Taxi Driver is nearly 50 years old but it’s still one of cinema’s most definitive portraits of urban paranoia and societal detachment.  Travis (played by Robert De Niro) obsesses on the city that he harshly judges even though he’s as much a part of New York as those who he wishes will be washed away.

This scene features Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Schrader at their definite best.  I imagine that, for a lot of people, this is one of those scenes that solidified their opinions on New York City.  For the record, the last time I was in New York, everyone was fairly pleasant.  They weren’t exactly friendly but I also didn’t get my bag stolen.  (Those of us who don’t live in New York tend to assume that we’ll get mugged as soon as we leave JFK.)

I do worry about the future of New York, especially with the election that is being held today.  To say I’m not a fan of either of the two front runners would be an understatement but, at the same time, it’s not my place to tell people in New York City how to vote.  (I’m a big believer in not telling people in other cities and states how to vote.  Whenever anyone from up north asks me why Beto didn’t win in 2018, I tell them the truth.  A bunch of pro-Beto yankees came down here and got on everyone’s nerves right before they voted.)  Instead of telling people what to do, I’ll just say that I sincerely hope that whatever happens will work out as well as it possibly can.

(That’s another reason I don’t endorsements.  “Vote for the candidate who will work as well as he possibly can,” probably isn’t going to gets the cheers that some other slogans would.)