I think I’ve realized why I and others don’t like the newcomers to Portland. It’s a bit hypocritical because most of us moved here at some point, but I think the difference between the people that moved here 10 or 40 years ago and those that have come in the last several years is that the ‘old’ Portland folks were part of that ‘Keep Portland Weird’ character. They were adventurers, loners, thrill seekers, losers, drop-outs, punks, hippies, junkies, freaks and geeks. The newcomers are followers. They’re trendy, pretentious, trust fund babies, groupies and pop culture consumers. They came to Portland because they heard it was cool and their friends moved here. We came because it was cheap and a place we could be ourselves.