DC Yankee?
I am from Washington, DC -- literally born and bred... but not necessarily raised. I grew up in the Montgomery County, MD 'burbs, just a few miles outside of the District. Even though I am a "native" of this city, I realized last night that there are natives and there are natives. This is an important distinction. I realized last night that I am a northerner of a DC native.
You see, I was having a chat with fellow "DC natives" who grew up in the District and Prince George's County. My PG County counterpart lived as close or as far from the District as I did. So you would think that our experiences would overlap at least a bit and that our cultural backgrounds might have some commonalities. However, other than all of us claiming to be "from DC", there wasn't too much more. It wasn't a socio-economic thing or a race thing. It was purely a geographical thing... even though we are all "from DC".
I was surpised to learn that I was a DC Yankee. You see, they both speak with a twang. I don't. They both grew up eating grits. I didn't (but there are other reasons for that). They both consider DC to be a part of the South, which it is, technically, being below the Mason-Dixon line. I always made the excuse that geographically DC is in "the South" but since it is a federal city, it should be exempted from that label. (I know, I know, DC had segregated schools...) Even though we all lived geographically very close, mere miles apart, they grew up in the South, and I sure didn't.
That was quite the revelation. I guess that as everyone moved to the bland suburban neighborhoods developed in the 1960s and 1970s (when I was growing up), we lost a defining culture. Our culture was carports and aluminum siding. We became suburban neighborhood kids with PTA moms and dads who commuted into DC for work. Our culture was suburbia. We could have been kids anywhere, North or South or Midwest.
So I guess I shouldn't be surprised to learn that DC natives, while created equal, certainly aren't all the same. Mere miles separated we three "DC natives" physically, but the Mason-Dixon line separated us culturally.
Huh. Who knew?
You see, I was having a chat with fellow "DC natives" who grew up in the District and Prince George's County. My PG County counterpart lived as close or as far from the District as I did. So you would think that our experiences would overlap at least a bit and that our cultural backgrounds might have some commonalities. However, other than all of us claiming to be "from DC", there wasn't too much more. It wasn't a socio-economic thing or a race thing. It was purely a geographical thing... even though we are all "from DC".
I was surpised to learn that I was a DC Yankee. You see, they both speak with a twang. I don't. They both grew up eating grits. I didn't (but there are other reasons for that). They both consider DC to be a part of the South, which it is, technically, being below the Mason-Dixon line. I always made the excuse that geographically DC is in "the South" but since it is a federal city, it should be exempted from that label. (I know, I know, DC had segregated schools...) Even though we all lived geographically very close, mere miles apart, they grew up in the South, and I sure didn't.
That was quite the revelation. I guess that as everyone moved to the bland suburban neighborhoods developed in the 1960s and 1970s (when I was growing up), we lost a defining culture. Our culture was carports and aluminum siding. We became suburban neighborhood kids with PTA moms and dads who commuted into DC for work. Our culture was suburbia. We could have been kids anywhere, North or South or Midwest.
So I guess I shouldn't be surprised to learn that DC natives, while created equal, certainly aren't all the same. Mere miles separated we three "DC natives" physically, but the Mason-Dixon line separated us culturally.
Huh. Who knew?
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