Imagine if two weeks after the Boston bombings, I railed against the evils of “Boston.” How do you think that might go over in Beantown? Probably not well. But less than ten days after a horrific shooting rampage in Washington, DC, there’s no prohibition on beating up “Washington.” The “#makeDC listen” hash tag is merely the latest example.
Look, I get it. Washington is shorthand for our bloated and irresponsible federal government. That’s fine. I’m against that, too. But why conflate that with our nation’s capital?
Besides, a lot of the people who profit off of attacking our nation’s capital actually live and work in the district. Take, for example, FreedomWorks. Despite being based in (you guessed it!), Washington, DC they posted an article titled “FreedomWorks Summit Takeaway: Washington Versus America on (coincidentally) the same day as the shooting.
Washington versus…America? Seems a bit much — for a group based in DC. (Maybe if they were to just get out in the real America, they would understand …)
I’m not suggesting this is a conservative or a Republican problem. And I’m certainly not insinuating that this populist rhetoric somehow inspires violence against Washingtonians. Both sides do this. It’s cheap populist red meat. And it’s probably been going on forever (that’s what you get for a compromise built on a swamp.)
By the way, I’m sure I’m guilty of this. Heck, the words “in Washington,” almost naturally flow from my lips any time I invoke the words “fat cats”…
I’m almost surprised we call ourselves TheDC. Maybe we shouldn’t? It might invoke too much negativity.
Washington, DC is our nation’s capital. And though I’m a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I can’t help but find myself swept up in a bit of patriotic pride every time I drive on the George Washington Parkway and see the reflection of monuments to some of our nation’s greatest leaders glimmer on the Potomac.
It’s time we stop bashing this city. So, in conclusion, let me paraphrase: You can’t hold a whole city responsible for the behavior of a few, sick perverted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn’t we blame the whole nation? After all, this is the nation’s capital. And if the whole nation is guilty, then isn’t this an indictment of America? Well, you can do what you you want to us, but we’re not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!