If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be a part of your American Revolution
Posted by: Will Sommer in Crime, District News
He never sleeps…
Irony and flash mobs collided in an unfortunate way two few weeks ago at the Jefferson Memorial when a small group of twenty-something libertarians decided to commemorate Jefferson’s 265th birthday. They celebrated the agrarian republic-lover by dancing silently (each equipped with their own iPhones or iPods) at his memorial at midnight on April 13.
The geekphoria was dashed when one of the faithful was told she couldn’t dance there, and then arrested for asking why not. One guy had a video camera and caught the whole process on tape–it’s troublesome, and not just because libertarians can’t dance.
In the video, no one is being disrespectful or disorderly. The monuments are open 24/7, and the libertarians planned to come out at night so as not to disrupt tourists yelling on their cell phones or rowdy school groups. As the officer leads the arrested woman out of the rotunda, the videographer asks him to “Read these walls, I mean, you’re the security guard for this memorial. Thomas Jefferson is looking down and he is very dissatisfied. This is not the America he wanted.”
Satisfying Thomas Jefferson’s whims, projected through an unflinching stone gaze, must be difficult. But while it’s troubling that the officers arrested someone for peacefully and quietly celebrating, it’ll be worse if they don’t withdraw the charges in court this Tuesday. Maybe the guard misunderstood what kinds of activities people could do at the monuments (which are technically public property), but they should be able to admit their mistake and not prosecute her further. There’s no reason why Washingtonians should be afraid to have gatherings/protests/birthday parties of any peaceful kind on monument ground when it’s well within their rights.
-Sara Carothers, Voices editor. Photo from Flickr user Subtleness.
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April 27th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I read a story once about exhibitionists who had sex in the Jefferson Memorial. That they weren’t arrested and this woman was speaks to the state of America today.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Will, if I’m not mistaken that story was in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, so I’m not sure how seriuosly we can take their law enforcement.
I feel like there’s a dance dance revolution joke to be made here somehwere….
April 28th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Dude. They didn’t actually have sex at the monuments in STP — she lost it to the artist, duh.
But seriously, I can’t believe someone got arrested for this.