This is not the blog I had "planned" on writing today. I expected something bright and cheery.
Just last week I had a dream. Not like Martin Luther King Jr., but a real, bonafide vision. It occurred last week. I was standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Suddenly lava erupted about a quarter mile away. I thought it was beautiful and grabbed for my camera to take pics. Unbeknownst to me, the lava was throwing rocks high in the air and began to hit everyone. An audible voice from heaven simply said, "Pay attention."
Today I paid attention.
I was the one a quarter mile away from the U.S. Capitol steps. All was well. Anyone who's been talking with me or reading my blogs know full well I've been excited about the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. I thought it would be the highlight of my trip. I've been anticipating it. That's what I came to Washington D.C. for in the first place. In fact, I was so excited, that I didn't sleep last night. Call it insomnia. Call it anxiety. Call it nerves. I simply couldn't sleep. I left the house at 4 a.m. with Angie. It was freezing cold with a brisk wind that penetrated our very beings, but we were hyped, giggling and laughing as we walked the many blocks from her home. Only the inept security (who, BTW, were only worried about Pres. Obama's safety and seemed unconcerned for the millions of people jamming into the streets and crushing into piles of people they could have helped if they would have opened some barriers to relieve the many security-induced logger jams near the Capitol) kept Angie, who was a volunteer, from getting to her designated location. Undaunted (the problem solvers that we are), we back tracked a few blocks and bore with the crowds to catch the underground metro subway.
We actually got off at the right stop and made our way to her group leader at the Smithsonian Castle on Independence Avenue. By then it was 5 a.m. and the people were pouring in from everywhere. It wasn't long before we the flow of humanity became fast and furious, so we determined the safe thing would be for me to get to my gate a few blocks away.
It was still dark and now I was alone. The cold was unbearable. I thought about turning back not once, but a hundred times, and taking the metro back to Angie's warm abode. That voice came back again and again and told me to be persevere. Reluctantly I obeyed. At this point, I knew this wasn't me, but the voice of the Almighty kept me moving in the right direction. My mind reflected on my dream. For such a time was this. Persevere. Stay. Pay Attention.
As I arrived nearer my destination the crowd of people grew in intensity. True to form, security showed not the least bit of concern with the crowd and corralled people coming and going. Before I was able to comprehend, I was caught in a glut of people coming and going. We were so packed that we were forced to stomp through the knee-high shrubbery lining the office building. Pretty soon I could not move, but more and more people kept coming from both sides. It became so intense. I looked up at this beautiful, tall African-American lady. She had an entourage of three or four men that were shielding her. Looking back, I now believe she was some kind of celebrity. When our eyes met she could see my panic. I began to cry and blubber about being from Hawaii and the fact that I'm not used to crowds. Like an angel, she took my hand and told me not to worry, just keep moving. She never let go through many scary moments where I was crying uncontrollably. It wasn't my best moment, but they got me out. I must have thanked her about 20 times for helping me (my hands are sweating just thinking about this!). I finally got in the blue ticket line. There were military men, all snug and warm in the building, while 20,000 people waiting in this one line. There were no volunteers to give us information. The military men were useless, coming outside in groups of five or six, but congregating and "chatting" together instead of stationing themselves every 25 yards for crowd control. No, their only concern was that President-elect Obama wasn't shot or attacked by terrorists during the ceremony. Our "line" was then spread out on the avenue about 75 people wide and 100s of people deep. There we inched along for three-and-a-half grueling hours, again too close and pressed. By now I was getting within a 100 yards of the security checkpoint. Everyone was getting anxious, wanting to get in the security area before 11:30 a.m. For the second time that morning it was hard not to lose it. People were angry and mad at the inept way they handled this area. Again, the security could care less about us. It was apparent that the "everyman" didn't count. Once we got within a 100 feet of the security gate, we all began to realize that they were funneling us from a space of 75 people wide to a two-person gate. Again, people began to press in. Thankfully no one fell over or they would have been crushed. I wanted to dodge out and leave again, but the voice said "stay." I began to wonder if I came all the way to D.C. to die in this line. I had vivid recollections of soccer fans being crushed to death when thousands of people pressed in from behind. I began to pray God's protection and a hedge of thorns around me and the other people. I asked for God to calm the crowd. The time was also growing close for them to close the gates, so I also prayed if it was God's will that I get in. It was grim at moments, but we were finally about to funnel in and make it through security with only three moments to spare!
