Thursday, June 5, 2008

dc's very own gulags!


Remember when I compared DC's gnarliest architecture to that of the former Soviet Union? Well, that was then. This is now:

DC police will seal off entire neighborhoods, set up checkpoints and kick out strangers under a new program that DC officials hope will help them rescue the city from its out-of-control violence.
That sentence (from a June 4 Examiner article, which I found via Beyond DC) blows my previous comparison out of the proverbial water vodka. DC really is f*cking soviet! Now, in a rare full disclosure moment, I'll reveal that I'm not too keen on U.S. history, but I am aware of a little document called THE CONSTITUTION. And not to go all Ron Paul on you, but doesn't it seem a tad UNCONSTITUTIONAL to cordon off selected neighborhoods, set up checkpoints and control who comes in and out of public space?

"I’m not worried about the constitutionality of it," said DC's interim Attorney General Peter Nickles. "This is a very targeted program that has been used in other cities."
Yeah. Other cities like Leningrad, Stalingrad and East Berlin. And while DC city officials have clearly lost their minds, some area citizens, such as Shelley Broderick, president of the DC-area American Civil Liberties Union and dean of the University of the District of Columbia's law school, are with me on my sensible analogy:
"I think they tried this in Russia and it failed," said Broderick.
Yeah. It did. Miserably. Fool me once, shame on me; fool me twice, shame on you. Or is it, live in a police state once, shame on me; live in a police state twice, shame on DC?

5 comments:

Shannon said...

The funniest part is that they're only stopping vehicles. Bikers and pedestrians aren't being questioned. So, Marissa, if you want to pedal on over to Trinidad and do up some graffiti, there's nothing to stop you!

Anonymous said...

Wow. I mean I wanted a response, but not in Stalin style. Yeesh. Leave it to DC to do something completely asinine. No wonder we don't get the vote, heh.

Also, yes... Horatio is named after the one, the only, Horatio Caine.

Anonymous said...

I say we take another look at the glory that is the Motherland and amend Shelley's statement to:

"I think they tried this in Russia and it worked like gangbusters,"
pv

KRIS said...

ah another memory to be added to
Museum of Communism's
collection...

Marissa said...

shannon--

That would make an interesting blog idea.

liz--

Ha! Yes! I missed the finale of CSI: Miami, though. I hear it ended with a nice cliffhanger. Must see TV.

pv--

Once again, you have left me speechless.

sg--

Wow. That museum looks kind of awesome. Although, the best part is the map showing you how to find it. The juxtaposition between the big red star and the Golden Arches has to be intentional.