Is the fence around the Washington Monument a ploy? Tomorrow's rally.

[Bertha Venation]

http://www.nps.gov/wamo/ "THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT REMAINS OPEN; HOWEVER, THE GROUNDS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR RE-LANDSCAPING AND SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS. PLEASE ENTER THE MONUMENT FROM OUR 15TH STREET ACCESS."

I pulled this post of mine from another thread; it was kinda buried, and I'm curious about what others think.

This isn't paranoia; it's curiosity.

About tomorrow's rally & march:

I drive past the Washington Memorial twice a day. I suppose there are ways to get around the 8-ft tall whitewashed wooden wall that's been erected around it, but I don't know where the gates are, if there are any. I'd guess that the wall encompasses roughly 3-4 football fields of space around the obelisk. I have been wondering for weeks what form this protest is going to take, when it's set to begin there: at what is perhaps the country's most recognizable geographic rallying point, currently walled off from its citizens.

I admire anyone who has the energy and drive to march. (I have the heart but not the other requisites for physical protest.) I hope with all my heart that the protests tomorrow are wildly successful. For weeks, though, I've wondered if maybe the Bush Administration strong-armed the NPS into doing this "re-landscaping" as a viable blind, and the DHS began its "security enhancements," at about the time when more & more People are finally beginning to see what a fraud Bush is.

:tinfoilhat: ? Nah... not really. Just curious. Stranger things have happened.

[youngred]

1. No, its been there for awhile

It has NOTHING to do with Tomorrow's protest. it's for "security" (like anyone's going to blow up that when there are much easier and better targets right there). It is highly annoying and ugly. it's disrupted what was once a gorgeous walk from the Lincoln to the Captiol. i wish they would get rid of them.

The only approach open is from the Captiol side, if coming from the Lincoln side you have to walk all the way around. Stupid parks service.

PS I'll be there tomorrow and post a thread about it

[Bertha Venation]

4. I wasn't clear. :(

I implied that I thought it was there because of today's protest. I was thinking more of protests in general. The mall is the gathering place; the Monument, frequently the focal point. If you're the Bush Administration, and want to minimize loud public dissent, take away the rallying point.

I'm looking forward to reading all protesting DUer's accounts of the day. :kick:

[thebigidea]

2. and now, some lyrics from the Sun City Girls

"Yeah, I'm gonna bust my Uncle Sam
you never thought - but I did.
Hit the source, dam the bad river -
cloudy muddy river of no return...
the washington monument's the prick of the world
the washington monument's the prick of the world
I've lived here,
I've studied -
and I have learned...
the washington monument's the prick of the world.
Awww, you make it seem sooo... ORGASMIC!"

So how obtrusive is the barrier? I was hoping on doing some filming this weekend around it with the full assortment of Bush crony masks...

[youngred]

3. it goes all the way around the monument

with no entrances or exits

[ShaneGR]

5. Dude, its been planned for two years......