Now I don't mean to stir up internet drama... wait, that's a lie. I don't like the idea of blog feuds, but I've got a serious bone to pick with Prince of Petworth.
A post went up there today with a review of the coffeeshop Jolt 'n Bolt. Whatever, that's cool, review of a coffeeshop. The piece was written by Tina, who is apparently the site's intern (this site could use some interns, am I right?). The intro paragraph of the post reads:
I’m going to let you all in on a little secret. A couple of months ago I joined the ranks of the unemployed. I won’t lie, some days are a little touch and go, but on the whole I am happy with my new status and am relishing in my newfound abundance of time to focus my energy on volunteering, finishing my graduate school applications (wish me luck!), taking up new hobbies like cooking and painting (not at the same time though), catching up on my reading, finishing the scarf that’s been sitting in the knitting bag since last winter, and finally getting to visit the museums during the quiet hours. For a person without a job I’ve managed to keep myself pretty busy. However, I do still have a good amount of downtime, and if it were warm I would spend much of it outdoors. But in these freezing temperatures, bike rides, leisurely strolls, and sunbathing in the park don’t sound like such great ideas. So, I’ve taken to toting my laptop or a good book over to one of the many neighborhood coffee shops.
There's been an ensuing comment war, about whether or not Tina was being insensitive, given the fact that a lot of people are unemployed and can't spend months exploring the city and picking up new hobbies. I don't know what Kool-Aid the commenters over there are drinking, but I think it's obviously insensitive. It's downright, "OMGZ look at how awesome being unemployed is."
The owner of the site, the Prince himself, has defended Tina saying it's "very far from insensitive." Lord, this is what's so wrong about this city. Read some of the comments over there, do people even have any sort of idea what it's like when you lose your job and are close to losing everything you have? Without a safety net of mommy and daddy or whoever else to back you up? I suppose not! When Tina runs out of money or gets too bored, she can probably move back home. Unemployment isn't so great for the families with kids and bills and medical costs who have to decide which kid gets to eat rather than which coffeeshop to sit at and post to blogs from.
I know, I know, this is petty and stupid. Maybe so. But remember:
On the scale of things that piss me off, today's entry to Moe's Enemy List gets 3 out of 4 possible Mo Roccas.
UPDATE: For those who still think unemployment is AWESOME! Check this out:
A Los Angeles neighborhood is reeling Tuesday night. Investigators say a man shot and killed his wife and children before turning the gun on himself.
Officers found the seven bodies in the family's Wilmington home Tuesday morning after they got a call from a TV station.
Police say Ervin Lupoe had faxed a letter to KABC saying he and his wife had been fired from their jobs at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, and they had planned the killings together.
"I can't state enough, it's a family tragedy and it's our worst fear in these tough times - having people who don't see any alternative, finding a way out of financial problems or job problems," said Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Yeah, I went to graduate school, too, just like every other asshole in this town. Now I've got a big phat loan.
ReplyDeleteWish me luck!
Yeah, what kind of degree did you get, dumbass?
ReplyDeleteI got a Ph.D in your mother sucking my fat one, son.
ReplyDeleteThat bullshit blog has comment moderation so dont expect any of the comments on there to represent anything more than a minor slap on the hand.
ReplyDeleteThat bitch needs to kicked in the face and knocked unconscious SE DC style.
Fuck that bitch!
He M@ I really wish she would try going out and sunbathing in the park today.
ReplyDeleteBetter yet, how about a nice long jumping jack workout session on the ice covering the frozen Potomac River?
how could anyone possibly think this tina person is being insensitive? all she did was describe events and activities in her life. a girl is trying to make the best of a bad situation and this pisses off dave? the real problem with this city is mean spirited judgmental asshole transplants like him.
ReplyDeletei find your use of meanspiritedness in your comment to be comical.
ReplyDeletei think she's insensitive and the review should have just been about jolt and bolt. that's it, not extolling the virtues of unemployment. save it for another article. don't shangai us into reading a soap box rant about how financial instability is just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThis posting is a perfect example how this city is turning into nothing but a bunch of suburbanite fucking bullshit.
ReplyDeleteTransplant scum like Tina need to go the fuck back to where they came from.
Stop trying to be so hip.
Stop trying to be so urban.
Your disgusting attempts at trying to be something you are not is sickening.
I hope that this city once again returns to the extreme poverty and grit that it once was so that all of the fucking suburbanite transplant assholes who have moved here can find out the true meaning of urban life.
Trust me it is does not mean luxury condos and bullshit coffee shops and all of the annoying transplant scumbags who frequent those places.
The past 10 years have been nothing but a bunch of fucking bullshit.
Hopefully the recent downturn in the econony will put an abrupt end to all of the recent pussification.
FUCK TINA!!!!!
I would say that A. it's entirely reasonable for Tina to describe her unemployment as such -- she's got zero responsibilities, how else should she feel about it? -- and entirely reasonable that some commenters might be annoyed. My half-brother -- single father to three little boys -- just lost his construction job, and that shit is terrifying.
ReplyDeleteJolt N' Bolt sells cappuccinos that taste like dirt. Tryst is overpriced and only tolerable between the hours of 6:30 and 8 a.m. on weekdays. M@ clearly got his MBA from UDC.
ReplyDeleteAnother in a series of solid, old-school WIHDC posts. Thanks for stepping up and delivering the goods, Dave. I'll keep reading.
