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Comment by havelhovel | Hacker News Reader

I think the author wants to read too much into a city having poor areas, wealthy areas, and suburbs. I also can’t help but think, based off the story they seem eager to tell, that they purposefully avoided taking a route that would have offered a better reflection of DC proper on the second day (such as starting from the NW), rather than walking past Reagan airport and pretending like they saw NOVA for what it is.

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While the author may draw some questionable or disputable conclusions, I think he is aware that different parts of the city and different parts of NoVA look very different; it seems like it's part of the point of going for a walk to make these observations.

Is there a reason that you think Northwest is a better reflection of "DC proper"? Anacostia and Benning are very much inside the city limits- they can't represent what most of Northwest is like and vice versa Northwest can't stand in for them.

You misinterpret what I wrote. I appreciated the author’s walk through SE DC and wish they had covered more of the city the following day, especially since they write the following about NW DC: “DC is the go-to stereotype for a city of highly educated elites removed from the country they govern. That DC exists, but it is confined to parts roughly in the north western half.” Instead of exploring that stereotype they use their walk through NOVA to reinforce their claim that the DC “elite” and Democrats are out of touch with everything.

I found the article entirely consistent with Chris' usual fare. NW DC would have been a bizarre juxtaposition. Even the parts of DC he walked for this article stand out for how walkable they are compared to other maligned locales he has visited.

There’s nothing “bizarre” about comparing one part of a city to another, especially when the author themself describes NW DC as a bubble for the elite. They could have backed those claims up by walking through those neighborhoods as well, but they jump over to Virginia instead.

I’m sorry to tell you the author’s “usual fare” does not impress me as nuanced or insightful.

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