now I wonder how many people will get shot, assaulted, or raped at NYC Pride
The infamous Seattle Autonomous Zone -- which excluded police -- formed during June 2020 in the midst of widespread protests against the killing of George Floyd -- experienced repeated episodes of gun violence, with six people shot -- two of whom died. There were also a number of sexual assaults.
Now that NYC Pride has essentially declared itself an autonomous zone, banning law enforcement, I wonder how much violence they'll experience.
When T and I would attend the annual GaymerX conventions, there was a heavy volunteer security presence, with lots of signs and handouts and announcements about what behaviors would not be tolerated, but these conventions were not weekend-long parties outdoors with lots of intoxicated people and they were not open to the public. They cost significant amounts of money to enter, were held on private property that was monitored by hotel staff, and provided plenty of non-intoxicated activities to keep people busy and entertained.
[Ironically? These GaymerX conventions eventually fell apart because the people running them were accused of sexually assaulting their own staff.]
But now you want to throw a huge public street party and exclude the police and provide your own private security ... I'm not hoping that bad stuff happens, but we are an increasingly violent and polarized country, and the NYPD have the training and experience for handling these kinds of events, as well as accountability to local leaders and news media.
Just two years ago the DC Pride Parade ended with a dangerous stampede after people thought they heard gunshots. Large crowds can be dangerous if not properly managed.
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It's also hypocritical to exclude every law enforcement organization on the planet from your parade while then providing your own private security teams. You admit that security is important to holding your event, while pretending to exclude security forces from your event, as though the people who happen to be running NYC Pride (however they're chosen) are the premiere security experts on the planet, as though private security forces never make mistakes of the sort that public security forces do.
I hear people on the Left react with fear and condemnation to the spread of right-wing militias, but NYC Pride is essentially creating a left-wing militia to police its parade. Private partisan militias on both sides, both sowing mistrust for public law enforcement. This is a dangerously authoritarian road.
Now that NYC Pride has essentially declared itself an autonomous zone, banning law enforcement, I wonder how much violence they'll experience.
When T and I would attend the annual GaymerX conventions, there was a heavy volunteer security presence, with lots of signs and handouts and announcements about what behaviors would not be tolerated, but these conventions were not weekend-long parties outdoors with lots of intoxicated people and they were not open to the public. They cost significant amounts of money to enter, were held on private property that was monitored by hotel staff, and provided plenty of non-intoxicated activities to keep people busy and entertained.
[Ironically? These GaymerX conventions eventually fell apart because the people running them were accused of sexually assaulting their own staff.]
But now you want to throw a huge public street party and exclude the police and provide your own private security ... I'm not hoping that bad stuff happens, but we are an increasingly violent and polarized country, and the NYPD have the training and experience for handling these kinds of events, as well as accountability to local leaders and news media.
Just two years ago the DC Pride Parade ended with a dangerous stampede after people thought they heard gunshots. Large crowds can be dangerous if not properly managed.
-----
It's also hypocritical to exclude every law enforcement organization on the planet from your parade while then providing your own private security teams. You admit that security is important to holding your event, while pretending to exclude security forces from your event, as though the people who happen to be running NYC Pride (however they're chosen) are the premiere security experts on the planet, as though private security forces never make mistakes of the sort that public security forces do.
I hear people on the Left react with fear and condemnation to the spread of right-wing militias, but NYC Pride is essentially creating a left-wing militia to police its parade. Private partisan militias on both sides, both sowing mistrust for public law enforcement. This is a dangerously authoritarian road.