This video is hypnotic.  Not just because it involves citizen Parsons and an intersection in the city I’m very familiar with, but because it’s a sort of mock-epic ballet of control–control of a public space and people in space, control of the self. But maybe not mock– I suppose there will be consequences. One can see Officer Baylor struggling to retain some sort of dignity as he continues to perform authority on the stage of the street, in front of the crowd.  His face reads restrained panic at the same time; he knows he has inaugurated a sequence of events which will have negative professional consequences.  Still, the roads must be kept safe, citizens on the sidewalks, given the necessary information about what conduct is orderly and what is not.

Oh DC! U St.  This sums you up–

I love you anyway…

Favorite quote: “You guys just ruin everyone’s fun–that’s what a police state is.”