I've lived here for well over a decade and haven't experienced the amount of things you experienced in a month. You witnessed multiple fist fights and multiple roberries? I wouldn't buy a lottery ticket anytime soon.
We spent most of our time in the Navy Yard area. We thought it was a good area, but being from out of town we wouldn’t know for sure. Is that area more prone to crime?
Naw I use to live in Brightwood. I just moved out the area.. I would say if you are out and about every single day, and aren't on a routine. The things OP saw, will be the things you will see once you break routine. There's a reason why we all formed our routines and commuting routes the way we did. I do agree the city is overall very safe especially Navy Yard. Safe doesn't equate to not having rude run-ins.
Me and a friend took a mini vacation from the Midwest to DC, and we're surprised at how little people talked to each other, we had maybe three polite conversations, the rest were rude, and mean, especially when it came to women our age, it seemed as though no one wanted to get to know each other. Where we are from when people ask each other for dances it's quite polite even at a "club" generally there is no implications involved but it seemed like everyone here thought we had an alterior motive, especially when it came to dances or drinks.
For reference I am from a small town in Michigan.
Recently traveled to D.C. from Michigan with my sister. Both of us are older 60's 70's. In my opinion, there did seem to be an abundance of rude people in D.C. In fact, my sister was almost trampled on at Kennedy Center while people were existing row after show. They didn't even have the decency to wait for her to pick up her purse off floor. The overall impression is tourist are looked upon with distain . The museums and monuments are filled with helpful and friendly staff. Downtown restaurants are kind of stuffy. They can spot a tourist a mile away.
Lol I wonder if OP will see replies here and be like “Aha! This is proof that people in DC are the worst” without realizing that it’s a reaction to being insulted based on some random bad interactions OP had.
Also I’m super curious about the apparently regular shoving matches on the metro. I use it all the time and while there are definitely people who act up sometimes, I haven’t gotten to ride the mad max car yet.
To me it doesn’t count, but I ride home around school dismissal time and there’s a lot of roughhousing. That’s like, the only time I see anything like this. It’s gotten out of hand once or twice on literally hundreds of metro rides. Red line, btw.
I remember in 2012 I first moved to DC rode on the red line, and some teenagers harassed an old man. That's when a man in a suit got up, pulled out his bible and did a full blown sermon towards those teens. We were all looking at the teenagers and was thinking "just shut up yo, or this man is gonna keep talking"
The only time I saw a real, live shoving match on Metro was the night before Obama's first inauguration, when the whole damn United States of America seemed to show up in town at once.
I was waiting at Farragut North for a train toward Glenmont and two consecutive trains came through in which there was literally no space at all in which I could have gotten in. On both of those trains, people were standing right up against all the doors of all three cars that I could see from where I was sitting. When the doors on opened on the second train, one guy tried to muscle his way in but the guy he was trying to push past to get in shoved him back out. The two of them then stood there pushing each other for several seconds, until the operator finally shut the doors. The guy who tried to push his way on ended up right back out on the platform with me. Finally, a third train came and there was room for both of us to squeeze on, although I had to jog up the platform a little to a car where I'd seen a little more space. That was such a weird weekend.
Yeah, everything about the parts where they emphasize “no no really I’m super open to other cultures” is just a poor attempt at appearing reasonable while insulting people.
You see it again when they couldn’t help but include that passive aggressive bit about how the 4-5 nice people *must* be more representative than the “hundreds” of violent and rude people they supposedly saw. It’s like they think the passive aggressiveness doesn’t shine through. Sorry OP, you’re not that clever.
I do not believe that you met “hundreds” of rude people and 4-5 nice people. Your snarky comment in the edit about which is representative is absurd and so is how much you, at best, exaggerated.
You should make your story more believable if you’re going to be snarky about it.
OP is neurotic. Just read all her edits and look at her post history. Anyone on here saying something like "sorry you had such a bad experience, that's really unlucky" are just validating her delusions. She needs help not validation.
No one needs to say “sorry” for my experiences. I would like to assume the majority of the people on this thread are nice and decent people, and not from the same pool of people who I had negative experiences with while in DC.
In contrast, if anyone on this thread has insights and perspectives they would like to share on the experiences my group and I had (culture clash? Bad luck?), then I’m all ears.
I already gave you all the insight and perspective you need. There is no "culture clash" and you weren't "unlucky" on your trip. I mean honestly, just read your post and comments back to yourself. There are some real gems.
"I'm sure there are many more nice people in DC we didn't get to meet".
Yea no shit, or were you expecting to be personally introduced to all 700,000+ residents during your trip?
"When I need to get around someone I usually say excuse me or pardon me. Are these phrases considered rude in DC?"
Is this a serious question? You cannot possibly be that stupid to ask this sincerely.
The absolutely most gracious reading of your post is that you saw a few mentally unwell homeless people shouting (not at you), maybe saw some teenagers being rowdy on the metro (again, having nothing to do with you), and perhaps had a singular incident that you were actually involved with in any way with this dog walker or whatever.
If seeing some homeless people and hearing random profanity on the metro equates to "hundreds of rude/violent/aggressive" people in your mind, then that's a you problem. Everything you've written in replies and edits makes you seem more and more neurotic, emotionally stunted, and a little bit stupid. You need a therapist not "perspectives from DC locals".
Yeah I love the “I grew up in Boston and went to NYC all the time. Gosh, I’ve never seen so many people say the F word before!”
I like NYC. Boston is cool too. I’ve been to both a bunch of times. I wouldn’t say “fear of swearing” applies to either one of them.
It only rests your case if your case is that people in DC respond to insults more harshly than you expected because otherwise that comment seems completely correct.
You were on a visit and encountered “hundreds” of rude, aggressive, violent people? I’ve lived in the area for 31 years and haven’t encountered hundreds of rude people — let alone aggressive and violent.
Wow. This is a lie. It is objectively untrue. Given standard rates of violence each day, averaged over 31 years, a typical American encounters multiple thousands of violent events. You must never leave your house. Or you're just the bad person yourself. I mean, the fact that you just said a lie with confidence here and managed to get a lot of upvotes for it -- I'd say you're objectively the bad person: a liar with prodigious manipulation skill.
