Madison Halloween 2006. Party At Your Own Risk

The following is from the back of the Admission Ticket to State Street for Halloween, 2006

You figure out what it means. And if you want to shop at any store on State Street, tough. You are in the land of the perpetually progressive perfect where we decry the Bush Administration's Patriot Act but will not allow you, without the payment of $5.00, to walk a city street.

Comments

[Clinton]

As a resident of State St., I predict that the waived $5 fee will probably not be worth the unavoidable exposure to tear gas and/or pepper spray. (My neighbors have already warned me that not closing your windows those nights is a very bad idea.)

Some burning questions:

1) What if everyone manages to show up before 7:30pm? What if the streets are rushed at 6:30 by (already drunken) partygoers wishing to beat the gate price? Will everyone be kicked off of State St. at 7 and have to go through the pains of getting back in (only to be kicked off again at 1:30)?

2) If someone who lives on State St. has to work at a bar or late-night food place elsewhere and doesn't get done with work until 3:30am, what happens? According to the website, after 1:30am, no one gets in. Do they sleep on the street?

3) As my apartment building has entrances both on State St. and another street outside the "Danger Zone", what will prevent unscrupulous neighbors from turning my building into a State St. Underground Railroad for those who won't cough up the $5?

4) In this disclaimer, is the city giving itself Carte Blanche for police brutality? Or just ineffective law enforcement and peacekeeping?

Maybe next year we could throw the party in Camp Randall, where there aren't any storefronts to loot or windows to break or any of those pesky 'residents.'

[Madison Guy]

Fenced-In Areas Compared: Travis in the old SNL skit had one vision for his fenced-in area -- "I'm gonna make my fenced-in area an area that's neat and special, with a special purpose." The city of Madison has another vision. It involves using a fence to "rebrand" Halloween.

http://letterfromhere.blogspot.com/2006/10/fenced-in-areas-compared.html