This is the big "controvercial" and 'racist' passage that the left-wing echo chamber is having a fit about. While you are looking at that, you might miss out on a gay/lesbian rumble in a Metro station!
Safety and Mores
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.
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?
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.All good advice without racism! I travel to DC on a regular basis and stay aware of where I am. One thing with the Green Line. It is on the same tracks as the Yellow Line part of the time and that might be something the writer was trying to warn people about. Several times I got on at the Archives to go to Crystal City or Alexandria (King Street or Eisenhower Avenue) thinking I was on the Yellow line, but I was on the Green line and headed for Branch Avenue. Figured out what I did wrong by the Navy Yard, went back to L'Enfant Plaza and switched to Yellow.
Imagine someone who does not know anything about the area showing up in Anacostia or wandering around the Branch Avenue station? (Linked to a crime reports page).
Suki Series tie: In the first series, DC is a pretty rough town in the 2030's. Suki gets tickets for smoking in public and prostitution (trumped up!), but Virginia is safe. In the second series, Crystal City has its own rough neighborhood to avoid.
UPDATE: Since this is getting new traffic in 2012, here is Bill Maher and Progressive Codewords
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