Comments on: The 2009 Inauguration (purple) ticket holder disaster

By: Mike Licht

Mike Licht — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:22:17 +0000

The Nation’s Capital will celebrate the effective, efficient security measures during the recent Inauguration festivities at the National Bollard Festival.

See http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/celebrate-inaugural-security/

By: Katie O

Katie O — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 07:10:36 +0000

What beautiful photos! I am a purple ticket holder who traveled from Alaska and endured hours in the friendly but crushing crowd behind the gate-that-never-opened. We abandoned our spots at around 10:30 and moved toward the purple arch labeled EXIT. On the way there, we discovered a small, unmarked gap in the fence along Louisiana where the crowd was moving in. After 45 minutes of body crush, we got in. My story is at http://oliverkodiak.blogspot.com

By: larry

larry — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:27:27 +0000

Wow!
After entirely missing Obama speech (my bed was
cozy and it was cold outside) I guess I would kill
mysef if I have to go thru all the misery these
purple holder tickets people went thru.
I guess I am cynical, but don’t trust our
goverment to do anything right.

By: kasha

kasha — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:19:46 +0000

you wrote:” I’m probably one of the only people in the world who has yet to see Obama’s historic speech on the steps of the Capitol.”

it is Saturday morning, just after mignight and i still have not watched it. I was able to look at some still photos today and watched some “purple tunnel of doom” videos on youtube, but that is it. I am in shock still and break out in tears every time I see something come on the tv about the inauguration.

I wasn’t in the tunnel, but I never got thru the gate, despite the fact that I started out at RFK stadium at 4:30 in the morning. I was on the other side of the purple gate when they closed it at 11:59 AM.

I just cannot believe this happened.

By: Alissa Keny-Guyer

Alissa Keny-Guyer — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:49:43 +0000

To Jeremy, Merwyn and others who wrote,
Thank you for your comments. Comparing this event to the 1965 Million Man MArch was particularly poignant.
After working on Obama’s campaign, the only Christmas present my 15 year old wanted was to attend the inauguration. Missing 2 days of school right before finals and spending 100,000 frequent flyer miles to reach DC from Portland OR, we waited for hours in the freezing cold and never got into the BLUE gate. While it’s been very healing to share our grief with so many others who experienced the same thing (makes us feel just slightly less alone), we need to demand CHANGE in future handling of events!

By: Merwyn P. Reaves

Merwyn P. Reaves — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:41:17 +0000

I have completed an eleven(11) page document that contains pictures. If your are interested I will privide the complete document…This is my summary:
Summary
We have attended several public events on the mall. The largest was the “Million Man March” October 16, 1965. This was the worst experience for a public event of my life. It borders on a criminal act for endangering the public. I will continue to work to locate the people responsible for the planning and implementation of a disaster for thousands of people who, in good faith, trusted that having a Purple Ticket would permit them to see and hear the most significant event in American History in the last one hundred (100) or more years.

Written by Merwyn P. Reaves, Vienna, VA.

By: Amy O.

Amy O. — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:07:25 +0000

I was one of the thousands of Blue ticket holders who didn’t get in, so I’m right there with you in terms of the disappointment/frustration. I just can’t understand how it could’ve been so incredibly mismanaged! We arrived at 7:30 and got into what initially looked like a line but really just became an area of people. We moved about a block over the next three hours, which was due to people squishing closer together rather than actually getting through security. We gave up just before 11:30 and ended up watching the events on a TV at a random pizza place with some Silver ticket holders who were also denied entrance.

By: Rebecca Harmon

Rebecca Harmon — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:04:06 +0000

Your post of the purple gate picture is the first and only time I ever saw it. After walking up and down and back and forth for almost 5 hours and approx. 10mi. and being sent on goose chases by every (misinformed)agency patroling, my friend and I with those purple tickets realized we were going to miss it as the 2 block x 4 block swell of people didn’t move any nearer the gate in the last 1.5hrs. We walked as fast as we could all the way back to the “start” of the crowd, thin when we arrived, by then backed up to 19th St. by ceremony time (2+mi). We watched and listened from a steep angle on what had to be the last jumbotron in the place. I am crushingly disappointed about the purple tickets, but I have to keep reminding myself I was there, even if he experience was waaaaay different than my planning and expectations. Ditto on the inquiries from friends; I almost can’t relive my disappointment to tell them what happened, hence my looking for explanations at 3am. Congratulations on your hard work and helping to elect a man whose vision we can be proud of!

By: hi

hi — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:02:51 +0000

I was right there with you! I was huddled up to the Purple Gate and could see it, if only I could’ve gotten in!! I came in from Louisiana and feel like I’ve completely wasted my money on hotels, flight and car rentals. It’s just so disappointed. Were you shoved into that tunnel for like four hours? That was probably the worst place to be! I was ready to get out of there. Purple ticket holders should get a special screening of the whole thing or something. Haha.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:11:42 +0000

We just barely made it in the purple section. It was a complete disaster, very disorganized. We put together a facebook group about it: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45889363588