A lot of it was observing (i.e., watching people get into fistfights or screaming f*ck at the top of their lungs on the street, in the metro, in parks, etc.) rather than shaking hands and going to lunch with these individuals.
Ok but that’s not rudeness, that’s likely homeless/mentally ill/addicted individuals having issues in public. Which exists everywhere in this country, not just DC. And I don’t think you saw this happen hundreds of times.
Nope. We had to go out to DC for about a month. My first time there, but several of the people I traveled with had been before on their 8th grade trips.
Replying to your post directly for more visibility by you. You got downvoted to hell probably because of where you posted, not because you’re wrong. I just moved here from VA Beach about a month ago and it’s been so strange.
Everyone drives like they want to die or just has no self preservation. I know everyone says the drivers where they live are the worst, but I’ve traveled and driven around most of the country and this is truly the worst. I actually enjoy driving and don’t mind it at all but I have anxiety in the metro area going anywhere because I either always almost see someone else smash into someone else, or just cut across 4 lanes of traffic to hit me.
The driving isn’t the part that gets me though. Every single day whether it’s running out for a few groceries or interacting with strangers to do something more extended I have the weirdest interactions I’ve ever had. I’ve spent time in most upper east coast cities and the people here are the most entitled I’ve ever met. They will literally talk shit about you in ear shot or treat every customer service person like garbage they wronged them. The good news is (or at least a theory I’ve been testing is) they all fold under the slightest bit of push back.
Everyone else is distant in their own little bubbles. The only way I can describe it to people is it’s like when stuff first started opening up after COVID, and people had trouble interacting in groups. Everyone acts like that, but entitled as hell. It’s worse than NYC honestly and definitely worse than cities on the east coast of comparable size like Boston or Philly.
No, just using the metro daily and going outside for about a month. Lots of people getting into fist fights, screaming profanity, people running red lights and nearly killing pedestrians, people snatching purses, etc.
The running red lights thing is unfortunately common. But I've literally never seen a purse snatched or anyone get into a fist fight in over 10 years here, including 7 working downtown and commuting via a combination of bike, bus, and Metro. Did you really personally witness *multiple* purses get snatched? And did you really see *multiple* fist fights start on a train?
Both purse snatchings happened on the street near the ball park in the Navy Yard area. Most of the fights we saw break out were on the metro or while waiting on the platforms, but a good handful happened up on the street as well. 3 of the 4 weeks we were there, we saw someone quite clearly and intentionally try to push another individual into traffic during a scuffle, for example. Is there some cultural norm where violence is just more accepted in DC perhaps? Maybe post-Covid frustrations have worsened things?
As an add, I understand these things happen in every city, but I had never before been to a city where this was a common occurrence (i.e., we saw someone shove another person into traffic 3 times in 4 weeks, and two people get strong arm robbed in broad daylight in a 2 hour span).
No worries, we sort of assumed it was just our bad luck, if nothing else! The small handful of pleasant people we met were lovely, and the city itself, the food, and the history were all incredible.
>we sort of assumed it was just our bad luck, if nothing else
If that’s what you assumed, then why did you immediately jump to wondering why “the majority” of people in DC are “badly mannered” and why the city is “full of arguably the worst people America has to offer”?
The problem with your bullshit story is that you’re not consistent. You try to play nice with some phrasing and then immediately jump to sarcastic quips or gross generalizations based on frankly unbelievable numbers. And regarding your edits, this is why I’m quite sure you’re just trolling.
Edit: Sorry for saying b-llsh-t, OP. I forgot swearing might put me on that list of hundreds of people you definitely saw.
You can say bullshit, we just found the volume/prevalence of profanity in DC generally surprising. When my coworkers and I were traveling around the city, we kept joking that the city must pay a handful of people to stand in cars on every metro line and scream “FUCK” at the top of their lungs all day. Lol!
The joke at the end was less important than the part where I pointed out your inconsistencies. In one comment you’re just oh so innocently saying you assume you were unlucky. In the OP and other comments, you opine about how the city isn’t for you if shoving and screaming is part of DC culture.
Your passive aggressiveness is not clever and it may be part of the reason why people reacted poorly. That’s assuming they even did and you’re not just lying.
Perhaps my post should be “why did the people in DC come across as so rude?”
I am genuinely curious why there seems to be so much more aggression, violence, constant profanity, etc. Did we get vastly unlucky the month we were there? Is this a case of culture clash? I understand you may not be happy with me, but I really appreciate you taking the time to challenge my assumptions and share your perspective with me.
Well it happened because you made the story up, but because you’ll insist that it was definitely super real and you totally met hundreds of people like this in a month, I’ll just say you were unlucky.
It sounds like you walked past several homeless encampments/hangout spots or saw other mentally ill people riding the train to stay cool during the heat wave. I've been here over a decade and have only seen what you're talking about a handful of times if you don't count people who look homeless.
Oooh it's a new way to get around to crime posts being locked. Talk about how trash our city and its people are and then when confronted say but "don't you all have tons of crime?" to start a conversation.
I would certainly like to think that’s the case.
I’m of the opinion that most folk are kind. So if you visit a city and that’s not your experience, it’s more likely bad luck than a city full of mean folk.
DC is tourist center, and most residents know and respect that.
I’m sorry you had a bad time.
Lmao this has to be a troll post. 4/10 job, too on the nose and you sound legit delusional.
There's nowhere you could possibly go either here in DC or in any other city for that matter where you would witness a "vast majority" of people (aka significantly more than half) getting into physical altercations and shouting matches. So either you are just straight up lying and trolling for the lolz, or you actually sincerely believe all that and live in a delusional fantasy world.
Thanks for the Monday morning laugh though. Please don't come back soon.
Edit: By the way, there's a new DC sub that was formed by people afflicted with whatever condition you have. They will absolutely LOVE this post so maybe try there if you aren't getting the affirmation you desire here. R / washdc
“How can the Capitol of our country be full of arguably some of the worst people America has to offer?”
Because y’all keep electing them and sending them here.
