Vacationers In West Taking Down Barriers And Going Into Parks Anyway. Challenging Park Rangers.

[TheMastersNemesis]

The demonization of government employees continues even though the House voting for back pay. That is a political stunt to blame the Dems for the shutdown. The GOP is fomenting a potentially dangerous situation with Americans ignoring the park closures. The closure of the vets memorial and the GOP stunt taunting the park police is a dangerous gambit. The law and order crowd is pursuing anarchy by lauding this flaunting of the law and shut down.

Using park police and forest rangers as political cannon fodder and portraying them as the "bad guys" could lead to violence. Park rangers have no choice but to let people through who might use force if they resist. There is an even more dangerous situation developing when people go into the parks illegally. That is the danger that lurks in these wilderness areas. The rangers are in the park to protect the park and the visitors from hazards. When a person falls, there is a rock side, an accident on a road, or a person gets lost or falls into a river or some other dangerous site the rangers are there to summon emergency responders and render assistance or first aid.

The GOP is fomenting anger and confrontation of the public over this shut down and they are aiming this anger at the wrong people. In this light the GOP is proving how dangerous it is and how radical it is.

This story was just recently put up on the home page of MSN.

[liberal N proud]

1. Using republican congressmen as their inspiration.

[TheMastersNemesis]

3. I Live Just 50 Miles From Rocky Mtn National Park And It Is Beautiful But Can Be Dangerous

Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous highway in the US. I have been on that road many times. It is a fantastic drive but it can be risky. There are many places to go off the road if you are not careful and a car going off the road at the wrong time can cascade several thousand feet down the mountain. Plus the road will be impassable soon and 10 to 20 foot drifts will build over the winter.
The rangers scrutinize and monitor that road. There are other areas that are very remote and rugged and getting lost would not be that hard. And the weather can become dangerous without any warning.

Anyone going into that area without the rangers is taking a very large risk. If there is a crisis there will be no help. And there are other parks in the system that are even more dangerous.

What the GOP is doing is reckless and dangerous.

[NightWatcher]

2. make people sign a waiver stating that they acknowledge they are on their own and let em go

[TheMastersNemesis]

4. I Do Not Believe That Such Action Is Good Enough. The Rangers Are Being Put In A Dangerous Situation

[robinlynne]

7. and if they cause fires or hurt wildlife?

[roguevalley]

13. let them come here and do that. the grizzlies will

cull the herd

[liberal_at_heart]

5. There are furloughed workers volunteering to look for a missing hiker in Idaho.

[TheMastersNemesis]

8. As Laudable And Necessary As That Is It Could Be A Problem Unless They Have Proper Backup.

Rescue efforts require a lot of back up in case the rescuers get in trouble. I assume that they have it.

[gopiscrap]

6. that's fucked up

[titaniumsalute]

9. If one of these motherfuckers fall off a cliff in a Federal Park

Should be left to die. No rescue.

[summerschild]

10. The irresponsibility of the GOP is breathtaking.

Win at any cost. It won't cost them. So f***k everybody else.

[kestrel91316]

11. I bet they vandalize hell out of the parks, too, these rebels. Betcha this is the RW

pulling stunts just to make NPS and the administration look bad.

[intheflow]

12. A link would have been nice.

I searched around and found this story about Acadia National Park in Maine. I kinda agree with the guy upthread who said if people sign a waiver they should be allowed in since they are public lands. OTOH, where's the line? Should people be let into the Smithsonian unsupervised since they're publicly owned museums? Slippery slope, this.

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/10/05/news/hancock/visitors-determined-to-enjoy-closed-acadia-national-park-a-real-problem-for-rangers/