Conservatives defend family values. I tell them they are killing themselves, and zoos are wondering if they should collect a few members of the Tea Party, before they go extinct. They tell me I'm outdated, white power is the future, and I remind them they can all now be replaced with cheap computers...
I'm seldom formal, but most seem shocked when I'm simply polite. In the south, its common, but Yankees are busy and often consider politeness a sales pitch.
Its not just being busy, they believe you are after their wallet or something. Nine million people in NYC alone is enough to rub the politeness off anyone.
New Yorkers haven't gotten more polite over the years, just less vocal on the average. Complaining about idiots only encourages them.
Thirty one out of thirty two buildings burnt to the ground by arsonists, to collect insurance money. Lets just say it makes war torn Beirut look like a cake walk.
Just walking there, you will find at least one guy sitting in a lawn chair on every block, yelling out, "Sex, Drugs, etc." Someone on the rooftops has the goods, and will take off the minute the cops roust anyone, and is very likely to have a gun.