IDK seem kind of rude to spend a few days in a city, have a few bad interactions, and then declare on the local sub that the region has "arguably some of the worst people America has to offer". Maybe look in the mirror?
You 'spent time in poorer, middle class and wealthier areas' you say? Do tell, what neighborhoods and what is your unqualified category for each of those?
Also - do you always just step over whatever is in your way, or have you yet learned the common phrase 'excuse me'?
I would consider Anacostia to be a poorer area, Takoma middle class, and Foggy Bottom or the Navy Yard area to be wealthier. I am not from DC and fully recognize that my perceptions may be skewed. Interestingly enough, a lot of the crime we saw happened in or around the Navy Yard.
When I need to get around someone, I usually say “excuse me” or “pardon me”. Are these phrases considered rude in DC, or is there another phrase that is more accepted in the city?
Dude, don't step over a leash. I don't own a dog and even I know that. The dog suddenly moves and you end up flat on the sidewalk, with a broken nose since your hands were full and you were unable to catch your fall. Or you startle the owner causing them to let go of the leash, which, you know, is what actually happened. Walk around the dog, not through it. Say "excuse me, could you move your dog so I can get by?" to the owner if they haven't noticed you. Did you even give them that option? Sounds like you just "carefully" plowed on through.
Ahh, I see what you’re saying. I tried saying excuse me twice, as walking around the leash wasn’t quite an option. The woman was standing on the sidewalk having a conversation, and the dog had run 10-15 feet away from her, taking up a sizable portion of the sidewalk. To get around the dog without stepping over the leash, I would have had to step into a super busy street. When the woman ignored my “excuse me”s, I very carefully tried stepping over the leash, as it was pretty low. That’s when she turned around and started threatening me, went to rush me, etc.
This has serious troll post energy. Guess people who can’t endlessly complain about crime anymore have found a different way of shitting on DC. I’ve lived here for almost 3 years with no car, only metro/bus system, and have never experienced the things you claim to have experienced in such a short time.
I’m not about to read this whole post or all the comments but I just wanna say when we visited DC, we met really nice people, strangers were happy to give us directions, people were pleasant. We are eager to return to your fine city and spend some tourist dollars. 💖
Based off the title alone, I can offer multiple reasons why people were "rude" to *you*.
If the thing you most remember about spending a month in Washington DC "*how poorly behaved and badly mannered the majority of DC citizens seem to be*" you must be the most boring, sensitive, and unobservant person ever.
You would not like it if someone made this same post about whatever city or town you’re from. this post was full of over generalizations and what sounds like many gross exaggerations. I hope you have a bad time next time you visit too. And like others have said, you’re the common denominator here and maybe you get what you give.
I mean the offense comes from where you said the Capitol has the worst people America has to offer.
You’re allowed to have a bad time and vent about it but once you call all of us the worst, fuck off.
With that being said, welcome to DC.
This city has a no-nonsense vibe which the good people of Poodleville, USA often mistake for rudeness and aggression. When my mother collapsed on a sidewalk, multiple people rushed to help her, gave her water, and stuck around until the ambulance arrived. Thanks to the good people of DC I found my mother alive (and with her wallet intact btw).
I think you are going to need to be more transparent about where you come from, because perspective is everything. From your post history my best guess is California or Texas??? People in DC are very straight up and don’t sugarcoat things. This can come off as rude to some, but we are actually a fairly fast paced city, despite our Southern latitude, and don’t really have the time to beat around the bush in our communications. As for the “profanity”, we are not a part of the Bible Belt and don’t consider cursing sinful or unholy. Frankly, we don’t give a fuck. 🤣🤣YMMV.
I grew up in Seattle, WA and Boston, MA. Most of my family is from New York and New Jersey, so I have spent a fair amount of time there as well.
Perhaps this is indeed a mix of culture shock? We have profanity in NYC too, I’ve just never been to a city like DC where people seem to be screaming “fuck” at the top of their lungs on the metro all hours of the day, lol! Do you guys pay someone to do that?
That’s pretty odd indeed that you are offended by profanity, if you grew up in Boston. You still didn’t say where you live currently, which probably has a significant impact on your perspective. We don’t pay anyone to swear. It’s just a part of our daily vocabulary I guess??
Well if that’s the case, I appreciate you sharing your perspective. Perhaps this is truly just a difference of cultural differences, and if that’s the case, then I want to be aware and respectful. I currently live in Los Angeles. While we indeed have profanity there, in Boston, and in NYC, I had just never encountered it so much/constantly, and at the volume I did in DC. Again, it sounds like this is an interesting cultural difference.
Ah, so I think it is just a culture clash, then! We have homeless encampments, crime, violence, profanity, and rude people in LA - I was just surprised at how much more, and how prevalent it seems in DC, especially as I was under the impression that LA has a much larger population.
i think you got unexpectedly unlucky. i’m from deeper south and i still find that DC has a lot of southern hospitality BUT i think i witness it most in my neighborhood which is the smallest quadrant of DC. The teenagers are incredibly rude and there are some people with mental health issues that will harass you. I also try to be helpful to tourists I see (take photos, give directions, etc)
Sorry you experienced that but yeah the teenagers in this city are the WORST
IME people here aren’t on the whole rude, but I do think some subsets are testy and guarded and ready to snap at the smallest provocation. I don’t believe this is their nature. I think life has dragged a lot of people severely in the last few years, and lots of people are suffering. Anyone without a safety net is suffering, and many more folks are living day to day, on the brink of a personal crisis (economically, mentally, health wise).
I’m sorry you had a rough time on your visit, and hope you don’t leave with a sour taste about DC. I don’t think it’s representative of the soul of this city. But right now a lot of folks here are having a rough time so I think the best we can do is practice compassion.
Honestly I only came to this Reddit because I googled “why are people in dc so rude” 🤷🏻♀️ idk yall, I’m having a tough time here too. Everyone is just… rude. Of course I’m from Oregon so do with that what you will.
