. Early morning street corners were populated with day laborers looking for work. The same locals who commented about the dangers also said that no one lives in that area. I would have to disagree. I saw many housing areas with easy crime distance of the strip.
So what is Las Vegas? For those who have never visited, let me try to describe the environment. Imagine a place like Disney World, only instead of focusing on childhood fantasy and family fun, it is an artificial world created to serve the root and inner most basic vices of man; greed, opulence and sex. Now before you go linking me to radical Christians or label me a prude, DON’T. I have no problem with wealth and certainly hope to have some one-day. I have NO issues what so ever with people enjoying their sexuality, dressing hot (by the way, spandex is a privilege NOT a right), or having a good time. Hell, I think prostitution should be legal, taxed and regulated with mandatory health screenings. As the late George Carlin used to say, “F**king is legal. Selling is legal. Why is selling f**king legal?” The issue I take with Vegas is that it is a lie. It is an over priced mediocre attempt to create a fantasy world. If a comparison were drawn to Disney World, I would say that at least Disney makes no bones about the price and provides you an exceptional experience. In Vegas, your experience is only exceptional, as it applies to rooms and food, assuming you pay an arm and a leg for your room or meal or you are upgraded because you are gambling away your life savings thereby making it the most expensive facade you ever experienced and out costing Disney by a long shot. I think what has and continues to occur is that people travel to Las Vegas to experience a piece of Americana or American iconography. The majority of the people I saw are sad, uneducated, desperate, misguided, and old; people burning away social security; people who you can tell obviously are not people of means who are throwing away their mortgage payments and life savings at the off chance of striking it easy rich. Perhaps it is a falsely perceived opportunity to either rube elbows with or imply a sense of equity to the extremely wealthy, or at least the lifestyle portrayed as the extremely wealth by television and moves. My personal experience has been that the wealthier people are the less likely to find them throwing their money away on gambling. This is how they stay rich. If you ever go to Vegas or the next time you go, have a seat for a while and people watch. The facade does not end with the architecture and environment. It continues on to the people. This place is white trash Disney. I have never seen more sleeveless shirts, fu Manchu mustaches with mullets, gaudy clothing, women wearing clothing they never could wear and especially shouldn’t be at 50+ and 5” spiked mules that scream Chiaro. The men take on a persona and posture of the tough guy image made popular by the biker, gang and mobster sect. People say Vegas is a place where you can be your real self. What is you’re an asshole? Here is an idea, be your self ALL the time. To thine own self be true.
Perhaps Vegas is an extension of the American persona. Perhaps it is a place where everyone, regardless of their income level can pretend to be wealthy, jet-setting elitists. The saddest part is that when the trip is over, I am certain that the majority of the people walking past me right now will go home to their trailer, but with significantly less money.
