Keene State Pumpkin Fest riots October, 2014
The world -- or at least regionally -- famous Keene New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival will not live to see its 25th year. Killed off by the international bad press generated by riots that broke out last year strikingly reminiscent of our own Blarney Blowout.
Although in our case BB was not attached to any particular Town or University sponsored event, as it was simply a juvenile promotion conjured up by downtown bars to stimulate business. Ending up with a little more stimulation than they wished for.
But if Blarney had been associated with a legitimate event, the tragedy that just occurred in Keene's City Council chambers would be sort of like our Select Board pulling the permit for the Taste of Amherst or -- God forbid -- the celebratory pot festival, Extravaganja.
According to the only Keene City Councilor (out of 14) who opposed denying the permit: “We’ll be known as the city of the pumpkin festival riot. Keene State College will be remembered as the college that killed off the Pumpkin Festival.”
Yikes! Can you imagine if UMass became known as the college that killed off Extravaganja?
Let this be a lesson boys and girls: the misdeeds of the very few can significantly impact the reputations of the very many.
Hopefully our college aged youth will remember that over next four weekends leading up to graduations.
Comparing or contrasting these two towns makes little sense. The philosophy of the residents could not be more different in these two places. Amherst, the collective vs. Keene, the medium sized freedom loving New England town.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine the bloodshed if they tried to put 200+ cops in Keene at one time like they did in Amherst? The citizens would revolt. They are more educated about their rights. They don't consider the constitution a burden there.
If an event is worth having, permission will not be requested. People will just assemble, as is their right in many other places in the US outside of the collective of Amherst.
Oh, I think Keene ended up with close to 200 cops needed to quell the riot.
ReplyDeleteAnd I bet the people of Keene will not just spontaneously throw a Pumpkin Fest this coming October.
I am not so sure Larry.
ReplyDeleteThere is a pent up anger that will eventually explode way beyond the level of 200 or 2000 cops being to suppress it.
ReplyDelete"Hopefully our college aged youth will remember that over next four weekends leading up to graduations."
Particularly since there won't be a spring concert this year...
RIOT......
Remember folks we are talking about "college aged youth" not freakin' ISIS.
ReplyDeleteHow much "pent up anger" can there be when they are only here for four years (well, maybe five, or six, or ...)
Larry, "college aged youth" are joining ISIS -- whom do you think they are recruiting?
ReplyDeleteAlienated young people.
And it takes less than 4 years to alienate someone....
And the only thing preventing riots in Amherst are an overwhelming police presence, which -- the second it slips -- is when the riot starts.
Larry, how many of the rioters in Ferguson had lived there for four months, let alone four years?
ReplyDeleteIf there is ever anything like the Red Sox riots again -- if there is ever anything that isn't over by dawn the next day, you'll have pissed off young troublemakers coming in from at least a dozen states by nightfall of the 2nd day and Amherst will become a warzone.
And the sky will, finally, fall.
ReplyDelete(As Hell freezes over.)
Larry,
ReplyDeleteBack when Charlie Scherpa was Chief, a town meeting member (townie whose name you would recognize) tried to talk me into getting a couple of undergrads to spray paint "Pigs Suck" on the side of the police station.
The person believed that Scherpa would do something stupid which of course would be caught on video which would then immediately posted to UTube and such, along with rumors that the kids had actually died -- headlines like "APD 2, UMass O" and the rest.
I was horrified -- on multiple levels.
In addition to everything else, I knew that it would work. Within a few hours not only would the life of every police officer in the valley be in mortal peril but the lives of their families as well -- particularly because this schmuck wanted to post their addresses.
Larry, I don't scare easily -- and this one scared me -- enough for me to make it not possible to happen. That time...
All someone has to do is start chanting "kill the pigs" and things will get quite ugly quite fast. I think that's the part that they edited out of your quite expensive report.
All it will take is a spark...
ReplyDeleteDidn't you listen to the nuns? Catholic theology is that Hell is actually *cold* -- like dry ice -- the cold of hatred and such.
Cold can burn you as much as hot can.
Okay, how about "When Hell provides BIG screen TVs and cold beer."
ReplyDelete(But not so cold as to burn you.)
Ed, you are so full of it.
ReplyDeleteSo now Ed is stating that he held the fate of Amherst's police (and their families) in his hands. Thank you for sparing them oh mighty one.
ReplyDeleteREALLY.....
ReplyDeleteI know it happened, God knows it happened, and I suspect (hope) the individual speaking to me remembers it happening as well.
As to you, well, like, I care?
Larry, when you started this blog, did you expect that Ed's comments would become like an algae bloom?
ReplyDeleteHey. Free country . Ed gets to opine. Same as all of us.
ReplyDeleteAs well as wonder if it was a mistake stopping that person. Or if I should name him now.
ReplyDeleteDante can talk about the innermost circle of Hell, but I do sometimes wonder if one should simply do the easy thing instead of the right thing...
Happy Easter to all!
ReplyDeleteStay positive!
I was there last year. Let's make one thing clear, what you heard from the media was a complete lie. The riots and ill behavior wasn't even at the Fest. It was a mile and half away in campus private housing. Sort of like riots in North Amherst during an unrelated event in downtown. No one at the festival even knew what happened other than hearing sirens in the distance.
ReplyDeleteThe festival was blamed. I understand the town NIMBYS hated the festival as it brought too many people and too much mess and this was a great excuse to end it. The elders needed this to happen to finally end the event. Other than store owners who made up to 30% of their yearly income on the day, the NIBMYS hated it.
The woman who ran it was very nice and she had many enemies in the community as she was always looking for bigger and better and the NIMBYS hated that. The event was eclipsing itself each year.
Is NIMBY another word for Resident? Many residents of Keene did not like the pumpkin fest, so now they are name-called NIMBYs. Put your thinking caps on people. L
ReplyDeleteIf the glove -- I mean shoe -- fits ...
ReplyDeleteNIMBY is a cheap label that allows people to dismiss contrary opinions without consideration. It gets thrown out in order to dismiss the other side's arguments.
ReplyDeleteUsually made by somebody who lives in somewhat close proximity to the proposed development or -- these days -- assumes someday it could be their backyard, so why not join the fight in some other part of town.
ReplyDeleteNIMBYs of a feather flock together.
There are some people that object to everything. But there are others that rightly object to being steamrolled by moneyed interests that have little regard for the impact they have on others.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in Amherst a long time. I've seen lots of proposals. Some were good and some were bad. All were touted as God's gift to Amherst. I can't say we're worse off because the mall was never built or that we don't have the Rt. 9 bypass running through our backyards.
ReplyDeleteThe NIMBY impulse is the only thing that spurs new people to run for Town Meeting. Otherwise, it's the same crew that was there 15 years ago.
ReplyDeleteAnd that fact tends to skew the voting in that allegedly august institution.
What mall was never built?
ReplyDeleteHas the planning board or zba ever turned down a project? Any examples of a no?
ReplyDeleteThere was a mall proposed for the east side of Amherst on RT. 9 near Rolling Green Apartments.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine a mall out there would have done well.
ReplyDeleteOf course people forget that the Holyoke Mall is on the old City Dump.