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There’s no question the failure to establish a perimeter around the Capitol complex was an enormous (if not the central) failure on Jan. 6.
But it is worth considering what we stand to symbolically lose by putting up a permanent fence around the People’s House. (1/) https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1354871296664993795
But it is worth considering what we stand to symbolically lose by putting up a permanent fence around the People’s House. (1/) https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1354871296664993795
Right now, the Capitol complex is designed to be accessible to Americans. There is a lawn in the front where local parents take their children to go sledding. The trails around the building and across the green spaces are popular with runners. (2/)
Schoolchildren who come from all over the country to visit Washington step out of buses in the circle down in front of the Capitol and can walk right to the foot of the steps. (3/)
The office buildings are even more accessible, as of course the people’s right to lobby their government for redress of grievances is enshrined in the Constitution.
And groups often did. (4/)
And groups often did. (4/)
You’ve seen footage of Capitol Police arresting peaceful protestors who occupied hearing rooms to advocate for all manner of causes; people opposing Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court took over the Hart Atrium in a nonviolent protest. (5/)
(Let's point out: Every one of these people went through x-ray screening and entered the building lawfully, even if they were eventually arrested inside.) (6/)
But if the goal is for the fence to be able to keep people from accessing the Capitol, it’s possible the would have to encircle the entire Capitol campus, though of course they could choose just to encircle the U.S. Capitol itself. (7/)
But even just a fence around the Capitol itself would dramatically change the democratic character of the building, the nature of the surrounding neighborhood and, really, send a stark message to the world about American democracy. (8/)
If they leave the razor wire in place or top permanent structures with such wire, that message is all the more ominous. (END)
(POSTSCRIPT: I go to work at the Capitol. I'm really struggling, personally, with what happened Jan. 6. I want to be safe and I want the cops and lawmakers to be safe. The fact that this is a conundrum makes me heartsick. I don't know what the answer is.)
