The rangers including Stinnett need to start asking themselves some searching questions about who and what they work for and what price their jobs and if they are patriotic Americans.
She arrived at the Pisgah Inn around 12:30, after the demonstration had started. There were around 40-50 protesters, and people were coming and going in the protest group all the time she was there.
The rangers had the parking lots barricaded and were letting nobody through to the Inn, which is what they said their orders were. She said most of the protesters were older than she (she is 40). Some of them were quite vocal (she is new at this) and had signs.
Overall, everyone was friendly to each other except for one Subaru which showed up to jeer at the protesters. They were 4 lesbians (she thought - and she's seen enough of them around to know) likely from Asheville because of the plates, who were screaming something like "It's all YOUR fault!" and blaming the Republican right-wingers and Tea Party for the closure. When it was explained to them (rather forcefully by one of the Tea Party protesters) what the situation really was about, it sort of shut them up and they seemed a bit embarrassed and they then drove off. She said most other drivers and passersby were either cheering them on or were quietly neutral. She felt they had a lot of support from the public.
She talked with a couple of the rangers, including the supervisor. They were all highly sympathetic to the protesters and the Inn and didn't want to close the Inn down or the other Park areas. She was told by them they didn't want to be there doing this but they were told in no uncertain terms if they didn't they were going to lose their jobs! They insisted their pictures be taken with the protesters so they could show they were "for" them, not "against" them. The Asheville press was there and probably some TV people.
She was glad she went, even though she has never been to a demonstration.
We'll see tonight how this plays out in the media.