A professor has taken to Twitter to provide instructions, perhaps with the anarchists and other rioters in mind, on how to remove an obelisk that "might be masquerading as a racist monument," a clear reference to the Washington Monument.
"BUT OF COURSE THIS IS ALL ENTIRELY HYPOTHETICAL," said Sarah Parcak, a Guggenheim fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a Guggenheim fellow. "ALSO PLEASE DO NOT PULL DOWN WASHINGTON MONUMENT."
"We have seen a lot of disgusting, repugnant tweets and threads on Twitter, especially with the riots going on across the country," said Twitter news aggregator Twitchy.
"But this thread from a professor named Sarah Parcak giving very specific details on how to destroy the Washington Monument is a humdinger of horrible."
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She opens with a "PSA" for anyone contemplating such action.
PSA For ANYONE who might be interested in how to pull down an obelisk* safely from an Egyptologist who never ever in a million years thought this advice might come in handy
*might be masquerading as a racist monument I dunno
— Sarah Parcak (@indyfromspace) June 1, 2020
She explains her background: "I'm an Egyptologist. I have worked in Egypt for 20 years and know a lot about ancient Egyptian architecture. Especially how they raised obelisks," and she explains the "key" is getting gravity to work.
"Chances are good the obelisk extends into the ground a bit, so you want to get CHAINS NOT ROPE (it's 2020 AD not BC let metal work for you) extended tightly around the top (below pointy bit) and 1/3 down forming circles."
For every 10 ft of monument, you'll need 40+ people. So, say, a 20 ft tall monument, probably 60 people. You want strong rope attached to the chain---rope easier to hold onto versus chain. EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE WEARING GLOVES FOR SAFETY (there is a lot of safety first)
— Sarah Parcak (@indyfromspace) June 1, 2020
You probably want 150+ ft of rope x 2...you'll want to be standing 30 feet away from obelisk so it won't topple on you (your safety! first!). This gives enough slack for everyone to hold on to rope, alternating left right left right. Here's the hard part...pulling in unison
— Sarah Parcak (@indyfromspace) June 1, 2020
She outlines how many people are needed and the quantity of rope, recommends wearing gloves for "safety."
"Imagine thinking this is something smart to post on Twitter," Twitchy said.
Then Parcak advises that two groups of people on opposite sides "PULL TOGETHER BACK AND FORTH" to create a "rocking motion."
"YOU WILL NEED SOMEONE WITH A LOUDSPEAKER DIRECTING," she predicted.
It wouldn't be hard, she says.
"Just keep pulling till there's a good rocking, there will be more and more and more tilting, you have to wait more for the obelisk to rock back and time it to pull when it's come to you."
WATCH THAT SUMBITCH TOPPLE GET THE %^&* OUT OF THE WAY IT WILL SMASH RUN AWAY FROM DIRECTION.
Then celebrate. Because #BlackLivesMatter and good riddance to any obelisks pretending to be ancient Egyptian obelisks when they are in fact celebrating racism and white nationalism
— Sarah Parcak (@indyfromspace) June 1, 2020
The Gateway Pundit blog noted Twitter did not "flag" the comments.
But Twitter user Mike Iscovitz asked, "What is the difference between what you're doing and someone listing advice on how to build a pipe bomb?"
Twitchy replied: "Nothing."