What the Easter Egg Roll frenzy says about us
Judging by the record-shattering (for this blog, anyway) 247 comments left on my post on the subject yesterday, the White House Easter Egg Roll ticket process wasn't all it was, um, cracked up to be.
If you read all the way to the end of yesterday's comments, you'll live through the final drama of the White House's vendor site suddenly offering the free tickets around 7:30 p.m., then going down for good around 7:40, with all the tickets gone.
In the end, a number of the commenters who had had trouble all day with the system finally got tickets. Others, sadly, almost got there, only to have the system kick them off.
Whether you scored or merely suffered, yesterday's lively discussion told me a couple of things:
--I think RK nailed it when he/she said: "For those of you who have given up a whole day for your children just to see the joy in their eyes and were successful- cheers to you. For those that weren't, I’m sure your children will appreciate your efforts." Parents these days will do anything for their kids, including losing a whole day to refresh that screen. I was amazed.
--Some people will exploit that zeal to do everything for our kids. Thanks, Alexis, for pointing out that outrageous Ebay post advertising tickets for about $1,000. Looks like it's been taken down now; can any of you Ebay experts tell if someone actually bought them?
--And yet others are willing to help. Thanks SK, Josette, Carol, and others for alerting everyone -- even those who might have been in competition with you for tickets -- that the site was, however briefly, back up for business.
(Photo of broken and discarded eggs left over from the 2007 White House Easter Egg Roll by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Comments
I was on this site yesterday more than I was on the Easter Egg Roll site.
I read each comment on the page. It was like a brilliantly, scripted story unfolding. I felt a mix of emotions ranging from confusion, to sadness, to hope, to gratitude. I couldn't believe a few of the harsh comments. Was upset over the people who were close, but suddenly kicked out of the system. And somehow confused about the comments that hinted at frustration towards President Obama. I understand these were all opinions. Most backed by adrenaline-filled emotions.
I never realized how much was invested in this event. This will be my first year attending, and I am thankful I was given the opportunity to attend.
The one thing I find unappealing about the entire situation is the opportunity for people to receive tickets who a) know they had no plans to attend and b) are choosing to sell FREE tickets. I understand greed is alive and prevalent in our culture, but some things should operate off of common sense and values.
The 'silver-lining' in all of this is the fact that Easter comes every year. I am sure the White House is taking much heed to this year's situation and will redeem themselves next year.
Hopefully, those who did not receive tickets will find someone who has tickets and will not be able to attend. I will be sure to leave a comment here if that situation presents itself to me. You can check my blog for updates as well: www.mommynotguilty.blogspot.com
Posted by: Keonte' | March 27, 2009 12:34 PM
I was one of the lucky few that did receive tickets at the very end of the day. The Original plan was for either my girlfriend or I to get 6 tickets so that we could go together with our 4 kids. We were both lucky enough to both get 6 tickets at the end, so we are giving our extra tickets to friends that were not able to stay home and even try to get tickets. I also spent more time reading this blog then I did on the White House website yesterday. I'd like to thank Kate for her original blog, and then for her follow up. I'd like to thank all of the other frustrated parents that posted comments, reading your posts made me feel that even though I was home with only my 4 year old, that other people out there were feeling my pain and frustation. Thanks for making a long and frustrating day a little less so. Happy Easter to all of you.
Posted by: chris | March 27, 2009 6:55 PM
I think there should be some way to prohibit turning around and selling something you got as a freebie, but I don't know how this could be enforced.
Posted by: Dahlink | March 28, 2009 11:58 AM
The tickets being sold and bought will be invalidated so when scanned they will show that they were resold. Any that are reported to the white house/secret service/etc are being taken care of.
I was sad to not get tickets, but will hopefully get some next year.
Posted by: Jenn | March 30, 2009 4:11 PM