Meet Southeast DC today.

By now I am sure you have heard the news of a certain french speaking country's "advisory" to its residents about certain parts of DC to avoid -- surprise (not) that Southeast and Anacostia were mentioned.  The french advisory went so far as to recommend avoiding visiting Anacostia --- day or night.

This type of bias isn't new and most often is perpetrated by people who live in DC or who visit DC and hear this "stuff" from their friends. I've been covering this problem for over a year, sometimes putting misinformed Tweeters on blast so it is not surprising to see the bias/fear exhibited by people from other countries. DC we need to be more mindful of the message we send about our neighborhoods -- all of them. I've said it once and I will say it again -- we need a DC agency/organization just to handle the issues of perception for our east of the river communities. It's no surprise that my marketing business is focused exclusively on east of the river projects. I saw a need and I am trying to fill it.

So while I appreciate the rightful indignation a little part of me wonder's if the outrage would have been so fast and so furious if the French advisory hadn't disparaged other DC neighborhoods? If the haterade had just been focused on Anacostia and "Southeast." If I were to be honest I don't think there would have really been a story.   I could say more but I think this incident is a perfect opportunity to invest in a little self love -- #SoutheastLove to be exact. So I hope you take a moment -- regardless of where you live -- and send a little message and a little enlightenment and love in the process.

And in case you lost your #SoutheastLove sign HERE is another one! Now take a minute and spread the word about the wonderful things in the Southeast quadrant!

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