# Protester Climbs Statue of Liberty, Forces Evacuation **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296 "2018-07-04T20:25:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/41 "2018-07-05T17:43:39Z")
Being a jerk for the sake of being a jerk. Pissing people off for ‘activism’ is pointless at best and counterproductive at worst. Do you really think anyone is thinking, “Wow we really should abolish ICE. I’m glad my day at Ellis Island was ruined.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/42 "2018-07-05T17:59:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > See, this proves that life is not a video game. If it were, she’d have climbed all the way to the top of the torch and then made a leap of faith into New York Harbor. If it was a movie she would have convinced Superman to sabotauge an oil tanker. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/43 "2018-07-05T18:08:13Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Being a jerk for the sake of being a jerk. Pissing people off for ‘activism’ is pointless at best and counterproductive at worst. Do you really think anyone is thinking, “Wow we really should abolish ICE. I’m glad my day at Ellis Island was ruined.” Do you really think the only intended audience for this protest was people who were physically standing on Ellis Island when it happened? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/44 "2018-07-05T18:10:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Do you really think the only intended audience for this protest was people who were physically standing on Ellis Island when it happened? No, it wasn’t. However, she is still a complete jerk. Look at me!! Look what a jerk I can be! Let’s shut down Ellis Island! Yes, we are all aware of Trump’s horrible immigration policy. Being a jerk to get on the news and ruining people’s vacations is an awful way to ‘raise awareness’ ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/45 "2018-07-05T18:14:50Z")
So you’re only allowed to use enhanced protest methods when you don’t inconvenience anyone? I don’t think so. So some people were inconvenienced by the overreaction to the protest. Instead of seeing a landmark, they saw democracy in action. Big whoop. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/46 "2018-07-05T18:18:46Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > So you’re only allowed to use enhanced protest methods when you don’t inconvenience anyone? I don’t think so. So some people were inconvenienced by the overreaction to the protest. Instead of seeing a landmark, they saw democracy in action. Big whoop. Suppose you’re eating dinner at a restaurant. I walk over to your table, take your plate, dump it on the floor, then pull out a bullhorn and yell, “Abolish ICE” to your face? Sorry for the inconvenience, but protest is protest and you shouldn’t be having a nice dinner when you’re not sufficiently aware of the immigration mess and overreaches by ICE. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/47 "2018-07-05T19:15:28Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Suppose you’re eating dinner at a restaurant. I walk over to your table, take your plate, dump it on the floor, then pull out a bullhorn and yell, “Abolish ICE” to your face? Sorry for the inconvenience, but protest is protest and you shouldn’t be having a nice dinner when you’re not sufficiently aware of the immigration mess and overreaches by ICE. I don’t think that is what happened here. A better comparison might be if I’m in line for a movie and a protestor inside has locked all the doors and I can’t come in. So I go to the movie a different day. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/48 "2018-07-05T19:17:12Z")
Hell, I’d probably grab the bullhorn and join the protester on that particular issue. Would also probably be at least somewhat pissed off about my meal on the floor, too, but really, there ARE things more important than one particular dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/49 "2018-07-05T19:32:37Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > The “causes” of the Left are beyond reproach. Whatever their means to get issues resolved in their favor are justified. Lying, cheating, stealing, destruction of property, injury and even death to their opposition, police or even innocent bystanders are all well within the bounds of getting their way. How dare you even consider your inconvenience to be relevant?! Seriously, dude- just what the fuck? Do you think this kind of comment adds \*anything \*to the discussion? