Salon.com > Neighbors From Hell http://www.salon.com Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 “Neighbors From Hell”: The perversion of the suburbs, unleashed! http://www.salon.com/2010/05/29/neighbors_from_hell/ http://www.salon.com/2010/05/29/neighbors_from_hell/#comments Sat, 29 May 2010 23:01:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/heather_havrilesky/2010/05/29/neighbors_from_hell As young adults, we try to distinguish ourselves from the conformist herd. As old adults, we try to squelch our uniqueness just enough to keep our jobs and prevent our children from being ostracized by their peers for mumbling Kraftwerk lyrics to themselves at lunchtime.

But the irony of concealing that "carpe diem" tattoo on your ankle at the church picnic or turning down that growly Slint album in the elementary school parking lot is that such quirks of taste can't even touch the bizarre rituals and behaviors that pass for normal in mainstream America. From the aggressive displays of machismo at little league baseball games to the vaguely menacing etiquette of PTA meetings, the freakishness of suburban life far transcends the freakishness of ... well, freaks like you and me. Whether we're straining to appear unfazed by the oddly sexual undertones of songs at our kid's Christian day camp or struggling to stomach the fried delights of the local themed chain restaurant, it can be a challenge to remain unfazed by the madness around us.

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