I'm sitting on my girl Nas' couch in Vienna. Va just woken up and feeling the need to say something about today's events. The others are sprawled on the floor and couches not haven awoken from their slumber yet. I don't blame them - I feel like I could sleep for days. Nura and I got up at around 4am to head out to her office. The ride to McPherson square was crowded - fortunately Vienna being the initial stop awarded us seats. It was a reflective 45 minutes. It was a great historic expectation that threatened to overtake us - so we listened to some dhikr and anasheed to remind us. God is Greater. That gave us a sense of calm that set the tone for the rest of the day. Thank God for that - the chaos that ensued later would have set us into a frenzy if we let it.
We got to the LDF office (where Nas works and strangely always reminds me of IDF..I wonder why..), hung out for a bit and headed out towards the Purple Gate area. We got to First and D around 7 and stood with other Purple Ticket holders. The ordeal that ensued is not so affectionately dubbed as Purplegate (Purplegate-gate?), or to my fellow 2 thousand ticket holders stuck in the mob as the D Street Massacre.
Thousands of people, holding tightly to those coveted tickets waiting in what felt like subzero temperatures (I don't care what the actual temperature was, it felt like 30 below to me) until the gates opened at 830am. It was so packed, i could barely register where my body ended and ten others connected to me began.
830 came and went.
So did 9.
And 10.
We barely moved. We barely could. The gates weren't open. We had no idea what was going on. People were frantic. This was history and many of them had come thousands of miles to witness it. and dammit they had tickets. People were getting testy and belligerent. There were no officials in sight to guide us or answer our questions. The police came thru a few times, escorting Samuel L Jackson and Jesse Jackson and some elderly ticket holders, but provided no assistance otherwise to the rest of the oversized crowd. Nura and I clutched each other as if we were each other's lifelines. Which I guess we were. we saw 3 ambulances pass - each entailing us to somehow move so it could pass. I remember vaguely thinking that this would be a molester's wet dream. Personal space was a luxury sacrificed for the view the purple tickets held. Or so we thought.
The clock inched to eleven. I texted some of the Who's Your Maumee team trying to see if this was the norm. Jesse answered he was still in the tunnel. I was wondering what he was talking about when a police officer told us, somewhat nonchalantly, that the gate was a block over. Asked if he was sure, he replied that he'd been there three times. I briefly wondered if these protectors of the people thought we were standing here, risking life and limb, cuz we loved each other so much. Eh, no time. It was eleven at this point. I grabbed Nuras hand and ran to the next street over. Within 30 minutes we were through the metal detectors and running to witness history in the making. I'm full of cliches today.
I have to admit, the calmness was wearing off at this point. Cuz when we entered the Purple Ticket Area, it was overflowing. We couldn't even see the jumbotron. We ran to a few places to see if we could see anything - jumbotron or otherwise, but to no avail. We saw people jumping over a stone barrier and push thru bushes to get to the other side, where hopefully a decent view awaited them. Did I really like Barack thaaaat much? Nura apparently did - she was halfway over already. I said a quick prayer to preserve my limbs, and at least some of my dignity if I fell, and hopped over. The crowd that greeted us was like the D Street mob we hung out with for 4 hours. But a lot more testy for some reason. We attempted to maneuver through the crowd and ignore the nasty glares and rude comments in search of a decent vantage point. Giving up, we just stood we were and tried to make the most of it.
its funny how the people you are around shape your experiences. people around us had this sense of entitlement, sense of privilege - they seemed almost pissed off to be there. there was no euphoric reaction from the crowd. it made me wish I was in the mall, where I was sure people were hugging each other, crying, singing, dancing.
I wonder if fumbling the oath is allowed. Barack's speech was phenomenal - sobering. The man knows how to talk to an audience. The best part was definitely seeing Bush off as the crowd broke into a rendition of Na na na na na na na na hey hey goodbyyyyye.
The experience wasn't overwhelming. I didn't get my aha moment that I wanted. But I was with one of the people closest to me. Nas and I actually voted (early) together in Toledo at the EMS Station. It was fitting. I'm thankful I had her to share that experience with. In all its moments of insanity.
So now what? I've always been realistic about the change promised. There's only so much you can do at once. But we're on the right track. There will always be things to criticize - Barack never promised utopia and those who expected it are only setting themselves up for major disappointment. The Gazan nightmare will still go on, Palestine will still be occupied, poverty and drugs will continue to decapitate communities, and bad senseless things will still happen. But still. Its a step in the right direction.
In regards to Muslims...Sh. Hamza mentioned at RIS how we've stopped believing in miracles. or forgotten how to. We've become so cynical and jaded and devoid of hope. we need to stop the protester for life mentality and be part of the solution. I think the first step is getting over this us vs them mentality. For most of us, the us and them are the same. But thats another conversation.
For the first time in a long time, I'm excited. I'm looking forward to the days ahead. We have kids in the White House. We have a President who is absolutely enamored with his wife. And we have a people who are daring to believe again. Hope has been renewed. Its an exciting time to be alive. Alhamdulillah =)
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