The Statue of Liberty mysteriously went dark just in time for the Day Without Women

By Rafi Schwartz  |  March 8, 2017 | 1:43pm
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On Tuesday evening, the Statue of Liberty—America’s largest female immigrant—went conspicuously dark for a few mysterious hours. It wasn’t until just before midnight that her iconic torch began illuminating New York Harbor once again. The outage was, some speculated, a show of solidarity ahead of the planned “Day Without Women” protests scheduled for Wednesday.

Was Lady Liberty actually striking along with the thousands of women who plan to skip work, save their money, and hit the streets to protest for gender equality?

Unfortunately, probably not.

According to National Parks Service public affairs officer Jerry Willis, the mysterious power outage on Liberty island was likely the result of ongoing work to install a backup power generator for the landmark, and that it was “not in any way” a political statement.

“We don’t use the lighting system to back any particular cause,” he told the Washington Post.

Nevertheless, the symbolism of the America’s iconic Lady Liberty stepping out of the spotlight for a bit just as women around the country prepare to do the same is awfully on the nose, don’t you think?

 
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