dan_edge Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 (edited) A protest in opposition to City Council’s “emergency” curfew will take place on Saturday, 9/5 @ 10pm at the intersection of Main St. and Court St. This event is being coordinated lawfully with the knowledge and advisement of the Greenville Police Department. See links for more information. --Dan Edge Edited September 4, 2009 by dan_edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Hope it goes well for you Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SD26 Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Looking forward to hearing an update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
th3ranger Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 I live relatively nearby in Charleston, I have not heard about these crowds. Why exactly are large groups of people gathering in downtown Greenville? What have they been doing that prompted this? I read the link you made but I could not find the whole story. Has this been going on for a long time? What started it? Could you tell us what exactly has been going on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_edge Posted September 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Why exactly are large groups of people gathering in downtown Greenville? What have they been doing that prompted this? I read the link you made but I could not find the whole story. Has this been going on for a long time? What started it? Could you tell us what exactly has been going on? For the past several years, the City of Greenvile has made extensive efforts to renovate the "Historic West End." Building restrictions on an entire city section of "historical landmarks" resulted in a massive ghetto, which so often happens in "historic" areas. Basically the City scuttled historic restrictions at their leisure, knocked down a bunch of burned out old industrial buildings on the river, allowed them to be converted into hotels, condos, arts venues, and restaurants, and completely renovated the adjacent Reedy River Park, to stunningly beautiful effect. As a result, commerce and nightlife in the West End has exploded over the past few years. The West End, formally reserved for the homeless, crack dealers, and criminals, is now crowded by thousands of people every weeknight. Not surprisingly, many minors are among the influx of new downtown patrons. Downtown Greenville has always been a mecca for high school and young college students, and now even more so. What has happened is that large numbers of young people are gathering in or near the West End, and some of them are deviants creating chaos. Thus past weekend, a huge crowd of young people created quite a ruckus, fighting and destroying property. this event precipitated the "emergency" curfew initiative, which most expect will become permanent in short order. On a practical level, this happened because, while the City has done all it can to create a commercial explosion in downtown, it has not increased police funcing and presence at the same rate. From what I can see, there are roughly the same number of cops patrolling downtown now as there were 4 years ago, when there were half as many people crowding the streets on a Friday night. Police I spoke to in planning this protest (unofficially) confirmed that fact. They are getting funding cuts, while the risk of civil disorder rises. The City's answer was to restrict all youth from downtown after 10pm without supervision of adult guardians. I think this is complete bullshit, for reasons stated in my editorial. Thanks! I'll try to write a protest report tonight or tomorrow. --Dan Edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_edge Posted September 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 I was arrested last night. More info to follow. --Dan Edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake_Ellison Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Doesn't handing them signs amount to you encouraging them to break the curfew? I'm sorry, but if I had a child, and any interaction of theirs with an adult lead them to ignore a city council order, being enforced by the Police, I would like to have that adult arrested precisely for "contributing to the delinquency of a minor". I don't know what the curfew is about, and whether you're right or wrong to protest against it, but you can protest without dragging someone's children into your protest, especially when that would put them in violation with city rules, and subject ti being detained by the police. Why would you use children for anything, why didn't you have other adults join you in your protest instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Good show Dan. Sounds like that cop was an idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_edge Posted September 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Why would you use children for anything, why didn't you have other adults join you in your protest instead? I didn't check the IDs of anyone showing up to protest. And I didn't advise anyone to stay if the police asked them to leave. I told them all that if they were under 18, and the police asked them to leave, per the ordinance they would either have to go or risk detainment. The hand bill I created was sent to Major McLaughlin of the Greenville PD the day before, and he voiced nothing but encouragement and sound advice. Several of the police officers present had read the hand bill I created, and said nothing about potential criminal implications. I was arrested only after after two teenagers, attempting to leave per police orders, were detained in a manner completely in opposition to the spirit of the emergency curfew ordinance. I'm writing up a thorough report. Check my blog for details. --Dan Edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake_Ellison Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) I didn't check the IDs of anyone showing up to protest. Nor should you, checking the ID's of your fellow protesters would be a ridiculous thing to do. But, if your defense is that you didn't know their age, then I have to ask: Why didn't you ask them about their age? That would've been a reasonable inquiry, especially since you instructed them what to do if they are underage. Wouldn't it make more sense to say: "Hey how old are you? -I'm 17. -Alright, then if a cop asks you to leave, do it, ok?." than to say: "Hey, if you are under the age of 18, then if a cop asks you to leave, do it, but if your above the age of 18, then never mind. OK?" Or, if your defense is that their age is irrelevant, I disagree with that too. You shouldn't go around recruiting minors for protests. I don't have a problem with the protests, not even with defying city orders, if they're wrong, I just disagree with involving minors. Edited September 7, 2009 by Jake_Ellison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_edge Posted September 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 A detailed chronicle of my version of the events before, during, and after Saturday night's curfew protest -- which led to my arrest -- is now available on my blog here: http://danedgeofreason.blogspot.com/2009/0...e-story-of.html --Dan Edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 "Hey how old are you? -I'm 17. -Alright, then if a cop asks you to leave, do it, ok?." than to say: "Hey, if you are under the age of 18, then if a cop asks you to leave, do it, but if your above the age of 18, then never mind. OK?" Jake, there isn't a dime's worth of practical difference between the two. You seem to be splitting hairs here. I can't see where Dan was encouraging anyone to break the law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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