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/50 "2018-07-05T21:06:03Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Details for a confused furriner, please? > > [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/images/smilies/confused.gif](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/images/smilies/confused.gif) (Maybe it was a bit of a hijack, but…) The Statue of Freedom atop the US Capitol is often confused for a Native American because of the weirdo headdress-helmet, which is a helmet, topped with an eagle’s head, topped by a bunch of feathers. It replaced the originally intended red liberty cap, which is a symbol of freedom, because Jefferson Davis (the slaveowner who would go on to be a traitor and President of the Confederate States of America) was in charge of the Capitol facilities at the time. You can see the first, second, and final [design of the statue here](http://https://www.aoc.gov/art/other-statues/statue-freedom). [Here’s wiki’s synopsis:](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Freedom) > [@](#): > > According to David Hackett Fischer in his book _Liberty and Freedom_, Crawford’s statue was… …very close to Jefferson Davis’s ideas in every way but one…. Above the crown he [had] added a [liberty cap](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrygian_cap), the old Roman symbol of an emancipated slave. It seemed a direct affront to a militant slaveholder, and Jefferson Davis exploded with rage. The northern sculptor and the southern slaveholder had already clashed over a liberty cap in the interior decoration of the Capitol. > Davis sent his aide, Captain Montgomery Meigs, with orders to remove the cap, saying that “its history renders it inappropriate to a people who were born free and would not be enslaved”. A military helmet, with an American eagle head and crest of feathers, replaced the cap in the sculpture’s final version. (Today many casual observers take the statue, with its eagle and feathers, to be a Native American.) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/51 "2018-07-05T21:35:27Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Yeah, some tourists in NYC had to reschedule their day plans, because this selfish asshole thinks kidnapping children and locking them in cages is, like, wrong or something. You’ve really nailed the true tragedy in this story, **What Exit?**! > > And there’s the stock answer to literally any act of protest, anywhere, in any context, over any subject. Because it’s only a “proper” protest if nobody sees you do it, apparently. Do you know how much time is involved in visiting the Statue at this point? Do you? The ferry, the security check, the cost, this is not an easy to reschedule thing. she’s a dumb ass, go protest at City Hall or the UN or something. Hell, the NY Public Library, at least that is free and easy to reschedule even in the same day. For many people visiting the Statue or Ellis Island is a one time event and losing that opportunity for a useless protest is shitty as hell. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/52 "2018-07-05T21:43:58Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Do you know how much time is involved in visiting the Statue at this point? Do you? The ferry, the security check, the cost, this is not an easy to reschedule thing. she’s a dumb ass, go protest at City Hall or the UN or something. Hell, the NY Public Library, at least that is free and easy to reschedule even in the same day. For many people visiting the Statue or Ellis Island is a one time event and losing that opportunity for a useless protest is shitty as hell. Better yet, protest in front of Trump tower or one of his golf courses. That would be a smart and reasonable protest. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/53 "2018-07-05T22:44:39Z")
Some people in Boston may have been pissed about missing out on their tea because of a protest, too. These are the times that try mens’ souls. Sometimes the general public has to be a bit inconvenienced in order to overthrow a despot king. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/54 "2018-07-05T22:48:52Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Do you know how much time is involved in visiting the Statue at this point? I don’t - and moreover, I don’t fucking care. We’re kidnapping children and locking them in cages, but the real problem here is some fanny-pack-wearing dickhead from Wisconsin has to re-work his vacation itinerary? That’s your take here? “What about the inconvenience to the tourists?” Seriously? Jesus fuck. Thanks for pounding on more nail into the coffin holding my faith in the people of this country. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/55 "2018-07-05T23:13:05Z")
And shutting down Ellis Island will fix the problem? That’ll help get people on your side? Or do you just prefer anger for the sake of anger? What an excellent way to help the Republicans keep control of Congress! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/56 "2018-07-05T23:23:27Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I don’t - and moreover, I don’t fucking care. We’re kidnapping children and locking them in cages, but the real problem here is some fanny-pack-wearing dickhead from Wisconsin has to re-work his vacation itinerary? That’s your take here? “What about the inconvenience to the tourists?” Seriously? > > Jesus fuck. Thanks for pounding on more nail into the coffin holding my faith in the people of this country. Oh fuck no, get off your fucking horse. There are many better ways and better places to protest this Nazi shit being done by Trump currently. Protest at Trump properties. Protest at ICE buildings. Protest at the fucking camps. Have a few hundred thousand do a protest with music at Central Park like No-Nukes. NYC would sign off on it. That trip to Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty is a very special event for those tourists you’re calling names for no reason at all. You can’t usually rework a Statue of Liberty trip if you’re only in town for a few days. If you signed up the 6 months in advance to go up in the Crown, you probably lost that chance completely. The Statue & The Island have a very special place in the hearts of those from immigrant families you know. This protest in particular could piss off and alienate some people that would naturally sympathize otherwise if not for such stupid assholes. If your faith is shaken because I disagree strongly with you on this dumbass stunt, well then, so be it. \*\*This thread should be in the Pit. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/57 "2018-07-05T23:42:28Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > (Maybe it was a bit of a hijack, but…) > The Statue of Freedom atop the US Capitol is often confused for a Native American because of the weirdo headdress-helmet, which is a helmet, topped with an eagle’s head, topped by a bunch of feathers. It replaced the originally intended red liberty cap, which is a symbol of freedom, because Jefferson Davis (the slaveowner who would go on to be a traitor and President of the Confederate States of America) was in charge of the Capitol facilities at the time. > You can see the first, second, and final [design of the statue here](http://https://www.aoc.gov/art/other-statues/statue-freedom). > [Here’s wiki’s synopsis:](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Freedom) You have a bad link for your first set of images. There’s an extra http:// I fixed it for you [here](https://www.aoc.gov/art/other-statues/statue-freedom). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/58 "2018-07-06T00:09:54Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Oh fuck no, get off your fucking horse. There are many better ways and better places to protest this Nazi shit being done by Trump currently. Protest at Trump properties. Protest at ICE buildings. Protest at the fucking camps. Have a few hundred thousand do a protest with music at Central Park like No-Nukes. NYC would sign off on it. There’s a better place to protest the treatment of immigrants in this country that the _literal symbol of the United States as an immigrant culture_? Do tell! > [@](#): > > That trip to Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty is a very special event for those tourists you’re calling names for no reason at all. You can’t usually rework a Statue of Liberty trip if you’re only in town for a few days. If you signed up the 6 months in advance to go up in the Crown, you probably lost that chance completely. Hey, guess what! I still don’t give a fuck! Your vacation plans aren’t more important than the humanitarian crisis that’s engulfing this country. > [@](#): > > The Statue & The Island have a very special place in the hearts of those from immigrant families you know. This protest in particular could piss off and alienate some people that would naturally sympathize otherwise if not for such stupid assholes. Yeah, I’ve heard that bullshit before. It’s always wrong. Anyone who was so “offended” by this stunt that they decided not to care about the family separations was never going to care in the first place - at worst, they got a new justification for the apathy they were already practicing. > [@](#): > > **This thread should be in the Pit.** Oh, I don’t know that the whole thread needs to be in the Pit. I wouldn’t mind meeting certain posters there, though. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/59 "2018-07-06T00:57:23Z")
Not everyone eats and breathes politics. Do you really think that the people who had their Ellis Island trip ruined are going to think, ‘Well, that’s ok! Now that someone climbed up the Statue of Liberty to protest ICE, I’m going to dedicate myself 100% to fighting the immigration policy! Never mind those hundreds of dollars we spent and hours of planning time for a NYC vacation.’ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296/60 "2018-07-06T00:58:29Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > There’s a better place to protest the treatment of immigrants in this country that the _literal symbol of the United States as an immigrant culture_? Do tell! > > Hey, guess what! I still don’t give a fuck! Your vacation plans aren’t more important than the humanitarian crisis that’s engulfing this country. > > Yeah, I’ve heard that bullshit before. It’s always wrong. Anyone who was so “offended” by this stunt that they decided not to care about the family separations was never going to care in the first place - at worst, they got a new justification for the apathy they were already practicing. > > Oh, I don’t know that the whole thread needs to be in the Pit. > > I wouldn’t mind meeting certain posters there, though. So fucking with innocent bystanders is better then taking the protest to those behind the policy? That is really your belief? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protester-climbs-statue-of-liberty-forces-evacuation/817296.md?page=4)