THE PLANK JANUARY 20, 2009
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I cannot even imagine the logistical skill and dedication required to pull off an event of today's magnitude. And, given the million-plus emotional people I just watched on the Mall via my DVR, much of the inaugural planning was clearly successful. But there was a massive breakdown of planning--what little of it there appears to have been--for those folks who had Purple tickets to this morning's festivities.
The 240,000 people who had tickets to the inauguration were each assigned to a color-coded section (Yellow, Blue, Purple, etc.) and told to go through security at a specific gate around the Capitol. By 9:00 a.m., my wife and I had arrived at the staging area for the Purple Gate. Tens of thousands of people were snaking in a rough line that started at the entrance on 1st Street and Constitution, stretched down into a tunnel at 3rd and D Streets, NW, and peaked all the way out the other end and kept going. For hours, we stood in this line, which moved ahead in spurts just frequent enough to keep us from growing too impatient even though we were underground. Spirits were high, and the line was relatively orderly despite the lack of police officers or other officials to control the crowd. But let me repeat that last part: In a tunnel filled with thousands of people, we saw not a single cop, inauguration worker, or EMT over the course of several hours.
As 11:00 approached, and the ticket-holders around us were becoming increasingly anxious that they would not be admitted to the Mall, we were still underground. Graffiti thumbed into the dirt on the tile walls read "Free the Tunnel!" Finally, the line, which by this time had widened to fill the tunnel from wall to wall as order broke down, surged forward. We emerged into the light, only to find that there was no line to speak of any more--just a single undifferentiated mass of people trying to force themselves around a corner and down 1st Street toward the Purple Gate. With no one directing pedestrians--I still had yet to see a single official of any kind--people packed together so tightly that you could not change direction and leave if you wanted to.
Soon it became clear that the gate had been shut. No one was being admitted to the Purple section. Thousands of people within sight of the Capitol were essentially stuck, with those in front either trying to retreat or hoping the gate would re-open, while those behind continued to push forward. Soon someone standing on top of a car said that one block east, officials had opened an impromptu gate and were letting ticket-holders through in twos and threes. The crowd tried to push that way but because there was little space and no coordination, we were just jammed together tighter and tighter. So we shuffled, clearing perhaps a couple feet every two minutes or so. Then we heard a thin, barely amplified voice offering our first official direction: It was announced that only ticket-holders would be let in. The crowd roared. "We all have tickets, you moron!" one man shouted. Dozens of people held their tickets up in the air, while others chanted "Let. Us. In!" or simply "Pur-ple! Pur-ple!"
The crowd turned agitated. A man with an iPhone announced that Biden had just been sworn in--as it was, even though the Capitol was within sight, we could hear nothing. The gate seemed so close, but people packed every inch of the 50-yard radius around the gate. We moved a few more feet. The only sign that there was an inauguration just a few hundred yards away were the Obama-pin wearing people on every side trying to elbow you out of the way. Then, peering over the heads of those in front of me, I saw the ad hoc gate begin to close. The man with the iPhone asked everyone to quiet down. People held cell phones to their ears and through the tinny broadcast of half a dozen mobiles, I tried to listen as Barack Obama took the oath of office. A boom went off as the Army began its salute. A couple people cheered weakly, while others grumbled and a few cried, having come to Washington without even being able to watch the ceremony on a JumboTron.
So it was with not a little anger that I read Capitol Police chief Phillip Morse's contention that every ticket-holder had been admitted to the inauguration. Even though he later reversed his comments, acknowledging that "some" folks hadn't gotten in, he should note that thousands of people had not gotten in, and, worse, there was apparently no attempt at security or crowd control. It was an extremely dangerous situation--a mob catastrophe waiting to happen--that was both foreseeable and preventable. And for many of those who came to the Mall today hoping to witness history, it was a sad and ironic moment--that they were among the few Americans who couldn't watch today's inauguration.
11 comments
Another quality breakdown. These people will never vote American again.
- CRS9TNR
January 20, 2009 at 7:50pm
My girlfriend and I were purple ticket holders as well, and we can confirm everything you said. The situation was beyond frustrating. We flew in from Washington state specifically to see the historical moment in action, but instead we spent the entire inauguration waiting in line having no idea what was going on. I realize that there were a lot of people there, but they knew how many tickets had been given out, and to not have the resources to get us all in was, in my opinion, inexcusable.