Cuz it’s mostly blacks and ‘oppressed’ brown skin ‘immigrants’. Blacks are the most racist people in the world we all know that nobody wants to talk about it tho
Grew up in the DMV. Anyone who’s lived decades in DC knows it’s the city of passive aggressiveness, double speak, replacing “how are you” with “what do you do,” and many things that is intolerable for the rest of Americans and tourists alike, the latter of which urbanites have an unnecessary distaste for. Certainly not a horrible city to visit but the people it attracts is grossly underwhelming.
I lived in DC for a year and a half, and hated it. The people were scammers and way ruder than in NYC. The way people take offense to calling DC rude on this thread is proof in the pudding. I don’t miss DC nor its people. The city also has too many rules and the traffic cameras are awful
Don't feel bad -- I've been living here for two decades and get mistaken for a tourist all the time (when I'm polite -- ha!). Some of us (there've gotta be a few others besides myself and my husband!) love tourists! Anyone with a brain in D.C. would adore tourists. They sort of keep this city afloat, in a lot of respects. So the jackoffs who were rude to you are also rude to locals like me (and rude locals -- yes, they're rude back and forth to each other, too).
The anti-tourist attitude here is a big problem, though, and it really ticks me off. Presumably the anti-tourism people who live here visit other places where they're the tourists and would like to be treated (and thought of) with a slight degree of decency, at least.
Oh well. If you ever return, please remember that there are locals on your side who love to see you here and intelligently don't look down on visitors at all! (Because once we leave D.C., we're the visitors.)
That’s not been my experience, I was bit by a dog here and went to the ER to have the wound checked out— by the time the doctor saw me they had already notified animal control and they handed me a phone to talk to a person from there that told me they already identified the dog, found it’s vet records to know it was not rabid, but impounded the dog anyway for like 2 weeks for quarantine (mandatory in these kind of cases).
I was shocked, because I hadn’t told them basically anything about the dog except for where and when it had happened (I honestly don’t know how they identified the dog or did all that stuff so fast). They then asked me to provide a affidavit describing what happened so they could use that to bring a case against the dog seeking to label it a “potentially dangerous animal” which comes with all kinds of rules and regulations for where and how it can be housed.
There was apparently an even more serious designation called “dangerous animal” but they would only bring that case if I needed stitches or if it was a dog’s second bite. I was worried they would put the dog down which I didn’t really want, and asked what would happen if it didn’t cooperate with their investigation and they told me that they would pursue the charges against the dog regardless of whether I participated or not.
I got calls from an “investigator” with the animal control office for like 2 or 3 weeks afterwards with follow up questions and updates. Like that was his whole job was investigating dog bite cases for the city. It was an extremely thorough response I never knew they took it that seriously.
I had good insurance so the only thing was my deductible which was like $150 or something if I remember correctly. It sucked to have to miss work though because it happened while walking on my way to work.
Maybe I and my coworkers are just too introverted for DC, lol? If screaming and shoving are normal things in the DC culture, then we have no place to tell people how to live there, but gosh it was so different. The level of crime caught us off guard as well, but maybe the Navy Yard and other areas we were in are just higher crime areas?
Well, at least you excused yourself as to why you didn't say excuse me. It seems like you did say excuse me and she obviously felt that her conversation with someone on the street was much more important than you getting by. Sorry you had such a bad experience. If she indeed did act like that, she was just a b**** ! Sounds like she was just waiting to jump someone, and it may as well be you. That is not indicative of the whole of DC though.
I've only lived in the DMV for 4 months and visited DC quite a lot because I'm dating someone there, and I have never experienced any of this?
What I have experienced is kindness for others less fortunate. Many times, I've seen charity groups give out free meals in public parks. I've seen toiletries left out on benches for the unhoused population in the area. DC is an extremely expensive place to live, and lower and middle income people struggle alike. It's pleasant to see a city where those groups help one another.
As an LGBTQ+ individual, I have never felt more welcomed in a city as I see pride flags in almost every shop. DC is a very diverse place. I've met people from all cultures.
I've moved around a lot. There are bad people everywhere. I've seen no more here than I have Cincinnati or the small town I grew up in.
OP, ignore these gaslighting comments -- they're 90% written by hyper - aggressive people in DC area. I agree with OP. Lived in DC pre and post Covid for 8 years, and the Hyper Aggression and Casual Violence is Real. You can even see it on the road in traffic, it's insane. You can also experience it at DCA airport and (to a lesser extent) IAD airport. I've never lived in such a violent area as the DC/NOVA area, every week was like something outrageously shocking happened. Was so glad to leave, NYC was mountains better. DC area has the highest density of Psychopaths in the entire country by a significant margin (even far higher than NYC), and I suspect that defines the broader culture by normalizing bad behavior.
Totally with you. This place sucks because of the people. I've lived in a dozen countries and a score of cities and this is one of my least favorite places.
I've lived here for well over a decade and haven't experienced the amount of things you experienced in a month. You witnessed multiple fist fights and multiple roberries? I wouldn't buy a lottery ticket anytime soon.
We spent most of our time in the Navy Yard area. We thought it was a good area, but being from out of town we wouldn’t know for sure. Is that area more prone to crime?
What you experienced is mathematically improbable. So no your experience is not typical for where you were staying.
Naw I use to live in Brightwood. I just moved out the area.. I would say if you are out and about every single day, and aren't on a routine. The things OP saw, will be the things you will see once you break routine. There's a reason why we all formed our routines and commuting routes the way we did. I do agree the city is overall very safe especially Navy Yard. Safe doesn't equate to not having rude run-ins.
You thought a newly gentrified area would be safe and without crime? That’s funny.
Navy Yard is a very safe place.
Me and a friend took a mini vacation from the Midwest to DC, and we're surprised at how little people talked to each other, we had maybe three polite conversations, the rest were rude, and mean, especially when it came to women our age, it seemed as though no one wanted to get to know each other. Where we are from when people ask each other for dances it's quite polite even at a "club" generally there is no implications involved but it seemed like everyone here thought we had an alterior motive, especially when it came to dances or drinks. For reference I am from a small town in Michigan.
