And I thought the problem with the Obama Inauguration Show was that it reeked of pretensions to monarchy, complete with seemingly millions of fawning and worshipful subjects, all encouraged by the fawning media (which brought us 5 unbearable nights and days of Inauguration Show coverage because for 5 nights and days there was no other news!). But as it turned out, there was much more wrong than that. But you sure didn't hear about the plight of lowly ticket holders on the cable news channels, cause the 'journalists' all had front row seats to The Show and the 'journalists' were busily fawning over the
The Purple Tunnel of Doom
Of the many reports surfacing of would-be inaugural spectators denied entrance to the National Mall, this one definitely takes the cake: A nightmarish scene inside what is being called the Purple Tunnel of Doom.
Writing on ForeignPolicy.com, Marc Lynch has the sad tale:
I went to the show with a few friends who received excellent Purple tickets as a reward for untold hours volunteering as foreign policy advisers for the Obama campaign. We got down to the security checkpoint for the Purple section bright and early (I left home at 4 AM), and were guided into a long tunnel which had been closed to traffic.
We waited in line for nearly four hours, in a claustrophobic tunnel with no porta-potties, no food or drink, and not a single official or volunteer in sight. Finally, we got within sight of the Purple Gate -- only to find that it had been closed. Thousands of people in front of us hadn't gotten in (not that anyone bothered to tell the people languishing in the tunnel that the gate had been closed, mind you). Thousands of purple ticket holders were behind us. It's remarkable that there wasn't a riot. I rode the metro home with a lot of people who had been turned away, including an elderly African-American woman muttering over and over to herself that it had been one of the worst experiences of her life.
Facebook: Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom
firedoglake: Worst. Inauguration. Ever.
HeraldNet: Purple tickets no help in getting into inauguration - After waiting for up to eight hours packed together outside in below freezing temperatures, thousands of ticketholders were turned away from the inauguration Tuesday. via
The Plank: Purple People Pissed
TalkLeft: Tunnels of Gloom
Purple, Silver, Blue Ticket Holders Turned Away
Politics News Barack Obama Inauguration Disaster Purple Tunnel Of Doom
