DC 101: DC Stereotypes

In my inaugural blog post I suggested that the implication that DC was a city without an identity couldn't be farther from the truth.  A few days ago, I came across a graphic that illustrated this point in a humorous, albeit trite and/or hackneyed manner.  I give you the DC Stereotype Map:

(Image lovingly borrowed from http://socialstudiesdc.com) 

It's definitely not the first map of its kind.  I found this one a while back when I was searching for maps of the DC neighborhoods:

(Image lovingly borrowed from http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/)

While these maps are obvious oversimplifications (as is the nature of stereotypes in general), I like them because they illustrate the diversity in interests and personalities the reside within the beltway.  One of the things I love about DC is how it can be so many things to so many people and how so many of its people are also into so many different things.  While many large cities become adopted hometowns, the phenomenon seems even more apparent in the District of Columbia where nearly everyone here is from somewhere else.  (I think I can count on one hand the number of DC "natives" I've met since moving here...)  We each bring to this city the customs and experiences of our places of origin and create a microcosmic melting pot.  Thus, DC's identity is in its many identities.  Its cohesiveness is in its diversity and while these maps would suggest that each DC neighborhood could likely have its own blog based around its unique trademarks (i.e., That's *so* Columbia Heights or That's *so* Petworth), it is the combination and fusion of these lovable distinctions that is ultimately *so* DC.