Washington different for this inauguration

A day before the inauguration of the 46th president of the United States, I chose to walk to my office in downtown Washington to save time.

The heart of the District of Columbia used to be beating with bustling businesses and travelers. Not on Tuesday.

Instead, streets resonated with the rhythm of tactical boots worn by National Guard troops, as well as the soft sound of sneakers by a weary press corps covering the scene.

Much of the city was closed off as never before to avert any repetition of events like the violent storming of the Capitol that led to five deaths two weeks ago.

High black fencing has been erected around the Capitol, around some businesses and other federal buildings throughout the city.

The number of National Guard troops brought in to defend the US capital — 20,000 to 25,000 — has surpassed more than the number of US troops in the war theaters of Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria combined.

As I walked along 17th Street with barricaded buildings, I encountered small squads of hoodie-wearing National Guard troops, each laden with a backpack. They seemed to have just arrived for their mission.

Having just heard that 12 of their comrades had been removed from security duties at the Capitol for "questionable behavior" in their past during security screening on Tuesday, I wondered if any of these troops were coming to fill the vacancies.

I had dispensed with my backpack, carrying only a camera and a palm-sized notebook to easily and quickly get through possible searching at checkpoints. That was also for safety considerations.

At least nine journalists were physically assaulted by rioters during the Jan 6 Capitol mayhem, and the TV equipment of my fellow colleagues covering the turmoil was damaged.

Despite an alert for pre-inauguration violence, Tuesday, just like the weekend and Monday, was basically quiet and peaceful in the district thanks to the large presence of the National Guard and extra police.

There was, though, a small noisy protest on Black Life Matters Plaza near the front of the White House.

The road was officially named by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser in early June amid demonstrations against the killing of George Floyd, a black man, while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

The plaza has become a venue for people to vent against racial injustice, police brutality and now "domestic terrorists", as the posters and their banners showed.

On the roadside, a white woman, waving small flags, was singing religious and patriotic American songs in front of a painted portrait of Martin Luther King Jr.

She was approached and interrupted by a young black man as people gathered around them.

The counterprotester, hoisting a BLM flag on one hand and holding a loudspeaker in another, stood just inches from the woman.

They were at an impasse — as neither refused to move. And there was an exchange of words among passers-by, who seemed to be at odds with each other about the protest.

Almost all the shops and restaurants on the streets nearby were boarded up in case of pre-inauguration violence, which was seen in the summer when the anti-racism movement turned up the heat.

The only difference between then and now is that the fortifying of the nation's capital seems to be more creative. At one spot, a portrait of King, the civil rights legend, seemed to be staring at some of the plywood.

Around the National Press Building on the 14th Street, where a host of international press outlets have offices, looked much different.

The street on the building's west side was off limits to the public, with rows of soldiers lined up near a barricade.

Troops also were outside a restaurant across from the press building, turning the area into sort of an open-air barracks.

How should we the press, who are supposed to scribble the "first rough draft of history", record the unfolding history on the streets?

I remember talking to Cal Jillson, a political scientist and historian at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, about the unprecedented show of force in the district and state capitals around the US.

"Once Biden is inaugurated and tensions begin to abate, it will be important to get the barriers down as soon as is responsibly possible," he said.

I went to the office to get a new face mask. What I thought would be a faster walk turned out to take thrice the time compared with a normal day.

But then it was anything but a normal day.