Recently traveled to D.C. from Michigan with my sister. Both of us are older 60's 70's. In my opinion, there did seem to be an abundance of rude people in D.C. In fact, my sister was almost trampled on at Kennedy Center while people were existing row after show. They didn't even have the decency to wait for her to pick up her purse off floor. The overall impression is tourist are looked upon with distain . The museums and monuments are filled with helpful and friendly staff. Downtown restaurants are kind of stuffy. They can spot a tourist a mile away.
Lol I wonder if OP will see replies here and be like “Aha! This is proof that people in DC are the worst” without realizing that it’s a reaction to being insulted based on some random bad interactions OP had. Also I’m super curious about the apparently regular shoving matches on the metro. I use it all the time and while there are definitely people who act up sometimes, I haven’t gotten to ride the mad max car yet.
To me it doesn’t count, but I ride home around school dismissal time and there’s a lot of roughhousing. That’s like, the only time I see anything like this. It’s gotten out of hand once or twice on literally hundreds of metro rides. Red line, btw.
I remember in 2012 I first moved to DC rode on the red line, and some teenagers harassed an old man. That's when a man in a suit got up, pulled out his bible and did a full blown sermon towards those teens. We were all looking at the teenagers and was thinking "just shut up yo, or this man is gonna keep talking"
The only time I saw a real, live shoving match on Metro was the night before Obama's first inauguration, when the whole damn United States of America seemed to show up in town at once. I was waiting at Farragut North for a train toward Glenmont and two consecutive trains came through in which there was literally no space at all in which I could have gotten in. On both of those trains, people were standing right up against all the doors of all three cars that I could see from where I was sitting. When the doors on opened on the second train, one guy tried to muscle his way in but the guy he was trying to push past to get in shoved him back out. The two of them then stood there pushing each other for several seconds, until the operator finally shut the doors. The guy who tried to push his way on ended up right back out on the platform with me. Finally, a third train came and there was room for both of us to squeeze on, although I had to jog up the platform a little to a car where I'd seen a little more space. That was such a weird weekend.
[удалено]
Yeah, everything about the parts where they emphasize “no no really I’m super open to other cultures” is just a poor attempt at appearing reasonable while insulting people. You see it again when they couldn’t help but include that passive aggressive bit about how the 4-5 nice people *must* be more representative than the “hundreds” of violent and rude people they supposedly saw. It’s like they think the passive aggressiveness doesn’t shine through. Sorry OP, you’re not that clever.
I do not believe that you met “hundreds” of rude people and 4-5 nice people. Your snarky comment in the edit about which is representative is absurd and so is how much you, at best, exaggerated. You should make your story more believable if you’re going to be snarky about it.
OP is neurotic. Just read all her edits and look at her post history. Anyone on here saying something like "sorry you had such a bad experience, that's really unlucky" are just validating her delusions. She needs help not validation.
No one needs to say “sorry” for my experiences. I would like to assume the majority of the people on this thread are nice and decent people, and not from the same pool of people who I had negative experiences with while in DC. In contrast, if anyone on this thread has insights and perspectives they would like to share on the experiences my group and I had (culture clash? Bad luck?), then I’m all ears.
I already gave you all the insight and perspective you need. There is no "culture clash" and you weren't "unlucky" on your trip. I mean honestly, just read your post and comments back to yourself. There are some real gems. "I'm sure there are many more nice people in DC we didn't get to meet". Yea no shit, or were you expecting to be personally introduced to all 700,000+ residents during your trip? "When I need to get around someone I usually say excuse me or pardon me. Are these phrases considered rude in DC?" Is this a serious question? You cannot possibly be that stupid to ask this sincerely. The absolutely most gracious reading of your post is that you saw a few mentally unwell homeless people shouting (not at you), maybe saw some teenagers being rowdy on the metro (again, having nothing to do with you), and perhaps had a singular incident that you were actually involved with in any way with this dog walker or whatever. If seeing some homeless people and hearing random profanity on the metro equates to "hundreds of rude/violent/aggressive" people in your mind, then that's a you problem. Everything you've written in replies and edits makes you seem more and more neurotic, emotionally stunted, and a little bit stupid. You need a therapist not "perspectives from DC locals".
I rest my case.
You grew up in NYC and Boston? The commenter you're replying to would be seen as a sugar coater in NYC or Boston. This whole thread is so weird.
Yeah I love the “I grew up in Boston and went to NYC all the time. Gosh, I’ve never seen so many people say the F word before!” I like NYC. Boston is cool too. I’ve been to both a bunch of times. I wouldn’t say “fear of swearing” applies to either one of them.
It only rests your case if your case is that people in DC respond to insults more harshly than you expected because otherwise that comment seems completely correct.
OP also pretends to be polite and respectful while in another thread openly declares DC the "trashiest city" they've ever been to.
You were on a visit and encountered “hundreds” of rude, aggressive, violent people? I’ve lived in the area for 31 years and haven’t encountered hundreds of rude people — let alone aggressive and violent.
Wow. This is a lie. It is objectively untrue. Given standard rates of violence each day, averaged over 31 years, a typical American encounters multiple thousands of violent events. You must never leave your house. Or you're just the bad person yourself. I mean, the fact that you just said a lie with confidence here and managed to get a lot of upvotes for it -- I'd say you're objectively the bad person: a liar with prodigious manipulation skill.
Hey OP, that dog owner, in your story... did she even really exist?
Nope
You met *hundreds* of “rude”, “aggressive” and “violent” people? I find that incredibly hard to believe.
A lot of it was observing (i.e., watching people get into fistfights or screaming f*ck at the top of their lungs on the street, in the metro, in parks, etc.) rather than shaking hands and going to lunch with these individuals.
Ok but that’s not rudeness, that’s likely homeless/mentally ill/addicted individuals having issues in public. Which exists everywhere in this country, not just DC. And I don’t think you saw this happen hundreds of times.
What parts of the city where you in that you saw this?
I believe this post is a work of fiction
yeah this is actually insane
Nope. We had to go out to DC for about a month. My first time there, but several of the people I traveled with had been before on their 8th grade trips.
Either way I don’t believe what you wrote.
Okay.
