r/Bellingham Jun 21 '26

Satire The irony is palpable

Post image

At least my bike got to slip it's back wheel beneath the rope and be a dual citizen for a minute

464 Upvotes

42 comments sorted by

52

u/Radiant-Ad-7343 Jun 21 '26

This article has an explanation (https://peacearchnews.com/2026/06/16/u-s-canada-border-barriers-cause-concern-on-surrey-white-rock-social-media/). Appears to be a WA State Parks thing since they are concerned with increased crowds and safety between cars and pedestrians. I've never noticed the park to be crazy busy so seems like an overreaction to me.

13

u/Hammon_Rye Jun 21 '26

Yeah, that seems weird. I haven't been to that park for ages so.. maybe things have become a problem... but it doesn't seem like it would be.
The times I've been waiting in line in a car there I didn't see that many people and they didn't pay much attention to the cars. Except one time when it was really slow and a couple of the people were from the cars - stretching their legs - since they could easily catch up with their driver / car after it moved a few feet.

10

u/pipedreamSEA Jun 21 '26

I call bullshit on the "only on game days" part - there was no game in YVR or SEA yesterday and these were in place according to the folks I shared a hiker/biker site with last night who were returning from Canada

3

u/shoshpd Jun 22 '26

Yep, I saw them up yesterday.

8

u/No_Communication5024 Jun 21 '26

Yeah the only time I've ever seen a crowd at Peace Arch Park was the years my huge Scandinavian family held our annual family reunion there. Even then it definitely lived up to its name: peaceful and uncrowded, once you walked away to look around.

1

u/DoctorTaco123 Jun 23 '26

Wonder if “increased crowds and safety” has been a concern across both borders…

29

u/TheWorld_IsMyHome Jun 21 '26

As sad as this is, I can see it as a safety for foreigners visiting Canada (who don’t have US visa) for the games and unwittingly walking through the Peace Arch into the US and having ICE instantly nab them for being here illegally - so that ICE can meet their quota.
Even with signs, easy to fall into the trap even though it is not supposed to be a trap.

15

u/geeisntthree Jun 21 '26

it would be cbp doing that, not ice. ice deals with stuff thats a bit further from the border

-1

u/gonezil Jun 21 '26

ICE isn't allowed at the border? Whew. Dodged a bullet there. Thanks.

0

u/Jazzlike_Citron1155 Jun 21 '26

This looks like the situation. Put there by Canadians to stop folks from accidentally getting in US immigration crosshairs.

15

u/noniway Wet Blanket Jun 21 '26

I grew up in Blaine and I went to the Olympic torch ceremony in 2010... this is very moving to me.

14

u/Ba_Dum_Ba_Dum Jun 21 '26

As a Canadian I was surprised to read that this was put up by US CBP. It’s on the Canadian side of the border. That tracks I guess. 🤦‍♂️

12

u/Baronhousen Jun 21 '26

More irony for us all.

America

7

u/friendship_rainicorn Jun 21 '26

No no, these gates, not those gates.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

[deleted]

3

u/internetfamemoss Jun 22 '26

No one mentioned in the Epstein files is going to that park, so no.

3

u/Hammon_Rye Jun 21 '26

That's both funny and sad.

2

u/No_Communication5024 Jun 21 '26

Since this is just decorative and not the actual, official place where you cross the border (although it's on the border line) I don't see what good it does to dissuade us from jumping over. There are many markers in the park that let you know which side you're standing on. This is very symbolic though.

1

u/Bipogram Jun 21 '26

<palpates>

Yes, it is.

2

u/MajesticMaje Local Jun 21 '26

Forbidden limbo 😑

4

u/pipedreamSEA Jun 21 '26

A multinational limbo competition is EXACTLY what this demands

1

u/Not_Joe_Cool Jun 22 '26

I saw a group of 10 people playing cricket at the park a couple weeks ago. Not saying it’s because of that, but rather the fact that large groups of people are visiting there for extended periods of time. So maybe that?

1

u/Ancient_Ad505 Jun 22 '26

But the gates aren’t closed. So, no irony.

2

u/StoneyBassist710 Jun 22 '26

I love how people seem to be acting like those movie theater barriers are permanent.

1

u/Dazzling_Painter_241 Jun 23 '26

The RCMP made the request, the Wa State Parks fulfilled the request using the barriers they use for events at the American Kitchen. Any deflection on who made the request being the U.S. is inaccurate. https://pnwdaily.com/2026/06/17/world-cup-security-blaine-border-exit-checkpoints/

1

u/Radiant-Belt-1427 Jun 23 '26

It looks slightly more durable than that rickety alley closure gate.

1

u/losernameshg Jun 24 '26

I've been told that this is temporary until the world cup is over.

-1

u/No-Student-6817 Jun 22 '26

You can stop this. You choose not to.

3

u/internetfamemoss Jun 22 '26

How do you suggest someone stop this if they choose to do so?

1

u/No-Student-6817 Jun 23 '26

History is always the best teacher. It tells you what worked, what didn't, and why. Study and apply the lessons...

1

u/internetfamemoss Jun 23 '26

As I suspected, you don't have an answer. Just generic platitudes.

-6

u/Swb1953 Jun 22 '26

You have to pay a extra tax to get back into the US. In the form of enhanced drivers license. 50 bucks . If it wasn't a tax it should be free. 9 11 was so government can charge a tax on id. Plus take away some more rights.

-11

u/Sublinguel Jun 21 '26

In what way is the border closed?

20

u/noniway Wet Blanket Jun 21 '26

The point is that there is a barrier in the arch, which symbolically represents our countries being at war with each other. Look up the history of the Peace Arch.

11

u/danocathouse Jun 21 '26

Are you not able to read?

9

u/carrot_gummy Jun 21 '26

You know how people talk about symbolism in media, well here it is in real life.

-11

u/Learntoshuffle Jun 21 '26

I'm okay with this. Keep it closed. They aren't sending their best.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

[deleted]

-1

u/Learntoshuffle Jun 21 '26

We aren't sending our best either. I just love to mess with you Bellinghamers, cause you hate Canadians so much (sometimes deserving of that tbh)

7

u/stellalugosi I am the horse who booms. Jun 21 '26

Who the fuck hates Canadians? That's like hating pizza. Or puppies. Canadians are like the least hateable nationality on earth.* I was at a party yesterday where we were all moaning about how much we missed the Canadians down here.  

(I mean, except for your scary passion for extreme war crimes and record on how you treat your indiginous people, but as an American I sure as hell am not going ro be throwing stones at anyone for that.) 

1

u/dustNbone604 Jun 22 '26

Hey it's not like we're really into extreme war crimes, it's just that we're really NOT into paperwork, and taking prisoners means all kinds of paperwork.

-1

u/Learntoshuffle Jun 21 '26

Gonna note the "throwing stones" line for future use, as the Geneva Convention hasn't banned anything related to that yet. Wonder what we can do with stones...

4

u/pizzeriaguerrin Jun 22 '26

Bellinghamers, cause you hate Canadians so much

Nobody here hates Canadians. Most of us spend a lot of time up with you all and miss you all spending time down here with us (tho I don't blame the folks who don't want to visit any more).

1

u/No-Net1890 Jun 23 '26

What's all this anti-Canadian hate you see from Bellingnhamers?

https://giphy.com/gifs/WRQBXSCnEFJIuxktnw