Bush to frisk toddlers at annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
April 15, 2001 12:10 AM   Subscribe

Bush to frisk toddlers at annual White House Easter Egg Roll. High school massacres aside, isn't this going too far? I doubt that a 2 year old could fire off several rounds on an AK-47, much less load one. Even balloons are banned becaue they'll be mistaken for gunfire.
posted by ed (16 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- Brandon Blatcher



 
Are you telling me these Easter Egg Hunt tickets say "no weapons allowed" on the back? Shocking.
posted by techgnollogic at 12:34 AM on April 15, 2001


Do you know which country this is? The kid may not be a wack job but the parent could be.
posted by owillis at 12:37 AM on April 15, 2001


a fine example of Bush's policy towards gun control (sorry, firearms industry) -- frisk more

talking about 3 to 6 yr-olds: "authorities regard even the youngest child as a potential threat" -- an American 'dream'? i hope so
posted by mackieb at 12:49 AM on April 15, 2001


Maybe George is trying to protect himself from the "Twenty Year Curse."
posted by dogwelder at 1:57 AM on April 15, 2001


This would make sense if they added that they would also be looking for "poison darts, bombs (as in human bombs,) etc."
posted by riffola at 2:10 AM on April 15, 2001


The article doesn't mention whether this is the first time that this is happening or not. With the statistics inserted at the end of the article, this just sounds like another foreign paper trying to stick it to Dubya. So has previous Easter egg hunts at the White House also done something like this or not?
posted by gyc at 2:34 AM on April 15, 2001


At the Customs and Excise Museum in Liverpool, England, there is a quiz about who might have the potential to be carrying drugs or fire arms through customs. There are a group of suspects in cardboard cut out, for example an old man, a businessman in a suit and -- a woman with a child. Prime suspect? You guessed it.

Although it seems strange what anyone would want to frisk a child, in a world were parents teach their kids to shoplist for them, there is nothing to say they would hide a pistol under a pillow or a grenade in a teddy bear. The truth is you don't know.

I might not like the new presidency, but in this case I don't think you're protecting the man, you're protecting the office.
posted by feelinglistless at 6:35 AM on April 15, 2001


is bush himself doing the frisking? ew.
posted by thc at 7:25 AM on April 15, 2001


Boy does this spell "trouble." I have a five-year-old daughter, and I can just see what's going to happen. Thousands of children are going to think they're being tickled, and you'll have a shin-kicking, head-butting, writhing mass of small humanity. A lot of secret service agents are going to wish they hadn't gotten out of bed this morning.
posted by anapestic at 7:58 AM on April 15, 2001


This is nothing new. I met the Elder in Florida as a sixth grader, and I was frisked and wanded, as were my parents and all the other kids in my sixth-grade class. I can't find the link where I first saw this Easter tidbit, but it was careful to point out that the gun thing has always been the policy and that they printed it on the tickets this year as part of a longer list of "no-no"s that was designed to ensure no visitors would have to be turned away when they showed up.

As usual, I'll add: I don't like Bush either. But the hair-trigger to condemn him without having all the facts is just pathetic. It's the exact same behavior as the Republicans who were ready to condemn Clinton at the slightest sign of anything. Grow up, people...
posted by louie at 10:41 AM on April 15, 2001


When I was about ten, visiting DC, we had the chance to see Juan Carlos of Spain. I think at this point Franco had appointed him Crown Prince and successor but he was not yet King. There was a commotion and we followed it, but then there was a lot of waiting. We were leaning on the railing of one of those garden-level entryways. The Spanish dude was scheduled to be coming down the building's stairway well above this entryway, but it did lead to a doorway underneath that same stoop. I got tired, and crawled down so I was sitting halfway under the rail, my legs dangling into the entryway.

In about 30 seconds there was a uniformed officer followed by two guys in suits approaching us and insisting that I get out of the "security zone" ....
posted by dhartung at 10:59 AM on April 15, 2001


Even balloons are banned becaue they'll be mistaken for gunfire.

it's good to know that the secret service get their security precaution tactics from in the line of fire.
posted by will at 12:20 PM on April 15, 2001


There are so many good reasons to hate Bush, do we really need to manufacture more?
posted by Outlawyr at 5:15 PM on April 15, 2001


Egg Roll? I guess they really have forgiven the Chinese....
posted by ParisParamus at 9:02 PM on April 15, 2001


> they printed it on the tickets this year as part of a
> longer list of "no-no"s that was designed to ensure
> no visitors would have to be turned away when they
> showed up.

There are sane people who would try to take a gun to an Easter egg hunt? And on the White House lawn? People they wouldn't want to offend by turning them away?

"Say, Mr. Jones, that's a swell piece you're carrying there, but I gotta tell ya, the rules this year say that we can't have no civilians carrying guns at the egg hunt. Yes, I know it's silly. Yes, yes, I know about that amendment. Yes, sir, I fully understand. No, Mr. Bush is not a communist. But them's the rules. Yes, that goes for the wife, too. And the kids. You can just check them all at the gate."

Until recently, my favorite instance of this particular American insanity was the sign at the Ellis Island tour boat (or was it on the island itself?) warning tourists that they can't take guns up the Statue of Liberty. Like some people thought it would be okay? "It's just a gun, dang it. I weren't meanin' ta hurt no one. Where's this here liberty yer all braggin' about?"
posted by pracowity at 5:06 AM on April 16, 2001


Remember when all this seemed silly?
posted by feelinglistless at 12:59 PM on October 8, 2001


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