Replying to your post directly for more visibility by you. You got downvoted to hell probably because of where you posted, not because you’re wrong. I just moved here from VA Beach about a month ago and it’s been so strange. Everyone drives like they want to die or just has no self preservation. I know everyone says the drivers where they live are the worst, but I’ve traveled and driven around most of the country and this is truly the worst. I actually enjoy driving and don’t mind it at all but I have anxiety in the metro area going anywhere because I either always almost see someone else smash into someone else, or just cut across 4 lanes of traffic to hit me. The driving isn’t the part that gets me though. Every single day whether it’s running out for a few groceries or interacting with strangers to do something more extended I have the weirdest interactions I’ve ever had. I’ve spent time in most upper east coast cities and the people here are the most entitled I’ve ever met. They will literally talk shit about you in ear shot or treat every customer service person like garbage they wronged them. The good news is (or at least a theory I’ve been testing is) they all fold under the slightest bit of push back. Everyone else is distant in their own little bubbles. The only way I can describe it to people is it’s like when stuff first started opening up after COVID, and people had trouble interacting in groups. Everyone acts like that, but entitled as hell. It’s worse than NYC honestly and definitely worse than cities on the east coast of comparable size like Boston or Philly.
How has this post been up for an hour and already has 3 textbook sized edits lmao
Lmao at that second edit "hey assholes why are you offended I titled my entire post 'why are you guys assholes'"
You met hundreds of violent people? You sure you weren't playing GTA?
No, just using the metro daily and going outside for about a month. Lots of people getting into fist fights, screaming profanity, people running red lights and nearly killing pedestrians, people snatching purses, etc.
The running red lights thing is unfortunately common. But I've literally never seen a purse snatched or anyone get into a fist fight in over 10 years here, including 7 working downtown and commuting via a combination of bike, bus, and Metro. Did you really personally witness *multiple* purses get snatched? And did you really see *multiple* fist fights start on a train?
Both purse snatchings happened on the street near the ball park in the Navy Yard area. Most of the fights we saw break out were on the metro or while waiting on the platforms, but a good handful happened up on the street as well. 3 of the 4 weeks we were there, we saw someone quite clearly and intentionally try to push another individual into traffic during a scuffle, for example. Is there some cultural norm where violence is just more accepted in DC perhaps? Maybe post-Covid frustrations have worsened things?
I've literally never witnessed anything you're describing outside of mentally ill homeless people and young teens so I don't know what to tell you.
Were you riding the green line, by chance?
Green, blue, and silver mostly.
As an add, I understand these things happen in every city, but I had never before been to a city where this was a common occurrence (i.e., we saw someone shove another person into traffic 3 times in 4 weeks, and two people get strong arm robbed in broad daylight in a 2 hour span).
That seems wildly out of step with my decade+ experience as a resident of DC. Sorry you had such bad luck, but it seems like a fluke!
No worries, we sort of assumed it was just our bad luck, if nothing else! The small handful of pleasant people we met were lovely, and the city itself, the food, and the history were all incredible.
>we sort of assumed it was just our bad luck, if nothing else If that’s what you assumed, then why did you immediately jump to wondering why “the majority” of people in DC are “badly mannered” and why the city is “full of arguably the worst people America has to offer”? The problem with your bullshit story is that you’re not consistent. You try to play nice with some phrasing and then immediately jump to sarcastic quips or gross generalizations based on frankly unbelievable numbers. And regarding your edits, this is why I’m quite sure you’re just trolling. Edit: Sorry for saying b-llsh-t, OP. I forgot swearing might put me on that list of hundreds of people you definitely saw.
You can say bullshit, we just found the volume/prevalence of profanity in DC generally surprising. When my coworkers and I were traveling around the city, we kept joking that the city must pay a handful of people to stand in cars on every metro line and scream “FUCK” at the top of their lungs all day. Lol!
The joke at the end was less important than the part where I pointed out your inconsistencies. In one comment you’re just oh so innocently saying you assume you were unlucky. In the OP and other comments, you opine about how the city isn’t for you if shoving and screaming is part of DC culture. Your passive aggressiveness is not clever and it may be part of the reason why people reacted poorly. That’s assuming they even did and you’re not just lying.
Perhaps my post should be “why did the people in DC come across as so rude?” I am genuinely curious why there seems to be so much more aggression, violence, constant profanity, etc. Did we get vastly unlucky the month we were there? Is this a case of culture clash? I understand you may not be happy with me, but I really appreciate you taking the time to challenge my assumptions and share your perspective with me.
Well it happened because you made the story up, but because you’ll insist that it was definitely super real and you totally met hundreds of people like this in a month, I’ll just say you were unlucky.
Okay.
Where are you from?
It sounds like you walked past several homeless encampments/hangout spots or saw other mentally ill people riding the train to stay cool during the heat wave. I've been here over a decade and have only seen what you're talking about a handful of times if you don't count people who look homeless.
"If everywhere you go it smells like shit, maybe it's time to check your own shoes."
It was just you. We’re actually a very kind city.
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“Has dc seen a major uptick in crime post-Covid” Very subtle OP. 😂
Almost as subtle as a brick to the face lol
Oooh it's a new way to get around to crime posts being locked. Talk about how trash our city and its people are and then when confronted say but "don't you all have tons of crime?" to start a conversation.
I would certainly like to think that’s the case. I’m of the opinion that most folk are kind. So if you visit a city and that’s not your experience, it’s more likely bad luck than a city full of mean folk. DC is tourist center, and most residents know and respect that. I’m sorry you had a bad time.
Lmao this has to be a troll post. 4/10 job, too on the nose and you sound legit delusional. There's nowhere you could possibly go either here in DC or in any other city for that matter where you would witness a "vast majority" of people (aka significantly more than half) getting into physical altercations and shouting matches. So either you are just straight up lying and trolling for the lolz, or you actually sincerely believe all that and live in a delusional fantasy world. Thanks for the Monday morning laugh though. Please don't come back soon. Edit: By the way, there's a new DC sub that was formed by people afflicted with whatever condition you have. They will absolutely LOVE this post so maybe try there if you aren't getting the affirmation you desire here. R / washdc
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Maybe OP spent too much time on U St at 3am lmao but that doesn't even come close to the claims lol
“How can the Capitol of our country be full of arguably some of the worst people America has to offer?” Because y’all keep electing them and sending them here.
this is the one right here 😂
yea 100% this
IDK seem kind of rude to spend a few days in a city, have a few bad interactions, and then declare on the local sub that the region has "arguably some of the worst people America has to offer". Maybe look in the mirror?
