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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]My guess is the Woodley Park people don"t want gang activity in their neighborhood. Why should they? [/quote]

Can you tell me which neighborhood wants gang activity?

I don't think anybody is suggesting people in Woodley Park should welcome or even accept crime. There is simply disagreement over which steps are appropriate. [b]Ending a tradition that is more than 100 years old because of two gun incidents over 15 years doesn't seem appropriate to many[/b].
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I really disagree with this as a resident of a neighborhood adjacent to Woodley Park whose teen is very likely to be walking on her own past the main Zoo entrance several times a week. All it takes is one violent incident to change any of our lives forever, and a single human life is infinitely more valuable than a tradition. (And I say this as someone in the general cultural heritage preservation business who does a lot for the sake of my own and others' traditions.) If trouble follows this event (and I think it's disingenuous to say that it doesn't-- since it certainly has at least a few times too many), fundamental, proactive changes to the event are needed to deter trouble. It's really not sufficient to have the police merely standing by to respond once trouble begins.

Somehow, I don't see how saying I don't want crime in my neighborhood suggests I (or others) think crime is ok in other neighborhoods. But I do think I have a particular responsibility to speak up when an area in which I permit my child's independent movement has seen a predictable pattern of violence that (I think) responsible decision-makers are obligated to interrupt.

And yes, I'd like to see all the violence stop. But I don't think the Zoo or Woodley Park should be obligated to assume increased risk until youth violence declines elsewhere.
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I agree completely.  Moreover, the fact is that the tradition of African American family day has been hijacked by teenage criminals who believe that guns and knives empower them and give them status.   They choose to act out their pretty grudge matches at a venue that is frequented by young children -- the zoo, a major boulevard where the sidewalks are typically croweded with strollers.  It has been repeatedly suggested that the event be restructured by requiring tickets, which should create a hurdle for the criminal element to show up; perhaps limited to young children and their families and/or the requirement that persons under age 18 be accompanied  by a parent or guardian.  I also think it would be good to make the event more inclusive of people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.[/quote]

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