By the time we got in, the crowd was, once again, packed like sardines. I found an area on the road that was more open and decided to stay put there. I began to feel hopeful again, but the police were mean and unresponsive to the needs of the crowd as a collective. I felt like a cow going to slaughter. Police vehicles were going up and down the road, whooping their horns as the ceremony began (that's a whole other blog). Also, hundreds of charter buses were lined up on a nearby street to wait hours for their occupants to return. You think those bus drivers would turn off their engines? No, they ALL kept them running, spilling untold diesel fumes into the air the entire time. It was gagging all of us captives. I kept wondering how this was going "green"? Tons of fuel wasted. CO2 filling the air....etc...Guess it didn't matter if we could breathe or not. It was also very noisy.
Back to my story. I still maintained a shred of enthusiasm for the event. I had stayed the course through incredible odds. Within a couple of moments they began introducing the former presidents as they processed in. Jimmy Carter...yeah...then, George Bush Sr. I couldn't believe my ears. There was this vocal minority (not by race, but by the content of their character) in the crowd erupted and began to boo our former leader. No clapping, just booing. Where was the respect? Bill Clinton...yeah. President George W. Bush....louder boos that kept building and building. Many joined in as followers. Then, they sang "Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye" in a taunting manner. (now I place a disclaimer here. I'm sure everyone was not booing or taunting. I know there were respectful people in the crowd, but their unruly party members cast a huge shadow on all of them at this point). My question was, where were their manners? Pastor Rick Warren prayed and several people turned their back on him in disrespect (well, at least they didn't boo him!). Aretha Franklin sang "My Country Tis of Thee" and several woman began to loudly exclaim that they couldn't wait until Obama took office so he could arrest Bush, prosecute him for war crimes and send him to jail. Most of you who know me understand that it's hard to hold my tongue, especially when they were interrupting Aretha. Here I was a Republican who didn't vote for Obama, but I was here to soak in the experience and put my toes in the waters of change to see if it was for me. I turned around and told them this solemn ceremony was neither the time or the place to have this conversation, that people wanted to listen to what was going on. Undaunted, they kept it up. Again, I turned around and said, "Gee, we've been talking this entire week about unity, coming together...that would be a great mandate to give Obama his first week in office. Again, they kept talking and I finally told them to shut up. That did the trick. By then the event had lost its luster. I stayed for the historical swearing in, then began to leave. I turned to the ringleader and told her I was a Republican and how offended I was at her comments, especially during this important ceremony.
Then it dawned on me. I was suppose to hear all of this. I was meant to be a witness at this time. Int his moment. I began to think that people viewing the inauguration on television would not hear what was really going on with the audience. They would only hear the sounds on the stage and the gushing of newscasters. I had paid attention and realize I had witnessed the eruption of a vocal and aggressive group of people whose values or ideologies I definitely do not share. The rocks were falling and began to hit. Many Republicans had jumped party lines to vote for Obama. He is a nice, respectful man. He has charisma. Again, I don't want to lump all people in the Democratic Party in this category, but, when people voted for him, they also cast their vote for this unruly, disrespectful, ill-mannered people and their agenda. They may be in the minority in the Democratic Party, but folks, what I witnessed is that they are ravenous for control and power. They will force themselves and be heard. I left in tears, mourning this new reality. It was worse than being crushed in a sea of people, which is often the unwitting consequence when one follows the crowd. I pray Obama will be wise and keep us all secure.
Today I paid attention.
I was the one a quarter mile away from the U.S. Capitol steps. All was well. Anyone who's been talking with me or reading my blogs know full well I've been excited about the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. I thought it would be the highlight of my trip. I've been anticipating it. That's what I came to Washington D.C. for in the first place. In fact, I was so excited, that I didn't sleep last night. Call it insomnia. Call it anxiety. Call it nerves. I simply couldn't sleep. I left the house at 4 a.m. with Angie. It was freezing cold with a brisk wind that penetrated our very beings, but we were hyped, giggling and laughing as we walked the many blocks from her home. Only the inept security (who, BTW, were only worried about Pres. Obama's safety and seemed unconcerned for the millions of people jamming into the streets and crushing into piles of people they could have helped if they would have opened some barriers to relieve the many security-induced logger jams near the Capitol) kept Angie, who was a volunteer, from getting to her designated location. Undaunted (the problem solvers that we are), we back tracked a few blocks and bore with the crowds to catch the underground metro subway.
