That the new McDonald’s arises right in via America looks like a joke succeeded in half. Where else, could he land the fast food giant if not in a road that bears the name of the country from which it comes? Perhaps fate has fun, but the citizens of Borgaro Definitely less. Because here the battle is not between salad and chips, between buffalo mozzarella and hamburger with Cheddar, neither between Made in Italy and Made in the USA. Here the game is played on the most banal and concrete ground of all: the daily livability of a neighborhood.
The paladins of the Mediterranean diet ready to defend the basil from the aggression of the ketchup are not protesting. To raise doubts are families who fear to see their isolated transformed into a branch of Las Vegas, with cars that dart at the drone-in until late at night, cardboard bags that end up on the street and the smell of fried food that penetrates the windows even in the summer. It is not a philosophical conflict between culinary cultures, but the fear of a much more material degradation: noises, traffic, waste, safety.
The question ended in the city council, where the opposition, with Livera Lapararaised the rumor on behalf of the residents. For him, the location is simply wrong: you could choose another area, further away from homes. It is not a question of boycotting a commercial activity – on the contrary, if it will bring work, all the better – but at least avoid putting it in front of the houses of those who have always lived there.
On the other hand, the mayor Claudio Gambino He recalled that the Municipality did not decided that McDonald’s to open: the administration limits itself to indicating the areas at commercial intended. Then it is the private individuals who choose the brand. Right, formally flawless. But try to tell who will have to keep the windows closed in summer to not fall asleep with the soundtrack of the fryers.
In the end the result was the usual: opposition and residents on the one hand, majority on the other. Nobody questioned the private individual’s right to invest, we would miss it. But the doubt remains: wasn’t there any more suitable area in Borgaro? Is it possible that “via America” was the only solution, coincidentally just a stone’s throw from hundreds of families?
Meanwhile, the works approach and irony is served: in via America America really comes, only that instead of the dream it brings a tray with two sandwiches and chips. Someone says it will bring employment, someone else who will bring degradation. One thing is certain: citizens have already understood that it will not be a battle between hamburgers and salad, but between the promise of development and the fear of living with a Drive-Thru under the house.
And then, while the billboards will announce new menus and special offers, in the neighborhood there are those who ask themselves if the real price to pay will not be that of a less quiet life. Because in Borgaro the American dream has really come, pity that perfumes more of fried than freedom.
