The WORD Blog

By Senior Editor/Producer Jacqueline Fernandez.
At the Inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama

I arrived at the Capitol by 5 a.m. and I was already late. My cab dropped me off on 7th Street, the public entrance, and it was sheer pandamonium. Someone in the crowd yelled, “This is like Walmart on black Friday.” Obviously, a reference to the November 28 fatal death of a Long Island Wal-Mart trainee trampled in a surge by thousands of customers stampeding for sales.

People of all ages and colors were pushing each other and shoving their way through trying to get close to the gate here at 7th.  In a crowded lane four-width people apart, it was heartbreaking to see an elderly black woman in a wheelchair get pushed around, especially when she was decked out in her finest Obama gear.

 

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