We actually got off at the right stop and made our way to her group leader at the Smithsonian Castle on Independence Avenue. By then it was 5 a.m. and the people were pouring in from everywhere. It wasn't long before we the flow of humanity became fast and furious, so we determined the safe thing would be for me to get to my gate a few blocks away.
It was still dark and now I was alone. The cold was unbearable. I thought about turning back not once, but a hundred times, and taking the metro back to Angie's warm abode. That voice came back again and again and told me to be persevere. Reluctantly I obeyed. At this point, I knew this wasn't me, but the voice of the Almighty kept me moving in the right direction. My mind reflected on my dream. For such a time was this. Persevere. Stay. Pay Attention.
As I arrived nearer my destination the crowd of people grew in intensity. True to form, security showed not the least bit of concern with the crowd and corralled people coming and going. Before I was able to comprehend, I was caught in a glut of people coming and going. We were so packed that we were forced to stomp through the knee-high shrubbery lining the office building. Pretty soon I could not move, but more and more people kept coming from both sides. It became so intense. I looked up at this beautiful, tall African-American lady. She had an entourage of three or four men that were shielding her. Looking back, I now believe she was some kind of celebrity. When our eyes met she could see my panic. I began to cry and blubber about being from Hawaii and the fact that I'm not used to crowds. Like an angel, she took my hand and told me not to worry, just keep moving. She never let go through many scary moments where I was crying uncontrollably. It wasn't my best moment, but they got me out. I must have thanked her about 20 times for helping me (my hands are sweating just thinking about this!). I finally got in the blue ticket line. There were military men, all snug and warm in the building, while 20,000 people waiting in this one line. There were no volunteers to give us information. The military men were useless, coming outside in groups of five or six, but congregating and "chatting" together instead of stationing themselves every 25 yards for crowd control. No, their only concern was that President-elect Obama wasn't shot or attacked by terrorists during the ceremony. Our "line" was then spread out on the avenue about 75 people wide and 100s of people deep. There we inched along for three-and-a-half grueling hours, again too close and pressed. By now I was getting within a 100 yards of the security checkpoint. Everyone was getting anxious, wanting to get in the security area before 11:30 a.m. For the second time that morning it was hard not to lose it. People were angry and mad at the inept way they handled this area. Again, the security could care less about us. It was apparent that the "everyman" didn't count. Once we got within a 100 feet of the security gate, we all began to realize that they were funneling us from a space of 75 people wide to a two-person gate. Again, people began to press in. Thankfully no one fell over or they would have been crushed. I wanted to dodge out and leave again, but the voice said "stay." I began to wonder if I came all the way to D.C. to die in this line. I had vivid recollections of soccer fans being crushed to death when thousands of people pressed in from behind. I began to pray God's protection and a hedge of thorns around me and the other people. I asked for God to calm the crowd. The time was also growing close for them to close the gates, so I also prayed if it was God's will that I get in. It was grim at moments, but we were finally about to funnel in and make it through security with only three moments to spare!
By the time we got in, the crowd was, once again, packed like sardines. I found an area on the road that was more open and decided to stay put there. I began to feel hopeful again, but the police were mean and unresponsive to the needs of the crowd as a collective. I felt like a cow going to slaughter. Police vehicles were going up and down the road, whooping their horns as the ceremony began (that's a whole other blog). Also, hundreds of charter buses were lined up on a nearby street to wait hours for their occupants to return. You think those bus drivers would turn off their engines? No, they ALL kept them running, spilling untold diesel fumes into the air the entire time. It was gagging all of us captives. I kept wondering how this was going "green"? Tons of fuel wasted. CO2 filling the air....etc...Guess it didn't matter if we could breathe or not. It was also very noisy.