Probably the worst part of it all (except the not getting in part of course) was the fact that there was no one to give information. As you said there were no cops or inauguration workers, no one to let us know what was going on. The only updates we got were from the large number of frustrated people walking past us as they left the line, reports that were often false.
I thought I was in for a day I would never forget. Unfortunately, I was right, I will always remember January 20, 2009 as the day I DIDN'T get to see Barack Obama's inauguration.
- mysantamonica
January 20, 2009 at 7:55pm
I was a silver ticket holder (for the area right behind the purple section), and the exact same thing nearly happened to us. Fortunately, we were finally admitted at roughly 11:50, when, UNfortunately, the police seemed to abandon the idea of "security" altogether: My ticket was NEVER checked by a Capitol Hill Police officer.
I missed Biden's oath, but I'm grateful to have caught Obama's oath while standing in the middle of silver section (even if it appears that I could've gotten in without a ticket).
- prendergast
January 20, 2009 at 9:00pm
Here's my take on it:
1] purple, when you first get up in the morning with a hangover, can, in certain light, be mistaken for dark pink
2] all of the people with purple tickets were gays there to hector rick warren
3] rick warren had God's permission to keep them out
4] Chief Philip Morse is an agnostic and was ambivalent about it
Now, whether Barry was in on this, I can't say. God knows, eh?
gw
- iambiguous
January 20, 2009 at 10:01pm
I experienced everything here and can confirm the CF that was the purple gate.
- mschol17
January 21, 2009 at 9:01am
Blue ticket holder here. Arrived to Washington Avenue at 9:30. Moved about 100 ft in 2 hours, realized that I wasn't getting in, and went home and watched on my couch. I want a full postmortem from the police. This was unacceptable.
- ischultz
January 21, 2009 at 10:59am
I can confirm that this entry is completely true, many thousands of patient folks were left standing out of the gate with their purple ticket on hand after waiting well over four hours. Several people standing in line were injured, some taken in ambulance, and there was absolutely no information about gate status or options. At one point one cop was trying to communicate with another across the mass of people, and they didn't even know what channel to communicate on.
- ElmYgl
January 21, 2009 at 12:53pm
If this story sounds familiar, join the Facebook Group, "Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom": www.facebook.com/group.php
Nearly 1,700 strong at 5:40 p.m. EST.
--Sacha
- tnr1.com
January 21, 2009 at 5:40pm
Peter Scoblic nailed it. The chaos in the 3rd street tunnel was exactly as he described it. But could this chaos have been symptomatic of something much worse than poor planning and a lack of trained personnel to guide the crowd through the gates? It now appears unquestionable that tens of thousands more tickets were circulated than there was space to accommodate the ticket holders. This, from an inauguration committee manpowered by the same efficient campaign workers and strategists that spearheaded Obama to the presidency. How is it that after commandeering massive campaign rallies around the world with streamlined perfection, they miscalculated this pinnacle event so extravagantly?
The inauguration committee was under extreme pressure to provide tickets for a nation of citizens who had given large sums of their hard earned dollars and hours of their time and labor to help Obama win the election. There are thirteen million supporters on Obama's email list, a large number of whom felt entitled to tickets. Add those to the tickets owed to every political office holder and local political worker in every state in the U. S. and you end up with much more demand than there are square meters on the mall.
The committee's obligation to the public was to resist demands and pressure. Obama has promised us an administration that will not operate along old Washington power lines and that will stand up to lobbyists and power brokers. Caving in on a matter as trivial as a supply of tickets was spineless and the committee should admit their accountability. They owe the pissed purple ticket holders and the blue ticket holders and the silver ticket holders a public apology.
- Laura Alter Klapman
January 22, 2009 at 1:22am
Today's follow up: the Washington Post published an email address for the "pissed purple (and blue and silver) people" to contact in order to receive an apology and a compensatory packet. I mused that somebody on the congressional committee read my comment above and was making an attempt to set things right. I immediately submitted my name and address as instructed. In response, I received an email message saying, "The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now". Can it really be that the correction is a mere repeat of the original debacle?
- Laura Alter Klapman
January 23, 2009 at 3:51pm
Today's follow up: the Washington Post published an email address for the "pissed purple (and blue and silver) people" to contact in order to receive an apology and a compensatory packet. I mused that somebody on the congressional committee read my comment above and was making an attempt to set things right. I immediately submitted my name and address as instructed. In response, I received an email message saying, "The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now". Can it really be that the correction is a mere repeat of the original debacle?
- Laura Alter Klapman
January 23, 2009 at 3:51pm