Let me preface this entire discussion with: Had I known about the vigil/protest/rally in Lafayette Park on Sunday night, I would have been there, but I didn’t find out about it until it was too late.
Well, maybe not a riot, but indulge me. I am not much of a peace vigil/protest kind of gal, never have been. I’m not sure they serve any real practical purpose, but that’s what’s great about America - you can go out and do such things without worrying about someone breaking down your door in the middle of the night and shooting you in the head for your troubles. (Thought on my more cynical days I do wonder if the current administration isn’t hard at work on that little problem…)
That being said, with not one, but two vigils scheduled last night, I decided to head up into DC to see one of these up close and personal and see what it was all about, and on a decidedly selfish note, to see if I couldn’t snag a few decent pictures of it all. So, I got home from the gym, cleaned up and headed out, camera & directions in hand.
First stop, the C Street entrance to the Department of State via the Foggy Bottom Metro stop. This vigil was organized by Amnesty International and was billed as a “Vigil for Ceasefire in Lebanon/Israel Conflict”. While I’ve never been officially affiliated with AI, I’ve never really had any problems with their work either. The event was scheduled to run from 4:30 to 6:30. I was running a little late, but but figured things would be in full swing by the time I got there. I stepped out of the Metro station at 5:30 and saw two groups of people coming back with AI stickers on their shirts. Given that it’s a 15 minute walk from Foggy Bottom to State, this means AI hadn’t been able to hold their attention for more than 45 minutes or that the cops had already shooed them off.
Undaunted, I headed over to State anyway. When I arrived at the C Street entrance there were only a few stragglers left, with “Don’t Invade Iran” t-shirts & posters. Well, there’s your problem - this may be a town full of multi-taskers, but they’re not so much into cross-demonstrations. If you come out for an Israel/Lebanon peace vigil, you’re not looking for an anti-Iranian-invasion rally. I lost a little respect for AI on the bait and switch tactics there.
I had some time to kill until the next round and decided to wander around a bit and eventually headed over to the White House & Lafayette Park. Way back in the day Lafayette Park was the protest spot, given it’s location directly across from the White House, with usually at least 2 or 3 groups out at any given time protesting something. I’d forgotten about the sanitizing efforts that have gone on over the past few years, and now it’s basically dead. Just one small group that’s been there as long as I can remember, and that’s it. I liked it better when it was an actual living example of freedom of speech in this country.
Wandered around some more, and then back on the metro and up to the Israeli Embassy, supposed site of vigil #2 of the day, scheduled to kickoff at 7PM. I got there at 7:15, and if there had been a vigil or any attempt at it, the Mossad obviously took care of it and scrubbed any evidence of it’s existence. (I’m more inclined to think it simply didn’t materialize.) But, all was not lost as I still had some daylight and wandered up Van Ness a little farther and looked at all the pretty houses.
Did get a few pics during my hikes:
Statue near Virginia & Constitution:
Organization of American States:
The White House
The lone protestors in Lafayette Park:
