Obnoxious behavior in Bethesda

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I know exactly how you feel. I call it Bethesdaitis. If you're walking you bitch about the horrible drivers and just assume that crosswalks are for the little people. When you're behind the wheel you think pedestrians had better get the hell out of your way. Hell you think most rules apply to everyone but you, unless you deign to follow them.

how is this different than any other pedestrian friendly place? Have you tried walking downtown Silver Spring or Foggy Bottom?

[Anonymous]

Not to hijack the thread (seems as though it's already going in that direction...) but it is common knowledge if a walk sign is on, pedestrians in a crosswalk have the right of way. Or, with stop signs or yield signs or marked pedestrian crossings if a pedestrian is in the crosswalk they have the right of way.

Yet, there are cars that will pull out in front of or behind or even towards pedestrians. I've had many near-misses (including when I'm walking with two small children which is what bothers me the most).

Then again, there are pedestrians who think they can cross a street anytime, anywhere, anyplace and everyone should automatically halt for them. It goes both ways.

This of course is not exclusive to Bethesda. I've seen in it nearby areas such as Rockville as well as places outside of the DC area.

[Anonymous]

I definitely think Bethesda has more rude people than SS, downtown DC or Friendship Heights. The most egregious behavior I've experienced was in Dunkin Donuts with my 2 yo earlier this summer. I was picking up my box and coffee and let him down for a second. He bolted for the door and a 50ish bald guy let the door slam on him and he fell down. When I confronted him he yelled at me and said that he "wasn't my doorman". It was awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here--it is a shame that people act like this. I still can't figure out why the egregious behavior happens so frequently in downtown Bethesda. I've lived in Arlington and various neighborhoods in DC and I've never witnessed the same level of obnoxiousness.

Unfortunately, I agree. I've had similar experiences in Bethesda but find Arlington to be very, very different. Curious if others feel the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I know exactly how you feel. I call it Bethesdaitis. If you're walking you bitch about the horrible drivers and just assume that crosswalks are for the little people. When you're behind the wheel you think pedestrians had better get the hell out of your way. Hell you think most rules apply to everyone but you, unless you deign to follow them.

how is this different than any other pedestrian friendly place? Have you tried walking downtown Silver Spring or Foggy Bottom?

I lived in Foggy Bottom and it wasn't that bad, either as a driver or pedestrian. The only thing that was a little scary was that GW students would walk off of a curb with a phone to their head, not looking to see what was coming. Careless but hardly the tension posters describe in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

I turned down two jobs in Bethesda for this very reason.

[Anonymous]

After living in Bethesda all my life, it is amazing how the people who are not from Bethesda come there and think they are from there. They are the ones you all speak off. The people who are from Bethesda don't go to the crappy over priced, over rated stores or restaurants, they don't dress up to go out and be seen, they tend to live in their modest homes and sit there and laugh at the people who spent a million dollars more than they did on the same house, they go to Strohsnider's instead of Home Depot because they treasure it instead of complaining about the high prices. They talk about the Raw Bar, Malarkey’s, Shakey's, Pins n Qs, and Gino's. For us, Bethesda still is great because we don't let the transplants bother us; we just laugh at them and at times let them know they are being a......holes.

Flame on

[Anonymous]

Come on PP I live in DC and nearly every time I go out to dinner in Bethesda with a mix of DC and Bethesda friends -- there are some delish restaurants there -- someone at the table bumps into someone from Bethesda. Maybe the Bethesda folks out and about do not represent all Bethesda residents in your mind but to me downtown Bethesda is the creepiest part of this area. My son even notices the women who've had work done draped in jewelry, vulgar displays of affluence. I too was offered a job on downtown Bethesda but refused because the place gives me the willies. It reels of ruling class entitlement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here--it is a shame that people act like this. I still can't figure out why the egregious behavior happens so frequently in downtown Bethesda. I've lived in Arlington and various neighborhoods in DC and I've never witnessed the same level of obnoxiousness.

