Friday, January 9, 2009
2008 / Politics Stay Away, Dixieland
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Fri, Jan 9, 2009 at 9:50 AM
Never mind that Virginia was the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. Or that it was here that representative democracy took its first fledgling steps in the New World. When Virginians learned that the U.S. Secret Service and other top officials had decided to bar personal vehicles from every bridge from the commonwealth into the District on Inauguration Day, many felt the underlying message to them was this: Drop dead.... Maryland, in contrast, has no planned road closures.
The Secret Service calls it logistics, state representatives call bullshit, everyone starts talking about the Civil War again. (But when are they not talking about the Civil War in Virginia?)
Read the rest of the story here.
Footnote: Thinking back on this story about Virginia, Obama, and politics in the Great Dismal Swamp, I found these new facts:
Before and during the American Civil War, the Great Dismal Swamp was a hideout for runaway slaves from the surrounding area. Some people believe there were at least a thousand slaves living in the swamp. This was the subject of Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp, Harriet Beecher Stowe's follow-on to Uncle Tom's Cabin.As a young man, poet Robert Frost once traveled down from New England to the Dismal Swamp, with the suicidal intention of getting lost and perishing in the swamp as a reaction to a romantic disappointment. He was rescued by a party of hunters, and returned home; a few years later he married the young woman who had spurned him.
If you're going to choose a swamp to get lost and die in, the Great Dismal Swamp is an excellent choice.
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1
I love geographical features that have names like the Great Dismal Swamp. I mean come on, how awesome is that?
2
"But when are they not talking about the Civil War in Virginia?"
No kidding. I went to high school in Virginia, and I don't think my American history class ever made it past the Civil War.
No kidding. I went to high school in Virginia, and I don't think my American history class ever made it past the Civil War.
3
In Virginia they talk about The War Against Northern Aggression. In Maryland it's The War for Southern Independence. And every now and again a Virginia waterman shows up dead in Maryland waters in remembrance of the Oyster Wars.
4
This is a concern over the bridges over the Potomac since they are the closest to the White House, the Capitol and the National Mall, not an anti-Virginia bias. What a bunch of morons.
5
Furthermore, the bridges over the Anacostia river aren't from Maryland to D.C., because that part of the river is in D.C.
6
I am a Northern Virginian. The article is working up a minority reaction I am sure. My thoughts echo the quote at the bottom of the article.
"It barely works in a normal workday, right?" said Zimmerman, who also is a member of the Arlington County Board. "If they didn't do this, nobody would be moving."
Having to deal with getting across the bridges (that lead straight into the parade route) all the time, we no it had NOTHING to do with the Civil War. Who fucking cares about the civil war in Northern Virginia anymore?
"It barely works in a normal workday, right?" said Zimmerman, who also is a member of the Arlington County Board. "If they didn't do this, nobody would be moving."
Having to deal with getting across the bridges (that lead straight into the parade route) all the time, we no it had NOTHING to do with the Civil War. Who fucking cares about the civil war in Northern Virginia anymore?
7
Good move.
Too many racists and loony tunes down there - force them to walk and you have time to profile the shooters.
Too many racists and loony tunes down there - force them to walk and you have time to profile the shooters.
8
I live in Virginia, but I was raised in New England. I was aware of much more white supremacy in CT than in VA. Some of the most racist things I've ever heard came out of the mouths of kids I went to high school with in Stamford, CT. There are stupid people everywhere. Northern Virginia (or nova as we call it) has lots of problems, but the whole racist south thing just doesn't apply.
I was planning to attend the inauguration until Obama chose Warren to speak. Now I'm not so excited anymore. This bridge business just seals the deal.
I was planning to attend the inauguration until Obama chose Warren to speak. Now I'm not so excited anymore. This bridge business just seals the deal.
9
I should add that this makes sense to me, even though it rubs me the wrong way. NoVa/DC traffic is terrible as it is on a normal day. There has been so much unchecked development in towns like Arlington in recent years that the normal rush hour traffic is a nightmare. If everyone who wanted to attend the inauguration were on those roads too, it would be a parking lot.
10
Speaking as a northern Virginian, this decision is pretty logical and it makes no sense at all for people to say they're being blocked from attending--of course you can attend, if you want to go through the (sure-to-be-tremendous) hassle. You just have to take a bus or the Metro, like you should have been planning to do anyway if you're not a crazy person.
11
Clearlyhere had it right-- Northern Virginia could give two shits about the Civil War. Kiley is just taking the easy potshot, and looking dumb in the process.
Believe it or not, Virginia is a pretty complicated and modern place. We have flush toilets, cell-yoo-lar telly-phones, and everything.
Of course the Civil War was a pretty big deal in both Virginia and the bulk of the Eastern Seaboard (Big Deal=fields strewn with corpses, POW camps, massive fires, poverty, starvation, social collapse). Unsurprisingly, it played a major part in molding the character of the place and its people. Seattle, in contrast, was practically a logging depot at the time of the civil war.
As for racism, if you look at the actual statistics that measure segregation, you'll see that Seattle is far more segregated than a typical Northern Virginia city like Manassas. (http://www.censusscope.org/segregation.h…) Sure there's racism there, but there's racism here, and every damn day we get a little closer to where we're going.
Quit being a douchebag, Kiley.
PS-You'd have to be an idiot to WANT to drive into DC on inauguration day. It's a total clusterfuck every time, just like 4th of July. That's why god made public transportation.
Believe it or not, Virginia is a pretty complicated and modern place. We have flush toilets, cell-yoo-lar telly-phones, and everything.
Of course the Civil War was a pretty big deal in both Virginia and the bulk of the Eastern Seaboard (Big Deal=fields strewn with corpses, POW camps, massive fires, poverty, starvation, social collapse). Unsurprisingly, it played a major part in molding the character of the place and its people. Seattle, in contrast, was practically a logging depot at the time of the civil war.
As for racism, if you look at the actual statistics that measure segregation, you'll see that Seattle is far more segregated than a typical Northern Virginia city like Manassas. (http://www.censusscope.org/segregation.h…) Sure there's racism there, but there's racism here, and every damn day we get a little closer to where we're going.
Quit being a douchebag, Kiley.
PS-You'd have to be an idiot to WANT to drive into DC on inauguration day. It's a total clusterfuck every time, just like 4th of July. That's why god made public transportation.
12
"If you're going to choose a swamp to get lost and die in, the Great Dismal Swamp is an excellent choice."
If you're going to choose a swamp to get lost and die in, the Great Dismal Transitional Intertidal Wetland Biome, not so much.
If you're going to choose a swamp to get lost and die in, the Great Dismal Transitional Intertidal Wetland Biome, not so much.
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