As a musician living in SLO, I am concerned about the outrageously unconstitutional campaign to stop a religious holiday. Yes, I said it: Mardi Gras is a Catholic religious holiday. Using police force to oppress participants of religious events is illegal.
The ads make statements that run contrary to the U.S. Constitution, such as threats against out-of-town visitors and people exercising their constitutional right to assemble peaceably.
Both the ads and the web site they list fail to say who is issuing these statements. Every member of the SLO community I’ve talked to is horrified by the police-state sentiments in those ads, and many of them are afraid to go outside. I haven’t been added to the lease on my friend’s apartment yet — am I an out-of-town visitor? What would the SLO Police have done to me if they caught me outside Sunday? These are the kinds of questions the SLO community had to ask themselves this weekend. It seems someone is hiding behind the title of “The Community of San Luis Obispo� to avoid being held accountable for the act of terror they have committed against the community they claim to represent.
And what about the student who was pressured by police to retract his “Poly Gras� article? I can’t attend — I’ll be at a charity concert that day — but I applaud the idea.
The Beastie Boys were right: “You’ve gotta fight for your right to party.�
DJ Ch405
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Feb 10-17, 2005.
