The Slice: Around here, we’re first class

I don’t have tons of data on this.

But visitors who fly here almost always praise the seatmates they had on Spokane-bound flights.

Any theories?

Explanation for 1 PERCENT of the scowling and glowering one sees here: There is a seldom acknowledged downside to Spokane not being a big city.

Because this is not an intimidatingly huge place, a steady stream of cranky would-be civic leaders imagine themselves as dynamic change agents. In a major metro, they wouldn’t presume to present themselves as the heroic answer to everyone’s problems. But here, they have this thought:

“Spokane needs me to straighten it out. I’m just the person to lead these benighted rubes to a bright, new day. And because this is a small pond, I actually think I can pull it off.”

Then, when no one signs up to follow them, they get mad.

Some move away in a huff. But others stick around and frown at those who ignored them.

Perhaps you have dealt with a few of these self-appointed visionaries over the years. It’s always the same.

They present us with their recipe for Spokane’s salvation. They promise us that their ideas are going to take the city by storm. Unconvinced, we decline to jump onto the bandwagon. And then they get angry.

They become grassroots grouches. They spend their days blaming the audience and waiting for someone to say, “People should have listened to you.”

Meeting in the middle: Steve Paulson once suggested to some colleagues who lived over in the Puget Sound area that they all get together in person to discuss a certain issue.

The West Siders proposed meeting halfway. Sounds fair.

But it turned out their idea of “halfway” was the Snoqualmie Pass summit.

Of course, they weren’t the only Seattle area folks with a faulty understanding of Evergreen State geography. Spokane’s Karen Mobley recalled being on a statewide board made up largely of people who thought Ellensburg was right next to Spokane.

Today’s Slice question: Are there town/gown tensions among college-age people here?