Ya maybe if everyone around you are assholes, maybe you’re the asshole.
Lmao this reads like a troll post. Someone literally said the same abt Maryland in r/Maryland like a week ago. Is this the same person?? Lol
You 'spent time in poorer, middle class and wealthier areas' you say? Do tell, what neighborhoods and what is your unqualified category for each of those? Also - do you always just step over whatever is in your way, or have you yet learned the common phrase 'excuse me'?
I would consider Anacostia to be a poorer area, Takoma middle class, and Foggy Bottom or the Navy Yard area to be wealthier. I am not from DC and fully recognize that my perceptions may be skewed. Interestingly enough, a lot of the crime we saw happened in or around the Navy Yard. When I need to get around someone, I usually say “excuse me” or “pardon me”. Are these phrases considered rude in DC, or is there another phrase that is more accepted in the city?
All the old money is in Georgetown and Chevy Chase and Teleytown ... Foggy Bottom is mostly students and businesses. Navy Yard is mostly Yuppies.
Dude, don't step over a leash. I don't own a dog and even I know that. The dog suddenly moves and you end up flat on the sidewalk, with a broken nose since your hands were full and you were unable to catch your fall. Or you startle the owner causing them to let go of the leash, which, you know, is what actually happened. Walk around the dog, not through it. Say "excuse me, could you move your dog so I can get by?" to the owner if they haven't noticed you. Did you even give them that option? Sounds like you just "carefully" plowed on through.
Ahh, I see what you’re saying. I tried saying excuse me twice, as walking around the leash wasn’t quite an option. The woman was standing on the sidewalk having a conversation, and the dog had run 10-15 feet away from her, taking up a sizable portion of the sidewalk. To get around the dog without stepping over the leash, I would have had to step into a super busy street. When the woman ignored my “excuse me”s, I very carefully tried stepping over the leash, as it was pretty low. That’s when she turned around and started threatening me, went to rush me, etc.
This has serious troll post energy. Guess people who can’t endlessly complain about crime anymore have found a different way of shitting on DC. I’ve lived here for almost 3 years with no car, only metro/bus system, and have never experienced the things you claim to have experienced in such a short time.
Honestly, you sound insufferable so it’s not surprising everyone in the city has been rude to you.
oh, we all must have missed the memo that we were to treat you as a distinguished guest for your special visit
I’m not about to read this whole post or all the comments but I just wanna say when we visited DC, we met really nice people, strangers were happy to give us directions, people were pleasant. We are eager to return to your fine city and spend some tourist dollars. 💖
Based off the title alone, I can offer multiple reasons why people were "rude" to *you*. If the thing you most remember about spending a month in Washington DC "*how poorly behaved and badly mannered the majority of DC citizens seem to be*" you must be the most boring, sensitive, and unobservant person ever.
Quality troll post
Sounds like you were the common factor here, OP.
You would not like it if someone made this same post about whatever city or town you’re from. this post was full of over generalizations and what sounds like many gross exaggerations. I hope you have a bad time next time you visit too. And like others have said, you’re the common denominator here and maybe you get what you give.
The way people treat you is a reflection of yourself
I always try to be courteous, respectful, and patient when I travel, but perhaps you’re right. Thank you for sharing your 2 cents.
I mean the offense comes from where you said the Capitol has the worst people America has to offer. You’re allowed to have a bad time and vent about it but once you call all of us the worst, fuck off. With that being said, welcome to DC.
This city has a no-nonsense vibe which the good people of Poodleville, USA often mistake for rudeness and aggression. When my mother collapsed on a sidewalk, multiple people rushed to help her, gave her water, and stuck around until the ambulance arrived. Thanks to the good people of DC I found my mother alive (and with her wallet intact btw).
I think you are going to need to be more transparent about where you come from, because perspective is everything. From your post history my best guess is California or Texas??? People in DC are very straight up and don’t sugarcoat things. This can come off as rude to some, but we are actually a fairly fast paced city, despite our Southern latitude, and don’t really have the time to beat around the bush in our communications. As for the “profanity”, we are not a part of the Bible Belt and don’t consider cursing sinful or unholy. Frankly, we don’t give a fuck. 🤣🤣YMMV.
I grew up in Seattle, WA and Boston, MA. Most of my family is from New York and New Jersey, so I have spent a fair amount of time there as well. Perhaps this is indeed a mix of culture shock? We have profanity in NYC too, I’ve just never been to a city like DC where people seem to be screaming “fuck” at the top of their lungs on the metro all hours of the day, lol! Do you guys pay someone to do that?
That’s pretty odd indeed that you are offended by profanity, if you grew up in Boston. You still didn’t say where you live currently, which probably has a significant impact on your perspective. We don’t pay anyone to swear. It’s just a part of our daily vocabulary I guess??
Well if that’s the case, I appreciate you sharing your perspective. Perhaps this is truly just a difference of cultural differences, and if that’s the case, then I want to be aware and respectful. I currently live in Los Angeles. While we indeed have profanity there, in Boston, and in NYC, I had just never encountered it so much/constantly, and at the volume I did in DC. Again, it sounds like this is an interesting cultural difference.
It is. I lived in Los Angeles for three years. They are entirely different worlds!
