# Dopers afraid of DC **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 8, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759 "2009-11-08T03:17:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/1 "2009-11-08T03:17:08Z")
I see it on this board all the time: Dopers saying things like “stay out of SE,” or “whatever you do, don’t live in SE.” Parts of SE are some of the most expensive real estate in America. Some of Capitol Hill. Let’s face it, you all are just afraid of black folk. When you say stay out of SE, you are saying volumes about yourselves. I don’t even have to look at your location to know it will be Northern Virginia. BTW, I love when I meet one of you on a flight and you tell me your from DC, “really?” I say, “what neighborhood?” and you reply, “well, actually we live in Springfield, it’s just on the outskirts (shout out to David Sedaris).” When we go to your dreadful parties in Arlington or Alexandria, we just smile to yourselves when you tell us that you pretty much live in the city. We sit in our sidewalk cafes and watch you try to parallel park. When you leave the work happy hour at 6 because of traffic we laugh to ourselves. When we drive done 66 to get to the Shenandoah valley we marvel at your acres of dreadful chain restaurants, shudder, and ask ourselves “who would choose to live here?” Do us a favor, stay out of SE and the rest of the city, you’re bringing us all down. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/2 "2009-11-08T03:21:53Z")
In New York, we call those ‘Bridge and Tunnel’ folk. It’s amazing how much stupidity there is. “Don’t go to Brooklyn!”, actually, if you wanna go where the real party is at, go to Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/3 "2009-11-08T03:31:10Z")
I lived in Oakland for a while. All my friends would make jokes like “Well don’t get shot ha ha ha.” But then when they would visit my neighborhood, a relatively affluent one, they would suddenly say “Oh, this really is a nice neighborhood. Not at all what I thought.” Of course, what they really meant was “There are no black people here! It must be a nice neighborhood!” The joke was on them, though. It was actually a pretty high-crime place. Much higher than nearby less-white neighborhoods. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/4 "2009-11-08T03:33:09Z")
I’m sure every city has them and they are all basically the same. A lot of them seem to have their ideas of what DC is based on the 1980s. I suspect this was during their formative years when fear of the other was implanted. It’s only a matter of time before one of them comes in here and throws out Marion Berry as if that is somehow defense for every prejudiced notion in their head. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/5 "2009-11-08T03:40:21Z")
It goes back even farther than you can envision. I grew up in Arlington from 1947-1966. My mom still lives there. There were people back in the early 1960s who said the same things. I drove all over DC, went wherever I pleased, never had a problem. You just didn’t hang out in bad places late at night. All of the people who said these things were uber-white, suburbanites. Most had never even been into DC. In their lives. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/6 "2009-11-08T03:52:54Z")
To be honest I wouldn’t want to be lost in any black ghetto. Acting like it’s unreasonable to be afraid is kind of dishonest. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/7 "2009-11-08T03:57:13Z")
My point though, is that SE is not a black ghetto. There are some bad neighborhoods and there are some great neighborhoods. They seem to think that somehow wandering across N. Capitol street is going to get them killed. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/8 "2009-11-08T04:02:59Z")
Yeah, what with Lex Luthor running around and all… ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/9 "2009-11-08T04:03:54Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > To be honest I wouldn’t want to be lost in any black ghetto. Acting like it’s unreasonable to be afraid is kind of dishonest. Nah. You would be fine. Do you know how many white men wander around black ghettos at all hours of the night? Looking for god knows what, and finding it. I doubt anyone is going to really bother you. Just readjust your GPS and keep driving till you find your way. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/10 "2009-11-08T04:16:17Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > My point though, is that SE is not a black ghetto. There are some bad neighborhoods and there are some great neighborhoods. They seem to think that somehow wandering across N. Capitol street is going to get them killed. When people say, “Don’t go to Southeast”, they don’t mean, “Don’t go to Southeast”. They mean, “Don’t go to Anacostia/Barry Farm/Congress Heights/Ward 8 in general.” ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/11 "2009-11-08T04:20:39Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Nah. You would be fine. Do you know how many white men wander around black ghettos at all hours of the night? Looking for god knows what, and finding it. Heh, I’ve been robbed in black ghettos, just passing through and living there. Being a naive young white boy who doesn’t know where they are is a good way to get robbed. > [@](#): > > I doubt anyone is going to really bother you. Just readjust your GPS and keep driving till you find your way. Heh, I’ve lived several years in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, where Jay-Z and Biggie are from. Jay-Z worked at the Crown Fried Chicken a block from my apartment. So, I am not saying this without experience. I know people who got robbed in my neighborhood. I never did personally, but I had my house robbed when I wasn’t home on a couple of occasions. Acting like there is no danger to be whitey alone in a black neighborhood, is basically teasing people into doing something stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/12 "2009-11-08T04:20:45Z")
Boo @ region-specific rants. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/13 "2009-11-08T04:22:01Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > My point though, is that SE is not a black ghetto. There are some bad neighborhoods and there are some great neighborhoods. They seem to think that somehow wandering across N. Capitol street is going to get them killed. I don’t know specific parts of DC, so I’ll take your word for it. I know what you mean though, I have fallen on the floor laughing when I heard someone talking about how nasty some already well gentrified area was ‘the hood’. I think a lot of people still believe Alphabet City and the Lower East Side of Manhattan are dangerous ghettos. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/14 "2009-11-08T04:24:16Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > When people say, “Don’t go to Southeast”, they don’t mean, “Don’t go to Southeast”. They mean, “Don’t go to Anacostia/Barry Farm/Congress Heights/Ward 8 in general.” I disagree, I think they mean don’t go to DC except the white areas. I grew up in northern Virginia and a common joke among a certain type was: “What’s the longest bridge in the world?” Answer: The 14th street bridge, it goes from Virginia to Africa. I think the don’t go to SE crowd grew up hearing and believing that “joke.” Anothe joke from my childhood: What do the Key Bridge and Jimmy Carter have in common? They both go in and out of Rosslyn. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/15 "2009-11-08T04:27:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Boo @ region-specific rants. “Somebody told me that [_whatever city **RNATB** lives in_] is a party town!” \* \\* ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/16 "2009-11-08T04:29:28Z")
“Hello Clevela… what? Hello Akron!” ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/17 "2009-11-08T04:46:15Z")
When you actually live/work in an area you don’t see the bad stuff the same way strangers do. I used to work in a pretty rough area of Lima and was never bothered, robbed or anythign like that. I went back a couple of weeks ago, dude, it’s a hellhole like it was in the past. It used to be MY hellhole, though ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/18 "2009-11-08T04:51:28Z")
I lived in Bowie, MD. So don’t tell me _I’m_ afraid of black folk. I recommend to everyone to stay out of DC, in general. Not any part of it, because the entire city is a pile of shit. I’ve seen better urban planning come out of a dirty diaper. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/19 "2009-11-08T04:54:59Z")
So I guess the Tuskegee Dopefest is off, then? ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/20 "2009-11-08T04:57:17Z")
I’d like to pit people that have never played Fallout 3 that think people that are making cultural references as a joke are serious insults to their obsessively loved city. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759.md?page=2)