Utica is defined in the Urban Dictionary of Slang

The online Dictionary of Urban Slang has some curious definitions for the city of Utica. Various contributors to this lexicon of slang describe Utica in downright un-PC terms. One person who calls himself Nasty Nate succinctly voiced his dislike for the city of Utica by defining it as, “A shithole,” that is, “[l]ocated right in the middle of New York State and centrally located 5 hours away from 3 major cities (just far enough to be out of reach).” He further went on to write, “Most people living there are either retarded or want to get the hell out. Did I mention it sucks?” Another contributor calling himself Bort defines Utica as, “The city God forgot.” Kirk Cameron opines that Uticans, “have an ironic attachment to their dead city. No jobs at all. No skyline. People there don’t seem to like to read, either because their library is open for maybe 10 hours each week.”

Other posters had a much more favorable opinion of Utica. [CUA]todd07 wrote that Utica, “can be found on the Top 400 Up and Coming Cities in America list,” saying that it, “brews the worlds finest lager, Utica Club.” Todd even had the audacity to call Utica the “cultural mecca of New York” (this is a debatable assertion). One person named Shroudie said Utica is, “full of diverse nationalities and home to three of mankinds greatest foods…tomato pie, half-moon cookies, and jelly buns” while You Know Who countered Bort’s pessimistic analysis of U Town by calling it, “the best city in upstate NY.”

If these definitions of Utica are anything but politically correct it is because politcal structures are supposed to represent pragmatism and order. If any of these definitions of Utica seem spurious it is because they are. Slang is anything but geniune–it is the anarchy of language. Contributors to the Urban Slang Dictionary were either expressing their negative opinions of Utica or else they were expressing their love for our city. The list of definitions reads like an argument in which half of the people claim Utica is a “shithole” and the other half are touting it as “the best city in NY.” The problem with these viewpoints is that the power of a debate over Utica should lie not in whether it is a good or a bad place to live but in what can be learned and achieved through such a debate. Sadly, debates about the quality of life in Utica tend to represent the former. An argument over who’s right and who’s wrong will eventually dissolve into a shouting match of empty platitudes after a while and that is anything but productive. A construcitve debate needs to focus on facts rather than uninformed personal assessments.

I will just say that for me Utica is neither the “best city in NY” nor do I think it is, “the city that God forgot.” I think both of these opinions are unsophisticated in their extreme assessments of our city. Utica will never be New York City, however, it is not so bad as to be a Hell on earth (one poster stated that, “Utica is proof that Hell freezes over”). In my eyes Utica is what it is: it is a small city with a diverse population located in Central New York. I do not need to verbally bash or praise Utica to feel better about myself. To me Utica is a place where I live. I see myself foremost as an American in the greater context of the world; I do not get wrapped up in small-minded thinking.