When we first heard about the Native Society, an online social club for
"native New Yorkers and their friends," we were amused. And today while reading the NY Times' coverage of a recent Native Society event we were still amused! We aren't quite sold on the headline the paper of record went with, "Edith Wharton’s World, Recast for ‘Gossip Girl’". The characters in Wharton's books are so much more interesting than these self-satisfied kids (read a bit of The Custom of the Country and you will see what we mean), but headline nitpicking aside, author Alex Williams managed to get some lovely quotes from the Society members, including founder Oliver Estreich. So let's take a moment and enjoy them, shall we?
- “It’s not about who you were born, or what you were given, but what you’ve made of yourself,” explained one member, Alexa Winner, a 22-year-old stylist and fashion designer. “Anyone can come from a wealthy family, but it takes actual brains and ambition to do something with that.”
- New York kids apparently have more developed minds! “When you grow up in New York City, our minds develop faster. You’re not from Wisconsin, you’re not from the middle of America. We’re international, we’re focused, we’re driven.”
- Native Society members were apparently not amused by their college experiences: “I felt like I was back-tracking,” said Kristy Rao, who said that she felt estranged from the sorority scene at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. She had been the kind of city kid who summered on the fjords of Norway and sipped Côtes du Rhône at sidewalk cafes with her parents at 15. She was aghast to find fellow students sucking back Jell-O shots and dressing up for “pimps and hos” theme parties.
- “I can literally say I know everyone in this room through one other person.”
- Finally—yay?—you don't have to be a "native" to join the Native Society anymore. According to Estreich "You can be an “honorary member” if you’re born outside the city, so long as you display the Native mind-set."
Sigh. The problem with these kids is that after the fun of laughing at them wears off (and that does take a while, we admit), there really isn't much to say about them. At least they've got each other?
