On 4/30/2011 1:49 AM, Richard Conrad wrote:
AS SOON AS CLARK PARK IS AVAILABLE AGAIN I SUGGEST WE USE IT FOR
PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY... TO CONDUCT TEACH-INS... TO FOSTER GATHERINGS OF
MASS CONSCIOUSNESS... AND TO DISCUSS AND ACT UPON THIS AND OTHER ISSUES.
Rick,
Yes, this is an important idea. Community consciousness is precisely
why I worked so hard to found the CPMAC after the previous festival
group gave up due to the constant harassment. Such gatherings are vital
for democracy, community, and the mental health of social creatures! (I
actually wanted to work for a documentary on Clark Park to examine how
such a public square and the rich culture it produces is vital to
diverse urban neighborhoods that work as well as ours did. When Penn
was calling this area a criminal wasteland, many of us were pointing out
that this had been one of the culturally richest urban communities in
America! But I fought with FOCP/UCD instead of this and other projects.)
Unfortunately, I need to be the bearer of more bad news. Such
gatherings of citizens look like they will soon be outlawed in all
Philadelphia parks, unless the organizers receive corporate sponsorship
and control! (Clark Park is the pilot project to be extended to the
entire city!)
In 2001-02, it was called the Special Events Review Committee of the
Fairmount Park Commission. (Vice President Siano recently let slip that
it was again being plotted against the entire city. Siano was not part
of FOCP when I fought UCD/FOCP about misapplying this committee to
neighborhood groups ten years ago.)
Essentially, any group requesting a park use permit is going to need to
pay many many thousands of dollars or face arrest for not obtaining this
permit. (This will end events by volunteers like the Clark Park
festivals and Woodland Ave Reunion unless corporate money takes these
over.) Connected corporations will undoubtedly get a waiver from these
requirements, like their waiver from taxes the rest of us pay.
Once this happens, neighborhood organizers will need to go to a hearing
and pay in advance for insurance, EMT's, and even the riot police to
beat us. (It's impossible to know details of other secret permit
changes being planned to restrict the rights of assembly.)
As I explained to Darco a couple of months ago, this law was a
response to the South St. Mardi Gras sponsored by for profit bars. It
was never intended to shut down block parties or neighborhood park
festivals. And park permits were also never intended to be used as a
method to impose unfair rules for some people and not others, as has
been the case for decades. Permits were originally intended to be a
reservation system to assist citizen groups when planning special events
like the ones you suggest.
This scheme is the big prize now that we are consumers rather than
citizens, and people of Philadelphia generally don't know it's coming!
Residents in other parts of the city certainly never expected this just
like they didn't expect the coming sales of large parts of Fairmount
Park. I expect this new permit rule will be kept quiet, and people will
only find out after their local community organizers can't get permits
anymore because of the cost.
Do you see how these tremendous cost increases will complete the
corporate coup seizing our parks, and simultaneously prevent us from
regaining a democratic system or constitutional rights, like our
brothers and sisters in the Arab world are struggling so hard to
obtain? (It seems most US backed Arab dictators called these laws
against assembly "emergency laws.")
Penn attempted to buy control and naming of the Clark Park festivals
back in 2000 after their complete 1999 flop called "The University of
Pennsylvania, Welcome to the Neighborhood festival." (The DP did an
article about this.) Maybe UCD will impose a BID tax on local residents
and swoop in to take control of future festivals. But which corporation
will sponsor a pro-democracy rally or teach in? And which poor
neighborhoods will receive corporate sponsors?
When these emergency laws are imposed, people need to hold the FOCP
responsible. Our anointed wanted control of Clark Park for themselves,
but some of us warned the anointed that they would never get the power
they wanted, but instead were giving the power to Penn by sacrificing
our rights. Think how this could have been stopped, if our local civic
associations had been on the side of their neighbors, and not so blinded
by their own lust for power!
At the time we abandon our principles and duties as citizens, it is hard
to know exactly where it will lead, only that it will always be bad. I
wish I didn't need to pass on this new threat to our parks and right to
assemble on public land.
Thanks for your sensible posts,
Glenn
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