Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Car Pushed Into Anacostia River By Train
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Devendra Banhart @ 9:30 Club
Saturday Thanks Don't End At Thanksgiving Photo: November 28, 2009
Girl #1: "Excuse me, is that the White House?"
Local: "No. That’s an office."
Girl #2: "Oh. Well how do we get there?"
Local: "It’s right over there." [points through trees] "Just walk that way. You’ll see it."
Girl #2: "Are you sure? I can’t see anything over there."
Local: "Oh, you’re right, I’ve got my directions mixed up. Turn around and walk that way. You can see the White House right over there." [points at Capitol] "Have fun!"
After the jump, the age-old UDC vs. Harvard debate rages on, true monkey love, and the greasiest birthday party ever.
We need your help. Yes, I’m talking to you. Drop some eaves out there and report back to us at overheardindc (at) gmail (dot) com.
Photo by Flickr user Hoffman.
------
Wait until you see the next US News and World Report college rankings…
In an Arlington office building:
Security guard: "....so he tells me 'Well I got a degree from Harvard.' So I say to him, 'So? Fuck you. I got a degree from UDC.'"
------
Has Butterstick ever inspired this kind of devotion?
At the National Zoo in the free-ranging golden lion tamarin exhibit:
Teenage girl to mother: "I’d totally let one poop on me if it just came over here."
------
You know you go to a church in NW D.C. when…
A pastor is giving a Sunday school lesson on tolerance and acceptance.
Pastor: "We're all different." [points to little girl #1] "You have blonde hair." [points at little girl #2] "You have browner hair..."
Little girl #2 [perking up, says loudly]: "I have highlights!"
------
Sure, they’re great, but can’t they make one you can sit down on?
Inside the Stamp Student Union at UofM:
Cop on a Segway: "How are you today?"
Bookstore clerk: "Good. How about you?"
Cop on a Segway: *sigh* "Tired."
------
You can actually burn the grease instead of lighting candles.
Outside Adams Morgan’s Pizza Mart on Saturday night:
Random girl: "OH MY GOD!!! I’m having my next birthday party at Jumbo Slice!!!"
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
That is really a horrid sentiment. Taxpayers (or the children of taxpayers) come to DC as tourists, to enjoy the sights and celebrate the capital of their nation; a capital, mind you, whose economy is fueled by their tax dollars, and are treated with contempt and disdain. DC does not exist to afford us the opportunity to look down on the country’s citizenry, no matter how ignorant they may be. DC exists to run their country. We work for them. It is one thing to be annoyed by them when they stand motionless on the wrong side of the escalator, causing us to miss trains - it is an entirely different thing to be an ungracious and rude host. A great deal is said about one’s character by the way in which an individual treats guests. The same is true of a community. Sadly, the sentiment of that exchange is far too reflective of our community as a whole. It shames me to admit this, but I guess the Potomac really is the Seine of America.
True, but is it too much to ask that someone actually know what the White House looks like? It's only on the news a few times a day and on the cover of every other DC guidebook. I can't think of any office buildings of Pennsylvania Ave that look even remotely like it. Assuming they were American that is. Foreign toursists are allowed the mix up.
Taxpayers (or the children of taxpayers) come to DC as tourists, to enjoy the sights and celebrate the capital of their nation; a capital, mind you, whose economy is fueled by their tax dollars, and are treated with contempt and disdain.
Just the stupid ones.
Well someone's a little serious today.
pgbaffled -
Um, I do NOT work for the citizens of this country just because I live in the capital city. I pay federal taxes too, and the fact that I live in DC and pay city taxes makes it more mine than theirs. Your statement that "DC exists to run their country" (is it not mine too? If voting rights area anything to go by, I guess not...) is similar to the sentiment that I commonly feel when talking with tourists - that DC is not a living city that exists outside the Mall.
Is that an excuse for unnecessary (albeit somewhat hilarious) rudenss? No. But disdain for tourists is something you will find in most major cities around the world, not just in DC. That doesn't make it ok, but still, lighten up.
What you said goes both ways. A great deal is said about one’s character by the way in which an individual acts when they're a guest.
The local made a good faith effort to give them directions, and they questioned whether he knew what he was talking about. That's obnoxious.
And you know what? If you can point two Americans at the Capitol and actually convince them that it's the White House, I have no sympathy. That's not being ignorant as a tourist of the locality; that's just being plain ignorant.
OK, Mike, so if you're on PA Ave. and can see the Capitol, can you see the White House? No, you can't. And even if the Treasury Building wasn't blocking the view, how many times do you see the side of the White House on the news? Like that's recognizable. The jerk should have given the girls a break and pointed them in the right direction. Why be an a-hole about it?
"It shames me to admit this, but I guess the Potomac really is the Seine of America."
Does that make Rosslyn the Left Bank of America? Cause I'm pretty sure it's not.
the local DID point out the real white house and the girls questioned it....f them. if they seriously don't know the capitol from the whitehouse, they deserve the walk.
just like the ones who equate the national mall with something like the "mall of america" not a wide open gathering place and thus befuddled by a swath of green dotted by museums.
the only time i've ever pointed someone in the wrong direction was during the 2nd innauguration and some horrible tipsy old lady couldn't figure out how to get to foggy bottom so i pointed to the train to largo.
i still laugh about that.
