Good food vs. social Puritanism

I've never been to the South Street Diner - at any hour - but as far as I know, it's open 24 hours a day.

It may be no longer - either in hours or existence - if the city of Boston decides to close it down after 2am.

Why? Well, the bars close at 2am, and those sober enough to walk down and get a greasy repast to absorb their booze are "too noisy," according to some wealthy residents who live two doors down from the diner.

I will side with those residents on that case because I've seen my share of obnoxious drunks in my time - ones who can't assemble a single coherent sentence thanks to liquor tongue and engage in numerous Dutch courage fights to assert their temporary bravado, and wonder why they're in handcuffs at the end of the night.

Where I will not side with these yuppies is the sheer amount of arrogance and entitlement they think they possess - that it will take only two people to rid themselves of what they think is a "nuisance." Maybe they shouldn't have bought their ultra-expensive apartments if they knew they'd be next to a diner that does an excellent business. Since downtown apartments are very hard to come by, the cachet of having one puts you in an enviable position. It doesn't give you the right or power to control the activities of everything and everyone else around you (see: The North End Italian festivals, the South End, Central Square, etc.).

If the diner were much more upscale (or trendy, as in "slow food" or "organic") and it were open 24 hours a day, there would be no problem. In fact, the people would be in the restaurant feasting on exclusive foods and expensive beverages that the ordinary person at South St Diner could never afford, regardless of the degree of obnoxiousness and intoxication. The place would be celebrated by upscale foodies across the area, yet a minimum wage worker couldn't even afford the appetizer or even the side dish.

So it goes with all food - the cheaper the food item, the more disdain it generates from those who think they know better. Control food, and you control the masses - or even better, "If I can't have it, neither will you." Only a selfish, myopic, sociopathic asshole possesses those beliefs - and I can bet that they were denied those treats when they were younger. The movement to tax sodas, foods and the like is not to reduce obesity or improve health, but an effort by the insecure to hustle those who are not like Abercrombie & Fitch models out of society - Stepford people writ large. (You notice there isn't as big a movement for anorexia and binge-purging? God forbid we should tell young girls who constantly starve themselves to less than 70 pounds that it's equally dangerous?)

I'm hoping the South St Diner situation works out in the diner's favor. Otherwise, the blame for putting people out of business won't lie with economics - it will lie with people who are more scared for their property values than for making a living.

UPDATE 7/8 - The diner stays open 24/7 - because the complainants never bother to show up.