Comments on: My Response to the CityPaper’s Essay on “Notyetworth”

By: kurtzu2

kurtzu2 — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:25:22 +0000

i love my neighborhood, but McKenna’s right–food/entertainment options here boil down to 3-4 places, at best.

i agree El Limeno is awesome, and admit i have not been to Flip It yet, but i think anyone would be hard pressed to honestly name a half dozen decent places to eat in Petworth proper (restaurants actually located in Columbia Heights or Takoma Park do NOT count). LGL (the venue former known as Temperance Hall) seems to be undergoing some sort of identity crisis, and Domku is interesting but hit-and-miss from visit to visit. and to the writer who claimed otherwise, i’d love to know where there is any authentic, good Chinese food in Petworth. (again, restaurants in Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Dupont or Woodley Park do not qualify.)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:58:50 +0000

test race

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:56:12 +0000

Steve, to answer your question(s): no, I don’t it does either. But I guess there is a very fine line in _stating_ a statistical or circumstancial fact like “x% of men of Y ethnicity have a criminal record and are imprisoned” or “the bank robber was of Z ethnicity” and _implying_ that the fact is _because of_ Y or Z ethnicity. The line get’s even finer when one starts talking about to what extent the said fact is due to e.g. current culture of Y or Z ethnicity – or a subgroup of it. Add the (probably more relevant) usual socio-economic factors into the soup and you are very rapidly left with “PC land” as your last (unfortunate) resort…

By: Petworthy

Petworthy — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:34:18 +0000

McKenna I mean, not McFadden.

By: Petworthy

Petworthy — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:13:02 +0000

I’d like to review the fact checking on McKenna’s references to “crappy chinese food”, “the schools blow”, “you need a car to reach real shopping” and homes with”’70s-ize the rooms, walking into one is like walking into your grandmother’s”. An essay, while generally a personal view, normally contains analytical presentation of specific facts to support the assertions of the author. This is cutesy, flimsy journalism at best, referring to groups of people as “whitey”, “paleface gentrifiers”. To be fair, there is present in the piece some census data which is refreshing, but he follows with “The next census should show a cultural balance for the neighborhood that would indicate the human race is progressing. But how long will that hold up?”. Honestly, what in the world does he mean by that question? I have no problem doing “real shopping” via the Metro stop which is conveniently situated on Georgia and New Hampshire Avenue in the heart of Petworth. And as we progress, I hope, to a less automobile centered society I will find public transportation a very good reason to be on these streets at night. With all of his racial baggage though, McFadden may want to stay off of them.

By: Jason Cherkis

Jason Cherkis — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:55:28 +0000

Oh DCer! All articles are indeed factchecked by a staff of OCD reporters who tend to cry, whimper, and feel miserable for a week when they make a mistake.

And yeah, McKenna’s piece did stick out because it was one of the most thoughtful things I’ve read in a long time. He wrote a piece on gentrification without taking the easy way out–his piece was neither full of self-inflicted white guilt nor the usual things-were-so-much-better-20-years-ago-remember-when rant.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:53:38 +0000

I think we do need to have conversations about race. First, let me say I don’t think I am a racist, though I am sure some will disagree with me. I read and participate in many disucssions on the PoPmiester’s blog that have definite racial undertones. Note I did not say racist. Is discussing the fact that many of the problems our community has surrounds those members of the community are black? Seems most of the discussions of crime, drugs, school issues, littering, etc, tend to focus on african americans. Does that make us racist? I would like to think not? With more gentrification that is sure to some with Park Place and other devolopment such as the AFRA project it is going to become more of a topic.

By: Washington City Paper

Washington City Paper — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:23:15 +0000

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2008/06/23/the-prince-has-spoken/

By: ShermanCircle

ShermanCircle — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:07:14 +0000

I know Dave McKenna and think he is getting a bad rap here. He does care about the neighborhood, and does live in the ‘hood, and gets around. He’s not a bad music review journo, either. Incidentally, I am the person/half the household across the alley that was referenced as the ‘how you says’. (That made me chuckle.)

I suspect that the CP gave the authors a word limit. Under which, you can’t talk about everything, but most focus on some particular aspect or theme. Obviously, DM chose the people and history of the ‘hood, which is apparently important for him. I would find it hard for people to disagree that the people in Petworth are more important than the development – many of us were here before all that began, and would remain even if it wasn’t happening.

Yes, the arbitary summary of the ‘hood is way off mark. But that’s the bad part, and based on what I read online, I can’t attribute that to McKenna. Perhaps I’m wrong. But taken as a whole, the article does a good job characterizing our neighborhood and tries to envision the past as prolouge to the future.

By: Christina

Christina — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:06:57 +0000

@Lindsey: I checked and I think we’re talking about two different articles. You’re referring to this one:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=35767

and PoP and the rest of us are talking about this one:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=35763

@cristobal
I understand where you’re coming from about natural alignments, but sometimes you might not know that you “naturally align” with people of a different background if you live your life never interacting with them. I think that, in general, life is better if we don’t see people different from us as Scary “Others.”