But Eighthman, he DID point them in the right direction and they didn't believe him. I don't know where they were standing, but they didn't ask him if the Capitol was the White House. They asked if some random office building was the White House. And I think that's sad. But I've pointed tourists through the trees too without any problem.
It would be harder to poke fun at tourists in DC if so many of them weren't perfect reminders of how so many of the people in this country have no common sense.
So the simple, pleasant reply to the girls asking "Are you sure?" would be "Yeah, it's just up the street behind the Treasury Building there." Same amount of energy expended, just with better karma. Again, why by an a-hole about it?
somebody tell pgbaffled to get the stick out of his butt.
Karma?
Who turned over the comments section to a bunch of damn dirty hippies, anyway?
True story: I'm down on the Mall on a lovely Sunday afternoon a few summers ago. Woman with heavy Brooklyn accent, daughter in tow, comes up to me, points at the Washington Monument and asks: "Is that the Capitol Building?" (Yeah, you should SEE the stadium seating in there, lady!) When I tell her no, she next points to the actual Captiol building and asks: "Is that the White House?" I tell her, no, THAT'S the Capitol Building. She asks where the White House is, and I tell her to walk to the Washington Monument and hang a right. Seriously, how can you NOT recognize the Washington frappin' Monument? It'd be like pointing at the Statue of Liberty and asking if it was the Empire State Building!
Man, you know what we got in this city that's swell?
Maps, many of which show the White House.
You know what else we got?
Cabs.
It's not every goddamn pedestrian's job to tell people how to get to their desired destinations, and when someone tells you how to get there, "Are you sure?" just communicates your doubt about their directions.
You want polite? Tip well. You want polite everywhere? Fuck off.
Jim, you're my new hero.
Obviously, pgbaffled has not spent much time with the tourists around here. It's even worse when you get this kind of question when you are actually IN FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE. Or, when standing near the Tidal Basin, point them to the Washington Monument and have them ask, "It looks far away. How will we know that we're going the right way to get there?"
Just keep reminding yourself of all the tax they're paying on those overpriced hotdogs and bottled water when they realize that there's no food court at the Mall.
*snickering* Well, I guess you all just proved me wrong. Boy, do I feel stupid. hahahahahahahaha.
“You want polite? Tip well. You want polite everywhere? Fuck off.”
And yes, I’ll admit I let my panties get a little bunched up in my response, but your responses crystalize this city perfectly. Like I was saying on a different issue yesterday, even if your paycheck isn’t from the federal government, this “living city” outside the mall, exists and lives (and thrives, BTW) for only one reason, to serve those people (or to serve those people who are actually serving those people) who like to come visit once or twice in their lives to enjoy the sights and the museums that were built for them that we get to enjoy every day. Do you all think that DC will win the country’s sympathy on the voting rights issue if we continue to treat them like crap?
And by the way, sorry if I'm being a little rude. It isn't my fault. I was born and raised in and around DC. It's in me nature. hahahaha
Maybe it's not the fact that you were brought up in DC. Maybe it's the fact that you're an imbecile.
I'm originally from Ohio, and my first trip to DC was with my Senior government class in high school. My favorite line of the week occurred at the Arbouretum, when we were looking at the old Capitol columns. As the tour guide explained the significance of them, one of my classmates asked another classmate (of the capitol building): "Is that the tall skinny one?" Yep, she didn't know the difference between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. And Ohio played a deciding factor in the last two presidential elections. I'm so proud.
Look, I work a block from the White House and am always helping tourists with directions. I actually really enjoy doing it and try to be a good ambassador for the city. I'll even toss in a restaurant recommendation or unsolicited helpful metro advice. But when people are rude, as others have said, f-them. I take 10 minutes out of my day to give you directions which you question and disbelieve, and then you walk off without so much as a quick "thanks"? Seriously, if that was the situation with this 'overheard' then those girls got what they deserved. I don't think it's a matter of expecting people to know anything about DC monuments, I think it's expecting a little common courtesy. Have we really deteriorated so much as a society that I can't even expect THAT anymore?!
I live a few blocks from the Capitol, and for me it's all in how I'm asked. I have no problem with providing detailed directions for anyone that's nice about it. But a fairly large number of tourists seem to think we locals are Disney DC employees, and they can be snotty and condescending to us. Plus, of course, they think they can ignore local neighborhood parking rules and just park anywhere they damn well please.
So there's two sides to this. Yes, you should be nice to anyone that needs help. Until they treat you like crap. Then, all bets are off.
And actually it's NOVA that is fueled by taxpayer dollars from tourists, moreso than DC. NOVA gets all the tourist dollars from their hotels and meals. And NOVA gets all the FED workers who work in DC and live in VA, paying tax to VA.
Let me add that it's not like intolerance for ignorant tourists is a strictly DC thing. Ignorant tourists invade lots of cities, and get treated accordingly. When I lived in St. Louis, I heard the exact same story about the arch (the friggin ARCH of all things!!! How can you miss it?!). When I was in NY, it was the Empire State Building.
There are plenty of stupid Americans that can't find their own hometown on a map of the US. That's deplorable. That they can't recognize the icons of their country is even worse. So I'm sorry that some people are so stupid that they cause otherwise friendly people to treat them badly. But when you fly the stupid flag, you should expect to be treated as such.