So we sure did get flinty yesterday. Worst snowstorm since 2003, and for once the federal government didn't close down. Goddamn. I mean, I know I voted for Obama and everything, but I'm getting a bit tired of the 'stern parent' attitude. Gotta get flinty! Can't close the government for snow.
I would have posted more about the snowstorm, but I wasn't even in DC this weekend, and instead was headed back into the city just as the snowstorm began.
From what I gather, the basic gist of the reactions are as follows:
1. Native DCers cannot handle snow. It is a source of pride to freak out at the slightest amount of snow, and to forget all of your driving skills.
2. Transplants, especially those from the North or Great Lakes Region are accustomed to snow. Anyone who says we should handle our snow better is most likely a transplant.
President Barack Obama, being a hip, wannabe urban transplant hailing from Hawaii via Chicago, therefore thinks we should man up about the snow. Given the fact that he was not even a United States Senator the last time it snowed this much, he doesn't realize that it doesn't make sense for us to be "good" at snow, when this amount of snow happens about once a decade.
I realize that I, myself, am a transplant from the Midwest. And I was pissed the federal government didn't close. Forget being flinty, I want my day off.
I like how Mayor Bloomberg actually apologized for the first snow day in five years. No wait, that was New York. My bad.
ReplyDeletefor future reference there transplant dave, the federal government doesn't close as long as metro can still service above ground stations.
ReplyDeleteDavie, are you from Cheboygan?Yipsilanti? I bet you have a nasaley accent, you Vernor's drinker, you.
ReplyDeleteI work for the gubmint. I couldn't tell you the last time we had anything beyond a two-hour delay. Care to enlighten me on this "for once" statement?
ReplyDeletedude, we already covered this, i'm from the 'chicago metro area' or actually, roughly 18 miles directly south of the city.
ReplyDeletethat's funny, because in 2004 and 2007 (and perhaps in between, i gave up on googling), OPM closed the government, and metro was not on limited service.
Not that it's a big deal but I don't know how you can say once in a decade. Our winters are mild, but it's not as if it never snows around here. We had a big storm in '03 that was a lot worse than this and I think '06 had a couple decent-sized storms. It feels like it used to snow a lot more around here 10 or 20 yrs ago. Being from here, even I don't like how people react to cold weather, or hot for that matter.
ReplyDeleteOPM only closed the government early in 2004 and 2007, it wasn't closed all day.
ReplyDeletethey closed nonetheless, though. and those were for snowstorms that started during the day, if i recall correctly.
ReplyDeleteWowee! Three partial closings in 5 years?!?!?! Damn lazy Federal government closing all the damn time! Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteSRSLY? Just go to work!
ReplyDeleteI'm a native and openly judge those who can't drive in the snow. We may not get a "storm" every year, but we do get snow every year. It's the transplants from warmer climates that ruin it for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can get some stimulus money to invest in a fleet of snow plows. That will be money well spent. An investment in the future of America.
ReplyDeleteI'll admit, as a dirty Southernor, we are shocked by snow. But I have to say, Northeasterners can't drive in the rain. It drizzles here (you call a drizzle "rain," you silly people), and the fucking Beltway goes into double lurch. People drive 20 miles below the speed limit. And it's about three times as bad in NYC. They suck at driving in the rain almost as badly as they suck at managing finances.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing about this is that it rains pretty frequently here. We're not in Arizona.
Bullshit. DC has been accustomed to receiving snow for years. Futhermore, this is not some fucking tropical climate, I can imagine people in Tennesee or North Carolina freaking about this but DC/MD/NoVA people have no room to bitch.
ReplyDelete