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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| New York residents speculate wildly about white flags on Brooklyn Bridge | New York residents speculate wildly about white flags on Brooklyn Bridge |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The white flag was run up on Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Tuesday. It was not clear whether it was a sign of surrender by Manhattan to Brooklyn, by Brooklyn to Manhattan, or a peace deal between warring hipsters. Whatever the reason, the New York police department swung into action and closed part of the bridge to deal with the matter. | The white flag was run up on Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Tuesday. It was not clear whether it was a sign of surrender by Manhattan to Brooklyn, by Brooklyn to Manhattan, or a peace deal between warring hipsters. Whatever the reason, the New York police department swung into action and closed part of the bridge to deal with the matter. |
| Why are there white flags on top of the Brooklyn Bridge? pic.twitter.com/cMj65jNK9e | Why are there white flags on top of the Brooklyn Bridge? pic.twitter.com/cMj65jNK9e |
| Ordinarily, the famous arches are topped by two American flags, but they were replaced in the wee hours by these achromic imposters. | Ordinarily, the famous arches are topped by two American flags, but they were replaced in the wee hours by these achromic imposters. |
| Just in case you were thinking to yourself, “This isn’t really a big deal,” the New York Times reported that one lane of the bridge was closed to allow an investigation. | Just in case you were thinking to yourself, “This isn’t really a big deal,” the New York Times reported that one lane of the bridge was closed to allow an investigation. |
| According to DNAinfo, the NYPD deployed its counter-terrorism and intelligence divisions to the scene, but did not have an explanation for the flags’ appearance. | According to DNAinfo, the NYPD deployed its counter-terrorism and intelligence divisions to the scene, but did not have an explanation for the flags’ appearance. |
| At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Bill Bratton, the NYPD comissioner, and his Deputy Comissioner of Intelligence John Miller did not announce a suspect, but said they did not believe there were any links to terrorism or politics, the Daily News reported. | |
| The mystery flags were 20 by 11 foot American flags, bleached white, and the perpetrators appeared to have used aluminum pans to cover the bridge's lights to obscure their act of vandalism. | |
| Gothamist also reported suspicious Instagram posts by a users named "Last Suspect" and "Matt Doscher" that referenced white flags, but they have since been deleted. | |
| The white flag, a traditional sign of surrender, had many New Yorkers wondering if the city had capitulated to someone. Gothamist suggested “a complete surrender to the forces of gentrification”. Perhaps America herself was surrendering to undocumented immigrants, as the Drudge Report’s homepage might suggest. | The white flag, a traditional sign of surrender, had many New Yorkers wondering if the city had capitulated to someone. Gothamist suggested “a complete surrender to the forces of gentrification”. Perhaps America herself was surrendering to undocumented immigrants, as the Drudge Report’s homepage might suggest. |
| The predominant theory that emerged was that this was part of the ongoing conflict between New York’s hipsters and the rest of the population, but there was dispute over who was surrendering to whom. | The predominant theory that emerged was that this was part of the ongoing conflict between New York’s hipsters and the rest of the population, but there was dispute over who was surrendering to whom. |
| If a white flag is on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, does that mean all the hispters are surrendering? | If a white flag is on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, does that mean all the hispters are surrendering? |
| @Bookgirl96 @moorehn No, you have it backwards. It means that the city has surrendered to the hipsters (but this time, officially) | @Bookgirl96 @moorehn No, you have it backwards. It means that the city has surrendered to the hipsters (but this time, officially) |
| Both theories are valid. #Brooklyn has slowly but surely been usurping Manhattan as the city’s epicenter of cool. That lane could have been closed to make way for an invading cavalry of Citi Bikers. On the other hand, Williamsburg recently bowed to the capitalist overlords by welcoming its first Starbucks. "I can't believe I'm going into a corporate location," one person told DNAinfo. | Both theories are valid. #Brooklyn has slowly but surely been usurping Manhattan as the city’s epicenter of cool. That lane could have been closed to make way for an invading cavalry of Citi Bikers. On the other hand, Williamsburg recently bowed to the capitalist overlords by welcoming its first Starbucks. "I can't believe I'm going into a corporate location," one person told DNAinfo. |
| Regardless of who surrendered, nobody was going down without a fight. | Regardless of who surrendered, nobody was going down without a fight. |
| Members of The Resistance currently building stroller barricade on Flatbush Ave. #BrooklynInCrisis | Members of The Resistance currently building stroller barricade on Flatbush Ave. #BrooklynInCrisis |
| By late morning, the white flags had been removed and the stars and stripes were being delivered to the bridge. | By late morning, the white flags had been removed and the stars and stripes were being delivered to the bridge. |
| This American flag will soon be atop the Brooklyn Bridge pic.twitter.com/UAs9Go8kGQ | This American flag will soon be atop the Brooklyn Bridge pic.twitter.com/UAs9Go8kGQ |
| This #DOT Bridge painter is smoking a cigar while putting on harness to replace American flags on Brooklyn Bridge. pic.twitter.com/xb3UVkllou | This #DOT Bridge painter is smoking a cigar while putting on harness to replace American flags on Brooklyn Bridge. pic.twitter.com/xb3UVkllou |
| America was on its way to being whole once more. | America was on its way to being whole once more. |
| Or maybe that's just what they want us to think. | Or maybe that's just what they want us to think. |
| A theory shared on the City Hall steps pic.twitter.com/m0zGjpoZG5 | A theory shared on the City Hall steps pic.twitter.com/m0zGjpoZG5 |