I tried all day– or okay, part of the day– yesterday to crank out an entry spanning several topics. Namely, I tried to cover the yucky humid heat– which isn’t really that bad– and I also tried to be all political and talk about the DC curfew bit and about welfare and about holding children back at school (courtesy of a great conversation I had with the lovely Mademoiselle Erinacious) and about babies and about fairness and a city that is racially divided and how it really isn’t– how the real problem here is socioeconomic and how what really hurts this city is to try to pretend that the violence and the crime only happen east of the Anacostia or in a vague circle north of East Capitol and east of North Capitol.
I was also going to talk about Colombia’s Independence Day. But I think I did an okay job last year, so here you go: July 20, 2005
Back to DC’s problems, really. The problem in this city (I think) is telling people who’ve been here for generations, trying to lead their lives and trying to keep up with increasing property taxes and rude yuppie assholes with wads of cash to make things shiny and new that their taxes will go up again because suddenly it’s desirable to live here –now that the crime happens where we cannot go take the dogs for a walk– and then make their homes less and less attainable. It’s economic alienation, and it’s happening here, people.
And you know what gets to me?
The people who society would finger as the “bad” people– the possible drunks and drug dealers and perhaps the petty criminals, hanging out in their cars looking suspicious and smelling even more so… THOSE are the nice people. They say hello. They step out of the way of a stroller. They ask after your day and wish you a nice one.
The people who are driving prices up are the nasty and rude ones.
Which in a way makes me think an awful thought: wouldn’t you like to attack nasty people who are pretty much driving you out of your neighborhood? And maybe if you’re under the influence of drugs or unstable, you just would.
Awful thought, but it gives me pause.
This is one city, and the problems in one part of the city are everyone’s problems.
A Daily Dose of Zen Sarcasm! 
Yeup. I’ve noticed the disparity between the haves and have-nots (or, more accurately, the haves and the neveryoumind-hows) and the haves are always much ruder, much pushier and gennerally more stuck-up. That’s the way it is everywhere though, not just DC. There’s something about money that makes people think they’re better than everyone else. Either that, or they’re bred to think that way.
Totally! I moved to the “bad neighborhood” of Champaign Illinois, if you can believe it, because it has the coolest loft apts (OK, the only ones) – which makes me one of the “bad people”. Some of my well-bred, rich, pc colleagues told me, “OMG I can’t believe you moved there, it’s DANGEROUS” (ie black people in the street). Funny thing is, the only time people say hi to me, open doors, and generally acknowledge me with kindness, respect, and humanity is when I’m in my “Bad neighborhood” and run into the “mean, dangerous” (black) people. If it’s like this in a tiny mide-Western city, what’s it like in the metropolis?