should the actions of a few outside of the realm of decency impact everyone, or should they be held accountable personally?
if a small group of people were to disturb the peace at say...the zoo...should they then require city ID cards to enter the zoo?
and considering the race of the people who typically used the courts - is this not an obvious attempt to target and eradicate the black presence in this town?
no one can say the park was becoming unsafe - i frequented those courts often and there was a lot of friendly playing. i never felt unsafe there. i remember one very nice black man who visited the courts daily with his children and had "practice" with his kids. i would play with the black guys there and they were friendly and minded their own business - their mind was on playing basketball.
around 6pm there were always a large group of people at the court playing pickup games. sometimes they would range in ages, from 14 to 40. it was a positive place for youth to go outside and play free basketball.
the only thing "unsafe" in the eyes of some people was the large mass of black men...and that is disgustingly racist. yes, if a large group of black men scare you, you are racist.
yes - in the heat of playing a sport some people would get competitive/aggressive...it happens in sports...and some fights did happen.
yes - some people did call out and say inappropriate things to female walkers - but they had no intentions of raping or killing them...some black men are very forward sexually...and some of the little black boys who visit the courts were immature and said inappropriate things...but does this warrant the response it did? why not just remove those who act in this manner?
i just feel - if people break the law, they should be fined and punished. if the peace is being disturbed, we have a system in place to deal with it.
who has the job of punishing and fining those who break the law? the police.
who can notify the police when crimes are committed and the peace of the public space is being disturbed? the person who is getting paid to sit there and watch.
should the community allow the licentious actions of a few lazy police and park employees hinder access to public spaces?
i do not think this solution was the best choice, and i think as a result the people, particularly the youth, are the ones to suffer.