The White House has seen its fair share of lockdowns over the past few years, and intruders have ranged from a party balloon to an apple core to a homeless veteran with PTSD and 800 rounds of ammunition in his car who made it through the front doors and all the way into the East Room.
The Secret Service demanded a fence built for the 21st century, and several options to beef up the White House border were considered, including an electrified top rail and, yes, a moat. While waiting for a serious upgrade, White House security had to settle for barriers moved a tad further out onto the sidewalk and the addition of some temporary bolt-on spikes.
At last, we have a prototype of the new, much higher, White House fence, reinforced with chain-linked bollards on the far side of the sidewalk. At least the joke “Barrycades” that did double duty keeping veterans from visiting the World War II and Vietnam memorials are gone. What do you think?
This idea is so bad it would be almost comical except that it's actually going to happen. pic.twitter.com/RYbxoEzsjc
— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) May 26, 2016
@daveweigel The fence just got 10 feet higher.
— James (@15c3PO) May 26, 2016
It sure did. It’s a good thing President Obama, who declared the country’s borders open to refugees “as long as I’m president,” will have moved out by the time this aberration is finished.
President Trump will build a terrific, classy fence!
— Frank Ahrens ? (@ahrensf) May 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/betaporter/status/735924877761253380
Mexico sure isn’t going to pay for this, no matter who moves in next.
a moat would be more effective and less visually intrusive.
— Andy Campbell (@ndycampbell) May 26, 2016
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That was considered, but it was determined it would be too difficult to fish intruders out of the water.
You left off the proposal to have a second fence and hungry lions roaming between the two.
— Jeff Aronson (@JeffAronson25) May 26, 2016
Just install a bridge troll that asks would-be fence jumpers three riddles
— Tall Tyri❄️n Lannister (@Danmaynard81) May 26, 2016
Why not just shoot a few until others get the hint and stop.
— John Linder (@linderje) May 26, 2016
We didn’t mention the original poster writes for the New York Times, did we? Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.
https://twitter.com/DavidHStevens/status/735935038966124548
It's a terrible symbol. It reinforces a sense of separation between gov't and citizens, and plays to our siege mentality.
— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) May 26, 2016
Siege mentality? Then a YUGE southern border wall would be OK, since it would reinforce the sense of separation felt by non-citizens, right?
Related:
‘The irony runs deep’! White House fence may soon get a YUGE upgrade
White House’s plans for permanent security upgrades included moat, electrified rail
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