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Really? This is what you are getting from this? The old "slippery slope" argument has never been valid.
Anecdotally, as a former NY resident, I have seen and experienced this with my own eyes:
When Giuliani became Mayor, he, at first, instituted many policies that were helpful. But this soon set a course which made even innocuous activities illegal, all under the guise of "maintaining civility." Under his leadership, everything that he decried as being a nuisance was banned. The outcome is that a lot of festivities practiced by NY'ers for generations were affected; elements which made the City unique - for example: longtime pushcart food vendors whose activities were greatly curtailed or eliminated by newfound statutes, are another example. Did it happen overnight? No; it started with "common sense" statutes.
Unfortunately, NY law enforcement do not use discretion or grace when applying the law; the prior "use of a leafblower at night" example was a great illustration: if I were to use a leafblower momentarily at night to scare off a copperhead seeking to enter my open garage, it's both good for the copperhead and for the homeowner, yet doing so would put me in a situation whereupon I was breaking a statute. And in NY, there is no discretion or grace when enforcing statutes.
Same thing would be if I were to scare off a copperhead with a water hose from entering an open garage, during a time when outside watering is prohibited: yes, I broke a statute, yet the outcome is good for both the copperhead, and for the homeowner.
While I appreciate the intention of GVL's leaders to want to maintain a modicum of civility in the public square, enforcement without discretion swings the pendulum in the opposite direction, while the best compromise is usually found down the middle. Thankfully, the South has a recent tradition of considering the feelings of everyone, and that approach has worked extremely well: people of different ethnicities and backgrounds get along quite well - although I don't know that there's not another "Giuliani" waiting in the wings.
I'd like to see political protests banned in Falls Park and on Main St.
Like you, I am not fond of political protests; I don't care for the rancor and disharmony that's associated with them; I would rather befriend my neighbor than argue with him, and I hope that society will at some point reach a place of congeniality.
Anecdotally, as a former NY resident, I have seen and experienced this with my own eyes:
When Giuliani became Mayor, he, at first, instituted many policies that were helpful. But this soon set a course which made even innocuous activities illegal, all under the guise of "maintaining civility." Under his leadership, everything that he decried as being a nuisance was banned. The outcome is that a lot of festivities practiced by NY'ers for generations were affected; elements which made the City unique - for example: longtime pushcart food vendors whose activities were greatly curtailed or eliminated by newfound statutes, are another example. Did it happen overnight? No; it started with "common sense" statutes.
Unfortunately, NY law enforcement do not use discretion or grace when applying the law; the prior "use of a leafblower at night" example was a great illustration: if I were to use a leafblower momentarily at night to scare off a copperhead seeking to enter my open garage, it's both good for the copperhead and for the homeowner, yet doing so would put me in a situation whereupon I was breaking a statute. And in NY, there is no discretion or grace when enforcing statutes.
It sounds like those street vendors were making it difficult for pedestrians to walk down the sidewalks in a busy urban center. Local business owners wanted to ease the sidewalk congestion.
It sounds like those street vendors were making it difficult for pedestrians to walk down the sidewalks in a busy urban center. Local business owners wanted to ease the sidewalk congestion.
NYC's sidewalks were designed at a time when automobiles were very uncommon, so they're very very wide. The main issue was tax revenue; the ability for the City to collect tax revenue from street vendors was a common complaint, as street vendors are a cash only business.
Like you, I am not fond of political protests; I don't care for the rancor and disharmony that's associated with them; I would rather befriend my neighbor than argue with him, and I hope that society will at some point reach a place of congeniality.
But would you have banned Dr King?
You can have designated areas for protests that don't include a park designed for recreation or busy commerce areas like Main Street.
I don't have a problem with political protests in general.
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