The City of Angels’ cherubic face has been given a black eye.

In a 2010 survey conducted by “Travel & Leisure” magazine that questioned residents and visitors alike, 35 US cities were ranked in various categories and Los Angeles was judged to be the rudest.

Being a native Angeleno, it comes as a shock and disappointment that our city is considered rude, and at that, the rudest.

I would think New York, with its ruthless cab drivers and fast-paced residents would be the ranking champion. It did rank in the top five, along with Miami, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. rounding out the list.

As I learned of this, I began to search the Internet for what people were saying and after reading some of the comments, that came from both LA’s residents and visitors, the survey seemed to be partially accurate. I can honestly say that I have found myself possibly being a little rude or impatient, but who hasn’t?

It’s impossible to go a day here without listening to someone complaining about the traffic and that was the deciding factor in the survey. To varying degrees, road rage is in all of us, and if it’s apparent to residents of LA then you can bet that it’s apparent to visitors. The fleeting and coarse encounter with a fellow motorist is an LA staple.

Drivers feel armored in their cars, anonymous, and in this city of sprawling roadways, there is little reason not to exercise your most colorful language on the guy who doesn’t drive as fast as you.

And it’s easy to get lost in this city. One minute you are in Downtown LA and the next thing you know you are in Westwood. Each section of LA is unique and who is to say the person you just asked for directions wasn’t a visitor who was ashamed to sound dumb because they too were lost?

Our city has become so accustomed to living in the fast lane that the very thought of having to slow down gets our hearts pumping with anger and our fists ready to smack the next person who dares to order a venti skinny macchiato with a double shot of this, no foam, blah, blah, blah.

Maybe at times we are too quick to judge or react, but this doesn’t mean that all Angelenos are alike. LA is such a large and diverse city it is impossible to judge us all equally.

As Angelenos, this survey should be an eye-opener, we are named the City of Angels for a reason. We could learn a lesson from this survey but I suppose we can take it with a grain of salt and make some margaritas.