Sorry to be a downer, but the 4th on the Esplanade now

[617Blue]

depresses me.

Hundreds of Staties and various LE strutting about with all their gear hardware - all being paid for by us. Checkpoints and restrictions everywhere.

I remember when you could just bring a cooler and sit anywhere you could find a spot.

To me rather than a celebration of freedom it's a reminder of how much freedom is being lost.

I guess I'm also just feeling pretty bad about the state of this country.

[Blues Heron]

1. Freedom used to be fun

then the right wing had to have their wars and war culture and now we all have to take off our shoes at the airport in obeisance to the security industrial complex and go through checkpoints outside on the Fourth. It is sad.

[617Blue]

6. Cha ching$. All those Staties cashing all those checks. nt

[marble falls]

2. The LE and their hardware showed up in strength because gun hugging assholes entitled by corporate..

... greed, the NRA, a Congress that continually widens the parameters for gun owner ship to even include the mentally ill and exFelons, and every RW wing wanna be politician have been showing up in strength with their equal and stronger quality firearms.

I hate a squad military looking police occupiers, but I do get the need to stop instance by instance what we refuse to regulate centerally.

[BlueKota]

3. I am not celebrating this country

as it stands today. While I admire President Biden and Vice President Harris, and those standing up for Democratic values in both houses of Congress, I am too sad and angry that what for the most part used to be the loyal opposition, has turned into nothing but a fringe hate group run by a cabal of crazed lunatics. Not to mention their asshat followers who vote for them.

Also too many rights, that brave and good people gave their blood, sweat,tears, and even their lives for, are being swiped away by a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites, who claim to to be doing it, in the name of a sacred being, but are truly doing all their villiany in the name of greed and power, the only deities they truly serve.

In my opinion we are as far away from being the country of freedom and equality, then we have ever been in my 61 years on this earth. I cannot celebrate that we are moving backwards and no longer forward.

Since the Magats have come to power with the big orange turd as their leader I have begun to wish my European ancestors had never left their homelands. I wouldn't have been born, but hey in light of the state of things now, that might have been preferable. Sorry to be a downer too, but it's how I honestly feel.

[Diamond_Dog]

4. I hear ya, 617Blue.

Just think of all the checkpoints and restrictions that have been added to the routine of flying anywhere on an airplane. Or attending a sporting event or concert. Used to be you just walked right in with your cooler of snacks. Now you walk through a metal detector and anything you bring with you is inspected, including women’s handbags. I even had to pass an inspection checkpoint with a security guard when I met my hubby and son at a hospital ER about 7 years ago. I understand that it’s for safety reasons, but damn, these days you have to think about that a lot more than in years past.

[Croney]

5. And now it's all undone, evacuated due to weather.

Last edited Tue Jul 4, 2023, 05:53 PM - Edit history (1)

And back on.

I enjoyed the adventure years ago, but I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then.