I’m in Austin for the SXSW Interactive conference. One of the first things I saw when I stepped off the plane yesterday was a “Keep Austin Weird” tshirt proudly displayed in a gift shop window, and it got me thinking…is DC weird? Is “weird” just shorthand for “interesting” or “creative”?
In the cab from the airport, the driver told us that there’s a town north of Austin called Round Rock (named after…a round rock, apparently, that someone saw in a creek up there), and then there’s another town between Austin and Round Rock, and its motto is “…between a rock and a weird place.” And this, for South Austin: “We’re here because we’re not entirely there.”
I’m trying to imagine a neighborhood of DC with a motto. Any ideas?
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I am drawing a blank…but a great question. D.C. may be too transient for a slogan or motto to develop.
We lived in the neighborhood of Takoma when we lived in DC. It was known as “The East Coast Berkeley”. Not really a motto or something to be proud of. But it was something, I guess.
DC is anything but weird. But it is a circus! Be it good or bad. Depends on the day, right?
True, the surface culture of DC aggressively defies weirdness. But there’s a lot of interesting stuff when you pull back the layers. I like the “circus” analogy – many rings, lots of activity, often a spectacle that defies explanation
Keep Georgetown Privileged?
I believe Portland, OR has a similar theme/bumpersticker statement of artsiness, and I’m always skeptical of the need to express, in a standardized way, your belief that a certain part of the country is particularly creative…but that’s just the contrarian in me, probably.
I’ll completely second Pink Heel’s thought that D.C. may be too transient a spot for a slogan or motto to develop.
With apologies to the many thousands of people who spend their entire lives there, DC is more of a place you move to than a place you’re from. It’s got quirky neighborhoods and areas like any reasonably sized town, but it’s difficult to pin down a vibe, outside of pervasive nihilism.
I’ll also second Senor Nunes in that attempts to self label your neighborhood, town, region, etc. strike me as phony. It’s like the Seinfeld bit about how you can’t pick your own nickname.
Thanks, John!
As a wizards season ticket holder, I observe a lot of the non-natives who nonetheless choose to live here acting in loutish and rude ways towards the home team, which I always thought was a bit much. Root for your team, fine, celebrate if you win, but don’t disprespect the home team lest you want an invitation extended that you move back to Detroit, Boston, San Antonio, or Milwaukee.
However, we just drove up to Cleveland to take my sister to a Wizards game up there, against the Cavs. The way people in Cleveland looked at us, gasp, Wizards fans, made it clear that Cleveland is totally provincial. I’ve seen villagers in Rwanda who were more accustomed to “outsiders” than your average Clevelander.
All of which made me very proud of the fact that while DC may not have much to offer in the way of regionalism (at least by conventional definitions) it is certainly far from provincial. Kids from DC/MD/VA-ugh don’t go slack-jawed when they see people from a different part of the country, at least.
Adam’s Morgan: Where Douches Buy Pizza.
yes to all of these comments. i always assumed the austin logo was a reaction to the north-austin suburban explosion of the 90s and 00s. either way, thought you might like this wiki entry on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Austin_Weird