I think the author wants to read too much into a city having poor areas, wealthy areas, and suburbs. I also can’t help but think, based off the story they seem eager to tell, that they purposefully avoided taking a route that would have offered a better reflection of DC proper on the second day (such as starting from the NW), rather than walking past Reagan airport and pretending like they saw NOVA for what it is.
Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
21–30 of 43 posts
Re: Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
#22It’s interesting to see this article standing on its own. I don’t think it makes a lot of sense this way. It’s from his newsletter and it kind of assumes a lot and is more of an impressionistic sketch for people that already share his worldview.
If you don’t already share that point of view and haven’t read his book this will seem superficial and lacking nuance.
With that said I highly recommend his book, Dignity, which is a much longer and fleshed out discussion of how our society treats people and places that don’t matter.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566661/dignity-by-c...
Re: Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
#23> An in your face “be saved or suffer” religiosity. One that deeply informs the lives and realities of the residents, in a way that makes elites uncomfortable When government social services are ineffective or had broken down, the little churches in communities like that is often the only thing which keeps the community together. Family issues, an old person is sick and needs meals brought home, a place to meet. Yeah…
> Yeah it makes the people across the river pretty uncomfortable. They like to have their abstract model of a poor victim they support but that often doesn’t jive with reality. Most of them wouldn’t even dare walk through that neighborhood.
Do you personally know people like this? It sounds like you're making some pretty broad generalizations and imagining (not wholly inaccurately!) how some people act and think.
Re: Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
#24It’s funny to me that in the neighborhood he professes he was most worried about being preached at, likely no one interacted with him, and of course he was actually preached at in the other neighborhood. (I say likely, because he didn’t note any interactions, but I wonder if there were counter-narrative interactions that didn’t make it past the story filter. For instance I’m sure every one of those fair trade eco friendly shops has people working there trying to make ends meet and happy they have a job, just like at Denny’s.)
Re: Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
#25I think the author wants to read too much into a city having poor areas, wealthy areas, and suburbs. I also can’t help but think, based off the story they seem eager to tell, that they purposefully avoided taking a route that would have offered a better reflection of DC proper on the second day (such as starting from the NW), rather than walking past Reagan airport and pretending like they saw NOVA for what it is.
While the author may draw some questionable or disputable conclusions, I think he is aware that different parts of the city and different parts of NoVA look very different; it seems like it's part of the point of going for a walk to make these observations.
Is there a reason that you think Northwest is a better reflection of "DC proper"? Anacostia and Benning are very much inside the city limits- they can't represent what most of Northwest is like and vice versa Northwest can't stand in for them.
Re: Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
#26It’s interesting to see this article standing on its own. I don’t think it makes a lot of sense this way. It’s from his newsletter and it kind of assumes a lot and is more of an impressionistic sketch for people that already share his worldview. If you don’t already share that point of view and haven’t read his book this will seem superficial and lacking nuance. With that said I highly recommend his book, Dignity, wh…
I second the recommendation for reading 'Dignity.' For a taste, here's an old interview with Arnade, [0]
[0] https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/mcdonalds-as-america-a-c...
Re: Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
#27I read this with the same pleasure one would read a well-written short story. The author's English teacher would have given him an A.
However, no one should confuse this with actually being some kind of analysis. This piece is entertainment to be enjoyed by white folks in Alexandria cozy on their couch with their cafe-au-lait.
Source: Decades-long resident of DC who walks and bikes those routes every month.
Re: Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
#28I think the author wants to read too much into a city having poor areas, wealthy areas, and suburbs. I also can’t help but think, based off the story they seem eager to tell, that they purposefully avoided taking a route that would have offered a better reflection of DC proper on the second day (such as starting from the NW), rather than walking past Reagan airport and pretending like they saw NOVA for what it is.
I found the article entirely consistent with Chris' usual fare. NW DC would have been a bizarre juxtaposition. Even the parts of DC he walked for this article stand out for how walkable they are compared to other maligned locales he has visited.
Re: Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
#29He walked within a hundred feet of my old apartment so I'll happily use my local card to call absolute gibberish on this entire thing. I really have no idea what he was babbling about or why he's so confident in that weird reductive lens he views through.
Which part was contrary to your local experience?
Re: Walking America: Washington, DC (Anacostia and Alexandria)
#30It’s interesting to see this article standing on its own. I don’t think it makes a lot of sense this way. It’s from his newsletter and it kind of assumes a lot and is more of an impressionistic sketch for people that already share his worldview. If you don’t already share that point of view and haven’t read his book this will seem superficial and lacking nuance. With that said I highly recommend his book, Dignity, wh…
Thank you for this context! I left the article curious to better understand the author's particular frame.