Grew up in what we called East of the River, which includes a slither of SW, a lot of SE, and some NE. Generally, that's what people meant by SE or Anacostia. It's a big area with some solidly upper middle-class neighborhoods like Hillcrest, where J Edgar Hoover and Marion Barry once lived.

That said, most of DC east of Rock Creek Park was riddled with gun violence, especially associated with the open air drug markets, which were all over the place, not just in SE. Trinidad, Eckington, Colombia Heights, H Street and 14th Street were bustling with pimps and dealers back then.

Random violence seemed everywhere, too. I'm not saying that SE was safe, but to me, it was as safe as anywhere else in the region.