Do those who clog our downtown streets with their automobiles after basketball, baseball or football games obtain a parade permit to do so?
They do not. Are they dragged from their cars, beaten and maced, and left on foot in downtown after their cars are impounded? Of course not. Rather, we seriously discuss a citywide or countywide sales tax increase to subsidize their behavior. What, then, is the difference between Critical Mass and a Twins crowd? I have an idea: maybe the fact that we can't be counted on to spend money in downtown businesses after the ride has something to do with it. Or maybe it's simply the way we look. The simplest solution to the conflict between Critical Mass riders and the MPD is for the MPD to change its policy of suppression, and treat our monthly gathering the way they treat the crowds coming out of the Metrodome or Target Center: a brief inconvenience for some users of our public spaces to allow and support the celebration of others. I can assure you that a crowd of Critical Mass riders will be easier on the lungs than the SUVs of Viking fans. And we don't litter. Robin Garwood Seward Elected Member, Minneapolis/5th District Green Party Steering Committee _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
