Of course, the Tea Party leadership will just chalk this up to another individual, but there you go.
Blogger Andrew Ian Dodge posted a guide to DC on August 22nd:
Many parts of DC are safe beyond the areas I will list here, but why chance it if you don't know where you are?
So, how racist is the guide?
According to Adam Serwer of the American Prospect:
I suppose if you exist in a media atmosphere in which black people spend their time developing plans for racial "payback," then believing its really dangerous to enter a mostly black neighborhood is an entirely rational response. But generally speaking, I'd say a white person walking into a rough neighborhood is probably the safest person there. Most likely, someone's going to care if something happens to you.
For the map, check out below the fold.
According to Dodge, Tea Partiers should avoid:
If you are on the subway stay on the Red line between Union Station and Shady Grove, Maryland. If you are on the Blue or Orange line do not go past Eastern Market (Capitol Hill) toward the Potomac Avenue stop and beyond; stay in NW DC and points in Virginia. Do not use the Green line or the Yellow line. These rules are even more important at night. There is of course nothing wrong with many other areas; but you don't know where you are, so you should not explore them.
If on foot or in a cab or bus, stay in Bethesda, Arlington (preferably north Arlington), Crystal City, Falls Church, Annandale, or Alexandria, or in DC only in northwest DC west (i.e. larger street numbers) of 14th or 16th streets, or if on Capitol Hill only in SE Capitol Hill (zip 20003) between 1st and 8th Streets, not farther out than 8th (e.g. 9th, 10th etc). (Or stay on the Mall and at the various monuments.) Again there are many other lovely places, from the Catholic University of America to Silver Spring, Maryland. But you don't know where you are so you cannot go, especially at night, unless you take me with you.
Don't you love, "unless you take me with you"? Of course, with all the Special Operations folks hanging at the Restoring Honor event, I'm sure there will be an escort available for any who dare to go beyond the boundaries.
Map comes via The Atlantic Wire with this description:
DC blogger Laura Olin helpfully provides this map of the city, with the proscribed "safe" area in blue and the "unsafe" in red.
Here are the Safety and Mores according to Dodge :
DC's population includes refugees from every country, as the families of embassy staffs of third world countries tend to stay in DC whenever a revolution in their homeland means that anyone in their family would be in danger if they went back. Most taxi drivers and many waiters/waitresses (especially in local coffee shops like the Bread and Chocolate chain) are immigrants, frequently from east Africa or Arab countries. As a rule, African immigrants do not like for you to assume they are African Americans and especially do not like for you to guess they are from a neighboring country (e.g. Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia) with whom they may have political or military tensions. It's rare to meet anyone who gets really offended, but you can still be aware of the issue.
One of the commenters on the site thinks DC is more dangerous than Baghdad:
While I was there I stayed in a cheap hotel and had the window open. I was on the third floor. I called home and while I was on the phone there was a burst of 9MM automatic weapons fire in the street. My wife said it was pretty loud and was that the TV? I told her it wasn't the TV. It was live in the street in Washington, DC, which is more dangerous than Baghdad.
Guess honoring the military won't be much of a big deal for him then.
Dodge does have a defense. He recommends Indian and Middle Eastern Restaurants along side traditional American food. Obviously, he doesn't have a problem with skin color.
Along with his restaurant suggestions, our knowledgable blogger shares the addresses of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Bob Bauer, Anita Dunn, and Tom Daschle with the caveat, "Feel free to protest!".
If you happen to be in the DC area this weekend, you might want to join Rev. Al Sharp instead of hanging with Tea Partiers at the Restore Our Honor Rally. Especially if you might be mistaken for an Eritrean, Ethopian, or Somalian.
(Just in case you missed it, my personal comments are full of snark; the guide, however, is not snark at all.)
UPDATE - in a comment below, a fellow Kossack points out, "in fairness, that blue/red map is not accurate, since they said anything on the Shady Grove side of the Red Line is ok." I should have explicitly said that the map maker and the guide maker are not the same people. Perhaps this is the map makers version of what is safe? Her actual comment is:
Many parts of DC are safe beyond the areas I will list here, but why chance it if you don't know where you are?