O.K. then. Can anyone please prove Glenn wrong... I'm fairly certain he would welcome it. Let's please soon hear from someone about this idea...
Darco Lalevic, Brian Siano, Anthony West, William H. Magill, will you pledge to avail in whatever ways are needed, in making Clark Park free for use, by citizens interested in sponsoring peaceful public gatherings - to share information about important concerns, and/or to engage in peaceful assembly and make common protest to grievous conditions? Rick Conrad On Apr 30, 2011, at 8:53 AM, Glenn wrote: > > > 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 > > > >