Reply to Zoo Lights Shooting and Violence

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm the PP who made the remark last night on this thread about "people not from this neighborhood." I only meant to point out the implicit classicism/racism in some of the comments about the shooting. I wasn't endorsing violence. It's terrible that this happened at the Zoo, just as it's terrible when it happens in other areas of the city All.The.Time. It's also terrible that the racism on this thread has only gotten worse and more blatant. [/quote]

Thank you for this.  I"m the person that made the "people not from this neighborhood" quote, and first I'd like to apologize for it, and thank god for anonymity.  I often type more quickly and more abbreviated than what I originally intended.  Obviously, not from this neighborhood is dog whistle for NIMBY-ism and racism, and that was not remotely the intent.

The phrase was highlighted in my original post, however, the point I was trying to make was actually not about the perpetrators.  I was looking beyond this specific incident to the possible ramifications of the incident.  I was in no way talking about the specific incident or decrying the incident itself being the cause of people not from here.  I was predicting that the ZOO would use this incident to push through some measures they've been advocating for a couple of years.  For example, I used to be able to walk through the zoo starting as early as 6 am and lasting into the evening, and a few years ago the Zoo, citing "safety" shortened the hours the zoo was open.  Only a very few people took advantage of the open grounds of the zoo at 6 am, and it was a fun place to run in the neighborhood. The zoo wants more permanent fencing and more fewer entry points, with tighter controls.  I'll admit, that does make some sense during high traffic times like Zoo lights and Easter.  But for the most part, it really only serves as building more walls between the neighborhood and the Zoo.  Unlike the majority of the Smithsonian, the Zoo is BOTH a neighborhood AND a national resource.

So, I was aggravated last night that the Zoo would likely take the events of last night and use them to further impose further restrictions that don't actually help prevent things like last night from happening, but that do affect the way the Zoo interacts with neighbors.

I don't know what the solution is.  I wish Bowser would speak out more about violence and crime.  I know the city is safer than it has been, but I think people from all over should be able to go to the Zoo and have a fun family night.

At the same time, I have a teenager.  I'd like it if my teenager could have some freedom and go places with friends.  I like that Zoo lights is free and I think the City needs more places where teenagers can hang out and be teens - more events, more spaces, more fun activities.  But not teenagers with guns, or not teens that fight, but just more engaging spaces for teens to be teens - safely and legally.

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The zoo should start piping in classical music when open.  A number of establishments including some McDonalds in DC, do this because they’ve found that the wrong element hates it and won’t congregate or loiter.  It’s worth a shot (no pun intended).[/quote]

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