7 Reasons Why I Wasn't Going to Obama's Inauguration...But Went Anyways

From aerial photos of Obama's Inauguration, an estimated 2 million people braved the 20 degree, sunny weather to celebrate the inauguration of America's first African American President. My husband and I took a walk about around 10:30 am about an hour before Obama was to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States just to check out the crowds fully intending to come home and watch the inauguration on TV. But we ended up in a prime viewing location just off the Mall close to The National Museum of the American Indian.

It didn't dawn on me till I thought about it later, the relevance of where we were standing. As a Canadian of Japanese descent, my family like the First Nations people of Canada have suffered from racism. 67 years ago, my parents would never have been able to be standing where I was standing. Having been stripped of their possessions, they would not have had the money nor been allowed to travel at the time when they were interned shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

I read about a trek by one of the Native leaders from British Columbia, Shawn Atleo, regional chief of the Ahousaht who came to Obama's inauguration to represent the Nuuchahnulth Tribe in British Columbia. "How audacious for this country to elect an African American. We came because we felt this was important for indigenous peoples not only in America, but globally. It's important for humanity. I think we share the responsibility with him. That's the point. No one, individually, will be able to acomplish the vision set forth of returning to global peace and prosperity. I see people prepared to take the challenge of citizenship nationally, and I am saying, tribally." Navajo Times

Beyond just representing African Americans, President Obama represents all people of color, to all nationalities and regardless of race makes all of us believe that anything and everything is possible in our lifetime. President of the National Congress of the American Indian, Joe Garcia elaborates further on Obama's significance "He speaks the truth about where we have been, where we are now, and most importantly where we are going in the future. We need to be a group. We need to be all inclusive. We, Alaska Native and American Indians, have endured. We have persevered. But we must also be solvers..."

James M. Thresher-James A. Parcell, The Washington Post

My husband and I live only about a short 30 minute walk from the Mall. No crowds could be spotted up the street from our house outside the metro station (A) at Southwest DC near the Waterfront. So we kept walking towards the Mall past parked tour buses. But once we got close to the Mall, we were absolutely captivated and mesmerized by the volumes of people who came out to celebrate. Incredible.

Many people were directed to walk towards the Washington Monument but we headed towards the Capitol and ended up with a prime viewing spot (B) close to the American Indian Museum and US National Botanic Garden. Below is a link to pictures from our vantage point which we later found out was close to the Mall entrance for Silver inauguration ticket holders (red dot).

As a resident of D.C., I'd like to extend my sincerest of apologies to all Silver, Blue, Purple inauguration ticket holders who spent a frustrating day not getting to see the inauguration. I feel terrible for you especially if you travelled long distances, paid exhorbitant hotel rates, woke up very early in the morning, were stuck in the now infamous tunnel or walked along the highway in your attempts to attend.

Image Source: Google Maps

On our way to the Mall, we looked over a highway overpass. It looked like a surreal movie scene, something you'd see out out of a movie like Independence Day where people are walking en masse along highways with very little traffic but filled with bodies.

Image Source: People Pack the Mall for Inauguration, washingtonpost.com

Every ten or so minutes, a wave of people would be admitted en masse onto the Mall. It was fairly orderly until just shortly before the inauguration, a surge of frantic people started pushing and shoving.

I found an elbow in my back and we were getting jostled. It was so packed, I felt hemmed in and bit claustrophic. My husband yelled at the guy beside him to "quit pushing". Equally exasperated, the guy apologized and said he couldn't help it because the people behind him were shoving him. Just as my husband was going to call it quits, a wave of people squeezed past us and onto the mall. At that point, the police very calmly employed a series of vehicles as a makeshift barrier to prevent more ticket holders from crowding into the area.

There was no yelling. And in fact if the DC police take flak, I'd like to point out that there was a DC police woman driving one of the vans who while keeping a watchful eye on the crowds, was kind enough to let a few people step up onto the doorway of her van just to get a half a foot higher to snap a picture. These kind of small kindnesses went a long way on a stressful day.

Image Source: People Pack the Mall for Inauguration, washingtonpost.com

As quickly as the incident happened, the potentially dangerous overcrowding near us was over in mere minutes and everyone around us could breathe a little easier. Even though I am most disappointed and sorry for those who could not get in any closer, at the same time, I'm very grateful to the police and others who were in charge of public safety who were making spot decisions to keep people safe. Yes, security checks could have been planned better. Things could have run more smoothly.

But nothing of this magnitude has ever been planned before. 2 million people! In the end, I am grateful that cooler heads prevailed and that no angry mobs sullied the occasion, that Obama and his family were kept safe and that in the end we were all kept safe. I apologize as a resident of DC with all sincerity that you could not get where you had intended and extend my deepest appreciation for your pledge of support for the greater challenges both we and our President have to face together.

Image Source: People Pack the Mall for Inauguration, washingtonpost.com

People from all over the country are converging on Washington, D.C. to attend Obama's inauguration. I'm not planning on attending even though I live only about a 30 minute walk away, less than 2 miles from where Obama's being sworn in. My husband and I live in Southwest D.C. near the Waterfront area which is also home to the new baseball stadium of the Washington Nationals.

If we could take our bikes into the area, then it would actually only take about 15 minutes to get there. Apparently for those people who were thinking about kayaking into D.C., the Coast Guard have kiboshed that idea. But you can arrive by an inaugural water taxi for a hefty $75 per person.

It's not a political statement about why I'm not attending although I am opposed to Obama's invitation to Rick Warren. It's not like I'm a huge Bush supporter even though I once got my picture taken with him when he stopped by where I worked. I'm actually a Canadian who married an American but still it's a pretty historic opportunity.

I can't stand the throngs of tourists who don't know how to efficiently navigate our metro. Crowds will mill about in a seething mass. To get a decent view of Obama's motorcade, you would have to be willing to go hours ahead of time and put up with freezing temperatures. Plus what if I have to go to the bathroom, the porta potties sound kind of limited. The thought of seeing Obama on a jumbotron doesn't sound appealing either.

Photo from Getty Images, daylife.com

David Bergman, Gigapan photo
10 Most Important Forms of Technology Used During the 56th Presidential Inauguration

Cardow, The Ottawa Citizen, 1/18/09, politicalcartoons.com

David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star, 1/16/09, caglecartoons.com

Mike Lane, 1/18/09, caglecartoons.com

Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Creators Syndicate

Canadian Embassy Welcomes Obama

The Canadian Embassy has one of the prime spots on the parade route. I was hoping if I just flashed my passport I could get a nice warm place to wave to Obama and Michelle but my invitation to their shindig got lost in the mail.

"Obama's inauguration: Canada's warm welcome", 1/18/09, Kenny Yum, National Post

HBO has a link on their website that says you can stream "The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial: We are One With President-Elect Barack Obama". Watch it Now

Image Source: HBO

Bypassing the crowds, my husband and I ventured down to the Mall on Martin Luther King Day to at least check out the scene.

Here's a wrap-up of some of the funniest late night material that came out of inauguration week from Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman and Craig Ferguson. Click here.

Image Sources:
Leno and Letterman in Mourning, Cagle Cartoons
Obama Sworn in as 44th President Photo Gallery, washingtonpost.com