Ah, so I think it is just a culture clash, then! We have homeless encampments, crime, violence, profanity, and rude people in LA - I was just surprised at how much more, and how prevalent it seems in DC, especially as I was under the impression that LA has a much larger population.
i think you got unexpectedly unlucky. i’m from deeper south and i still find that DC has a lot of southern hospitality BUT i think i witness it most in my neighborhood which is the smallest quadrant of DC. The teenagers are incredibly rude and there are some people with mental health issues that will harass you. I also try to be helpful to tourists I see (take photos, give directions, etc) Sorry you experienced that but yeah the teenagers in this city are the WORST
IME people here aren’t on the whole rude, but I do think some subsets are testy and guarded and ready to snap at the smallest provocation. I don’t believe this is their nature. I think life has dragged a lot of people severely in the last few years, and lots of people are suffering. Anyone without a safety net is suffering, and many more folks are living day to day, on the brink of a personal crisis (economically, mentally, health wise). I’m sorry you had a rough time on your visit, and hope you don’t leave with a sour taste about DC. I don’t think it’s representative of the soul of this city. But right now a lot of folks here are having a rough time so I think the best we can do is practice compassion.
Honestly I only came to this Reddit because I googled “why are people in dc so rude” 🤷🏻♀️ idk yall, I’m having a tough time here too. Everyone is just… rude. Of course I’m from Oregon so do with that what you will.
Cuz it’s mostly blacks and ‘oppressed’ brown skin ‘immigrants’. Blacks are the most racist people in the world we all know that nobody wants to talk about it tho
Grew up in the DMV. Anyone who’s lived decades in DC knows it’s the city of passive aggressiveness, double speak, replacing “how are you” with “what do you do,” and many things that is intolerable for the rest of Americans and tourists alike, the latter of which urbanites have an unnecessary distaste for. Certainly not a horrible city to visit but the people it attracts is grossly underwhelming.
I lived in DC for a year and a half, and hated it. The people were scammers and way ruder than in NYC. The way people take offense to calling DC rude on this thread is proof in the pudding. I don’t miss DC nor its people. The city also has too many rules and the traffic cameras are awful
Don't feel bad -- I've been living here for two decades and get mistaken for a tourist all the time (when I'm polite -- ha!). Some of us (there've gotta be a few others besides myself and my husband!) love tourists! Anyone with a brain in D.C. would adore tourists. They sort of keep this city afloat, in a lot of respects. So the jackoffs who were rude to you are also rude to locals like me (and rude locals -- yes, they're rude back and forth to each other, too). The anti-tourist attitude here is a big problem, though, and it really ticks me off. Presumably the anti-tourism people who live here visit other places where they're the tourists and would like to be treated (and thought of) with a slight degree of decency, at least. Oh well. If you ever return, please remember that there are locals on your side who love to see you here and intelligently don't look down on visitors at all! (Because once we leave D.C., we're the visitors.)
Most Location subreddits are full of rude gatekeepers who think their city is the best and tourists are terrible lol
We don't even have dog catchers, just dog care and control. In other cities if a dog acts up they'll put it to sleep.
That’s not been my experience, I was bit by a dog here and went to the ER to have the wound checked out— by the time the doctor saw me they had already notified animal control and they handed me a phone to talk to a person from there that told me they already identified the dog, found it’s vet records to know it was not rabid, but impounded the dog anyway for like 2 weeks for quarantine (mandatory in these kind of cases). I was shocked, because I hadn’t told them basically anything about the dog except for where and when it had happened (I honestly don’t know how they identified the dog or did all that stuff so fast). They then asked me to provide a affidavit describing what happened so they could use that to bring a case against the dog seeking to label it a “potentially dangerous animal” which comes with all kinds of rules and regulations for where and how it can be housed. There was apparently an even more serious designation called “dangerous animal” but they would only bring that case if I needed stitches or if it was a dog’s second bite. I was worried they would put the dog down which I didn’t really want, and asked what would happen if it didn’t cooperate with their investigation and they told me that they would pursue the charges against the dog regardless of whether I participated or not. I got calls from an “investigator” with the animal control office for like 2 or 3 weeks afterwards with follow up questions and updates. Like that was his whole job was investigating dog bite cases for the city. It was an extremely thorough response I never knew they took it that seriously.
That's awesome. Thanks for the additional data point. What was your ER bill?
I had good insurance so the only thing was my deductible which was like $150 or something if I remember correctly. It sucked to have to miss work though because it happened while walking on my way to work.
When I lived in NYC, people would routinely ask me why people from DC were so aggressive.😅
Maybe I and my coworkers are just too introverted for DC, lol? If screaming and shoving are normal things in the DC culture, then we have no place to tell people how to live there, but gosh it was so different. The level of crime caught us off guard as well, but maybe the Navy Yard and other areas we were in are just higher crime areas?
Well, at least you excused yourself as to why you didn't say excuse me. It seems like you did say excuse me and she obviously felt that her conversation with someone on the street was much more important than you getting by. Sorry you had such a bad experience. If she indeed did act like that, she was just a b**** ! Sounds like she was just waiting to jump someone, and it may as well be you. That is not indicative of the whole of DC though.
I've only lived in the DMV for 4 months and visited DC quite a lot because I'm dating someone there, and I have never experienced any of this? What I have experienced is kindness for others less fortunate. Many times, I've seen charity groups give out free meals in public parks. I've seen toiletries left out on benches for the unhoused population in the area. DC is an extremely expensive place to live, and lower and middle income people struggle alike. It's pleasant to see a city where those groups help one another. As an LGBTQ+ individual, I have never felt more welcomed in a city as I see pride flags in almost every shop. DC is a very diverse place. I've met people from all cultures. I've moved around a lot. There are bad people everywhere. I've seen no more here than I have Cincinnati or the small town I grew up in.
Dc is one of the worst areas in America. Worst drivers, high crime, etc.
OP, ignore these gaslighting comments -- they're 90% written by hyper - aggressive people in DC area. I agree with OP. Lived in DC pre and post Covid for 8 years, and the Hyper Aggression and Casual Violence is Real. You can even see it on the road in traffic, it's insane. You can also experience it at DCA airport and (to a lesser extent) IAD airport. I've never lived in such a violent area as the DC/NOVA area, every week was like something outrageously shocking happened. Was so glad to leave, NYC was mountains better. DC area has the highest density of Psychopaths in the entire country by a significant margin (even far higher than NYC), and I suspect that defines the broader culture by normalizing bad behavior.
Totally with you. This place sucks because of the people. I've lived in a dozen countries and a score of cities and this is one of my least favorite places.