ReplyDeleteOn the whole she just seems to be staying optimistic, and not shoving her unemployedness in anyone's face, but who are we kidding, we all love 'why, I hate DC' becuase of the posts like this. stir up all the drama you want, and kudos.
ReplyDeleteMan, this is infantile. She's trying to remain upbeat about her situation. She's supposed to moan and bitch just because others are having trouble? Why does her financial situation have anything to do, or have to have anything to do, with anyone else's financial situation? How do you know she isn't living off savings? How do you know what her expenses are? Maybe she's freelancing, waitressing, etc. all of which doesn't amount to full-time employement. You don't know anything about her and yet she has to be depressed inorder to not be insensitive?
ReplyDeleteTina should meet Liz.
ReplyDeleteTogether they could both share stories with each other about how they gather all of their bills each month, stuff them inside a huge sealed envelope and then mail them off to daddy so he can pay them.
"Unemployed in the city" must be the new hip trend among all the suburban out of towner wannabe urban transplant scumbags.
Yea - being unemployed is just great!!!
ReplyDeleteI lost my job and almost moved into some prime waterfront property here in South Florida!
Under the bridge. Where I could take up such hobbies as "yelling at the fish" and "fighting with pelicans over food".
What fun!!!
Most of you sound like bitter douche bags. Come on, who cares if she has funds that allow her to be unemployed for months? Its not any worse than any of the lame Georgetown kids who never have to work - at least this girl had a job. I lost by job after 9/11, had to move into my parent's basement, & pay rent. I'm not bitter and I'm certainly not a giant asshole like some of the posters here. If you've never received unemployment checks, they can be stretched pretty far if you are on your own. Would you have been happier if the recomendation came from someone job hunting? Would that have been more "real"?
ReplyDeleteNo,
ReplyDeleteI'd have been happy if they had not spent 19 lines of text going on about how they are thrilled to have so much free time to have fun and explore the city.
The review itself was fine.
Petworth is a fucking miserable ghetto. Hiptards deserve to get hit in the head with a rock.
ReplyDeleteseriosuly wtf. i can barely pay my bills WITH the job i have in this city. So many douches with doucney parents paying for shit. thank you for calling them out on it!
ReplyDeleteTransplant scum like TINA deserve to get pushed and shoved down the from top of a WMATA escalator all the way down the bottom.
ReplyDeleteShow no mercy to all these transplanted pieces of shit!
Let me get this straight - it's completely infeasible that someone could have been laid off from a well paying job and be living off of savings? Or that such a person must be a suburban transplant? What the fuck is wrong with you people? Are you all poor?
ReplyDeleteSo what if unemployment sucks for some people? No denying that it does, but some people manage and still can find some joy. Why should they be chastised for it? Some people make more money than others. Is that bad too?
Signed,
Happily unemployed, 18 year DC resident, not poor, and loving my free time
Dang. If you think Tina is bad...um, get a load of ME! UNEMPLOYMENT IS THE BEST THING EVER!!!
ReplyDeletePS -- to the Anonymous poster above my first comment...we should really hang out! Maybe you, me and Tina can grab a drink. The sad part about all this is that I'm 100 percent serious. I'm not above groveling on the Internet for friends.
ReplyDeleteIts OK at first. It just sucks when you run out of money.
ReplyDeleteAt least the "live on the water under a bridge" option is open to me. It is mostly warm here.
There seems to be an implication that she's relying on mommy and daddy for this, but if she earned her unemployment--say, by working for several years and frugally saving her pennies for a rainy day--you all need to back off.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that none of you know that but still manage to cast aspersions is why I hate DC.
This blog womps. I know several people who have lost their jobs. Many of whom have been jobless for months. All of them had feverishly been applying for new jobs, networking, and looking outside of their own profession. Half of them are homeowners with car notes, credit card bills, and student loans. But guess what? When you get more money from being on unemployment than getting a part time and NO ONE IS HIRING you are left to basically sit around all day and do nothing. Not to say that anyone should do that, but that's just the way some people are handling the frustration of not being able to get a job or work for over 4 months.
ReplyDeleteGrrrrrrrrrrrrl, I love my job. I be work'n for da DC govment, mmhmm. You be needed one of dese jobs. Me and Laronda be get'n our hair did in the employee cafeteria er'day.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you're still reading these comments Dave but I was recently let go as well and I think you're point was well taken.
ReplyDeleteI was recently let go and I can tell you as a the kid of a NY cab driver and a county clerk that the mania of unemployment is really no fun. We lead a paycheck to paycheck existence that was tenuous to the point where the family had to file many forms of bankruptcy that split us all apart and its a rift that hold to this day.
While I was lucky enough to have an office job that gave me a month's severance and without a wife or children to support I know that the prospect of unemployment is really terrifying for a large segment of Washington D.C. service and manual labor employees I've talked to.
Unemployment went up a staggering amount last month as well so its good to tread lightly.
In a city which has a segregated health, transportation, and employment sector it's good to be mindful that being white priviliged and unemployed still means you can have access to civic and societal services that many don;t.
Holy fucking shit Christ! I only made it 13 seconds on the Prince of Petworth page before I went into total meltdown. There was a goddamn blog on doorknockers! G'head, read that again. I'll wait while the fucking rampant fucktardery of that sinks in. Not convinced? Here's the level of nuggery we are dealing with folks: "PoP, will you really get more blog traffic if you list knocker and someone googles knocker to get some porn? I mean it; this is a serious question."
ReplyDeleteKill me.