Unfortunately, I agree. I've had similar experiences in Bethesda but find Arlington to be very, very different. Curious if others feel the same.

OP here again--I'm certainly not saying that rude behavior is limited to Bethesda but I've honestly never seen it so frequently in other places. It also seems that people in Bethesda and Potomac are a lot more into conspicuous consumption than what I saw in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come on PP I live in DC and nearly every time I go out to dinner in Bethesda with a mix of DC and Bethesda friends -- there are some delish restaurants there -- someone at the table bumps into someone from Bethesda. Maybe the Bethesda folks out and about do not represent all Bethesda residents in your mind but to me downtown Bethesda is the creepiest part of this area. My son even notices the women who've had work done draped in jewelry, vulgar displays of affluence. I too was offered a job on downtown Bethesda but refused because the place gives me the willies. It reels of ruling class entitlement.

OP again--you expressed my sentiments really well. The "vulgar displays of affluence" are actually jarring at times because they are so prominent. And, I don't think there is anything wrong with liking designer handbags or fashionable clothes but the way many of the women dress just seems really tacky because of all the prominent designer logos on their attire coupled with flashy jewelry.

[Anonymous]

PP who wrote vulgar displays of affluence here. I am from Connecticut (old family, no money, ha!) and we had it pounded into our heads never to display any sense of privilege we might have, like these amazing Italian racing bikes my dad bought me and my brother one summer (at cost, through a client). Don't tell anyone how much they cost! was the message. And every years we'd hear a story about a neighbor who lived modestly who turned out to be fabulously wealthy. Think on the level of Warren Buffet simplicity. Bethesda is so extreme it feels like a cartoon exaggeration of the worst strains of conspicuous self-ornamentation. It feels so nouveau riche. (Above I meant to write it reeks of ruling class entitlement. And visits there leave me reeling!)

[Anonymous]

Well, we just bought a house a couple of blocks from the B downtown, and our next-door neighbors are lovely, unassuming people. The MacMansion owners behind us befriended our little boy who chased a rabbit into their garden, etc.
On the other hand, walk any given Saturday on Bethesda Avenue, and find plenty of show-offers dressed in their supposed best strutting about - but it is far worse in certain Parisian arrondissements, where I grew up, so this doesn't bother me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP who wrote vulgar displays of affluence here. I am from Connecticut (old family, no money, ha!) and we had it pounded into our heads never to display any sense of privilege we might have, like these amazing Italian racing bikes my dad bought me and my brother one summer (at cost, through a client). Don't tell anyone how much they cost! was the message. And every years we'd hear a story about a neighbor who lived modestly who turned out to be fabulously wealthy. Think on the level of Warren Buffet simplicity. Bethesda is so extreme it feels like a cartoon exaggeration of the worst strains of conspicuous self-ornamentation. It feels so nouveau riche. (Above I meant to write it reeks of ruling class entitlement. And visits there leave me reeling!)

I know what you mean.

If I ever become rich (not likely going to happen) but if I get married and end up with a lot of money because my future husband is a doctor or lawyer, etc I've already decided that I don't see the point of driving uber expensive cars and wearing super expensive clothes and living in mansions. I'd rather live comfortably, have a nice house and a nice practical car and have plenty of money left over for occasional splurgings and vacations. And then I'd be sure to give plenty to charities because there are a lot of other people out there that are not as fortunate as we are. And I'd be sure to teach my kids the value of money and the value of helping people in need.

That's another whole issue, the next generation of rich entitled kids. Speaking of money not buying class I was recently in Potomac and witnessed a teenager (probably 17 or 18) rolling around on top of a car. He then proceeded to pull his pants down and rub his butt all over the car while his girlfriend was inside. Classy.

[Anonymous]

PP here, supposed to be 17 or 18 not sure how the smiley face got put there...

[Anonymous]

There are of course some over-entitled people in bethesda, as there are in many areas, but the large majority of people i have met here are pleasant and down-to-earth.

As for people turning down jobs in Bethesda because of the people - please. You are ridiculous.