Kevin Theis assigns Chicago’s “Second City” label to our having an inferiority complex (“Therapy for that Second City neurosis,” Voice, Aug. 8). He admits that Chicago is a world-class city but believes we suffer under the “Second City” slur because of stories about O.J. Simpson, Andrew Cunanan and killers like Richard Speck and John Wayne Gacy. Does Theis think it is the people of Chicago who want the nation to know about these things? It is the national media that relish presenting such sordid and violent stories to the public.
When the local media regale us with the antics of TV and Hollywood stars, it does not mean that Chicagoans really care where Kevin Costner ate lunch when he was here.
Theis believes our Second City rating also stems from our penchant for flocking to any cultural or artistic event as long as it is not from Chicago, such as Cirque du Soleil or a Monet exhibit. I disagree. We would not become “first rate” by cutting out worthwhile events just because they didn’t originate in Chicago.
