rant · moment 15 of 25
Old Dangerous New York vs. Boring Raising Cane's New York
from Zohran Mamdani, Political Rage, & The Hunt | The Tim Dillon Show #450 · #450
4 min
Tim contrasts nostalgic stories of dangerous old New York (a Rockette stabbed in Central Park) with a modern, bland story about waiting in line at Raising Cane's, spiraling into a dark fantasy about a plane crash at Newark airport.
- Tim has lived in New York on and off, watched it become increasingly expensive, boring, and corporate.
- People nostalgic for dangerous old New York never actually lived through it—they're remembering a time when rockettes got stabbed in Central Park.
- Old New York stories were genuinely memorable: getting blown in a CBGB bathroom, waking up in a stranger's apartment, smoking with someone who talked about Buddhism, then seeing a rockette with a butcher knife in her back.
- Modern New York stories are bland by comparison—complaints about crowded Raising Cane's in Times Square and delayed Broadway shows.
- Tim's trip ended with a four-hour flight delay at Newark, where he sat scrolling his phone, wondering if he felt anything.
- Sitting at Newark airport, Tim fantasized about a plane crashing through the terminal and questioned whether he would feel anything dying.
- Tim spiraled into existential thoughts about death, wondering if his disconnection from life was punishment for not eating at Raising Cane's.
- The conclusion: modern life has become bland, predictable, and boring because people no longer feel anything except through politics.
New YorkpoliticsRaising CanesRudy GiulianiNewark airportCBGB