Back to my story. I still maintained a shred of enthusiasm for the event. I had stayed the course through incredible odds. Within a couple of moments they began introducing the former presidents as they processed in. Jimmy Carter...yeah...then, George Bush Sr. I couldn't believe my ears. There was this vocal minority (not by race, but by the content of their character) in the crowd erupted and began to boo our former leader. No clapping, just booing. Where was the respect? Bill Clinton...yeah. President George W. Bush....louder boos that kept building and building. Many joined in as followers. Then, they sang "Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye" in a taunting manner. (now I place a disclaimer here. I'm sure everyone was not booing or taunting. I know there were respectful people in the crowd, but their unruly party members cast a huge shadow on all of them at this point). My question was, where were their manners? Pastor Rick Warren prayed and several people turned their back on him in disrespect (well, at least they didn't boo him!). Aretha Franklin sang "My Country Tis of Thee" and several woman began to loudly exclaim that they couldn't wait until Obama took office so he could arrest Bush, prosecute him for war crimes and send him to jail. Most of you who know me understand that it's hard to hold my tongue, especially when they were interrupting Aretha. Here I was a Republican who didn't vote for Obama, but I was here to soak in the experience and put my toes in the waters of change to see if it was for me. I turned around and told them this solemn ceremony was neither the time or the place to have this conversation, that people wanted to listen to what was going on. Undaunted, they kept it up. Again, I turned around and said, "Gee, we've been talking this entire week about unity, coming together...that would be a great mandate to give Obama his first week in office. Again, they kept talking and I finally told them to shut up. That did the trick. By then the event had lost its luster. I stayed for the historical swearing in, then began to leave. I turned to the ringleader and told her I was a Republican and how offended I was at her comments, especially during this important ceremony.
Then it dawned on me. I was suppose to hear all of this. I was meant to be a witness at this time. Int his moment. I began to think that people viewing the inauguration on television would not hear what was really going on with the audience. They would only hear the sounds on the stage and the gushing of newscasters. I had paid attention and realize I had witnessed the eruption of a vocal and aggressive group of people whose values or ideologies I definitely do not share. The rocks were falling and began to hit. Many Republicans had jumped party lines to vote for Obama. He is a nice, respectful man. He has charisma. Again, I don't want to lump all people in the Democratic Party in this category, but, when people voted for him, they also cast their vote for this unruly, disrespectful, ill-mannered people and their agenda. They may be in the minority in the Democratic Party, but folks, what I witnessed is that they are ravenous for control and power. They will force themselves and be heard. I left in tears, mourning this new reality. It was worse than being crushed in a sea of people, which is often the unwitting consequence when one follows the crowd. I pray Obama will be wise and keep us all secure.
This post was not meant to offend anyone. I know many of you are in the Democratic Party and would never dream of acting like this. I respect you. I know I live in harmony and unity with most of you. This was not the blog I had planned for today. However, my plan did not count. If it had, I would have headed for a warmer environment and not been there at all.
Aloha,
Karen
Karen
Alas Karen, you may be finding out what I have been saying since the beginning of November. This election has not shown how progressive or tolerant America is, but rather how very racist America has become. When we vote for a man because of the color of his skin, whether that be white or black or anything inbetween, we are racists. I fear that many people got caught up in the historical nature of this election and forgot to look at the substance of the man they were electing. In a few very short years, if presidential promises are fulfilled, our money will be worthless, our morality will be bankrupt, our military will be inept and we will pay dearly for having so flippantly treated our prized right to vote. I am heartedly ashamed of America, not because we chose Obama to be our president, but because so many people voted for him largely on the basis of color (which can be shown through voting demographic statistics and other means). May God forgive us and save us.
ReplyDeleteGood grief, what a complete nightmare. I'm so sorry you had this experience. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff -- the crushing, the disorganization -- is no suprise. It's textbook D.C. dysfunction. With the D.C. police, Park Police, Capitol Police, Secret Service, National Guard and god knows who else "in charge," it sounds like the usual Keystone Kops fiasco.
ReplyDeleteI talked to a girl on the Metro (also a disaster) about the fact that many people who had tickets were turned away. A woman I work with shared a similar experience -- her sister-in-law came from Massachusetts, with a purple ticket, but stood in line in a tunnel for FOUR HOURS without getting anywhere near her designated seat. Even though she and others got up at the crack of dawn and did as they were told.
I hope that these issues will be explored in the next few days. This town had one chance to get it right, and it blew it in many respects.
As for the booing, very tacky indeed, I agree completely. This is hardly unity -- it has to work from all angles. Or it's just hypocrisy.
That said, I hope you take away *some* nice memories of your visit! It was historic, but obviously in some unintended ways.
-- Leslie