DCentric

The [Stuff] people say meme has come to D.C., courtesy of this SocialStudies DC video (which you can watch at the bottom of this post). Some choice lines include, “Wait, where are you from, originally?” and “It’s only $1,400 a month for their converted sunroom, so, not bad.”

But who’s really saying this stuff? Is it really accurate to call it “[Stuff] D.C. says?”

A couple of people, including @clintonyates, tweeted the video is really things that white people in D.C. say.

@SocialStudiesDC Funny, but very "white DC" tho. You can't have a DC video without the words "bamma" and "uhrea" (DC pronounciation of area)

January 19, 2012 11:42 am via Twitter for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@ricktagious

Ricky Ribeiro

A few folks pointed out that race and class don’t always intersect:

@IMGoph @ElaheIzadi By "white people" do you really mean young professionals? Age and class ≠ race.

January 19, 2012 11:57 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@GarberDC

David Garber

@GarberDC My co-worker just IM'd me "This sounds like you!" It's definitely not just white people. ;) cc: @mindymoretti @IMGoph @ElaheIzadi

January 19, 2012 11:59 am via iTweet.netReplyRetweetFavorite

@urbanbohemian

urban bohemian

@IMGoph further clarified, tweeting it’s really things said by “young people who live mostly in NW and tend to be mostly white.”

.@Sonya_Wins tweets the “video is funny but only if you hang/work around transplants. Otherwise, you probably won’t get it.” She also suggested a video of “native Washingtonians,” which is used by some as a code word for “black Washingtonian.”

Such complaints over the racial and class implications of the video are classic D.C., writes TBD’s Jenny Rogers. “Complaining about hipsters/white people who aren’t from here/people from the suburbs in D.C. Congratulations…  You’ve just added to the list of [stuff] people in D.C. say.”

To be fair, the entire meme is based on stereotypes, so obviously the D.C. version won’t be able to capture all of the nuances and complexities of our demographic makeup. One line in particular stood out to me: “Wait, isn’t Anacostia, like, really dangerous?” Perhaps the next video should just highlight common stereotypes held by people in D.C.