Monday, February 16, 2009

Location Crisis

One of my major pet peeves is people who say they're from someplace, but clearly are not. I found the biggest example of this when I was in college. Here is a typical exchange:

"Where are you from?"
"Philadelphia."
"Oh... What part?"
"Cherry Hill"
"Wait... isn't that in New Jersey?"
"Yeah, but I associate myself with Philly."

Guess what? You're not from Philly. You're from Jersey and just have to accept the fact that you live in a state that's shaped and smells like an armpit. DC faces a lot of this as well. Many NoVa or Marylanders like to say their from DC because it sounds a lot cooler than being from Virginia or Maryland... and it is, what sounds better - I grew up on the mean streets of DC or I grew up on the mean streets of McLean, Virginia or Gaithersburg?

So here is my dilemma - When I grew up, I lived in Queens. We were residents of NYC... City Folk... Later, we moved to Nassau County on Long Island. I started saying I was from Long Island because I didn't want to seem all high and mighty trying to pretend I was from the city. I moved to DC from Long Island in 1995 and since then have been a resident of the District of Columbia. I have had various addresses (some good, some bad) but ALWAYS in the city.

Sophia, the wife and I have uprooted from DC and moved (albeit a scan 5 miles from our previous location) to Maryland. We are now residents of Takoma Park, MD... and its driving me nuts. I love our new house, I love the location, I love everything about our home... Except for the fact that its in Maryland. I wore DC like a badge of honor. Now I feel a little empty. I feel like I lost some street cred because we've moved to the 'burbs.

My friend Skippy informed me there is going to be a bill in the house concerning DC voting rights and he was going to try and get gallery seats. I felt bad all of a sudden because I didn't have the right to care anymore. I was no longer a district resident.

I now have to catch myself whenever anyone asks where I am from. I said DC once and immediately took it back because I didn't want to be a douche bag from Cherry Hill.

4 comments:

  1. Try these:

    "I'm from the Washington DC area."

    "I live in Takoma Park, Maryland, near Washington DC."

    "I live in the DC suburbs."

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  2. "I live in Crunch-Bucket, MD." Seriously, dude, you can take the boy out the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out the boy. If you never had the ghetto in you to begin with, where you live won't give you the cred. Either way, just live and fuck everyone else.

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  3. I tell p[eople I'm from Vineland, California but have never been west of the rockies. One's reactions tells me about one's interests.

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  4. #1. There is nothing wrong with being from Takoma Park, MD... I'm proud to claim it, even though technically, I don't even live there anymore.

    #2. Living in a state with full Congressional voting rights does not take away the right for you to care about those who do not have those same rights-- kinda how being a heterosexual married man should not keep you from caring that same sex-couples are denied the same rights you have been granted. Those how have rights and privileges denied to others should work as as hard towards equality.

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