Boring Charlotte

[Temeteron]

kinda off subject, didnt really know where to state this info but I'll state it in this topic.....AOL had an article stating the wealthiest zip codes in America, and in the past 5 years Charlotte's median gained 47.1%!!! It was ranked #6 out of 6...

[AuLukey]

I think that Charlotte is gaining on the "things to do past 10pm" list lately. And nowensense, I hate to so strongly disagree with you, but I know a heck of a lot more people in their late 20's and early 30's that go out uptown more often than teenagers and valid 21yo's. The young professional crowd in Charlotte is growing much more rapidly than most people think. While I myself have here for 12 years, I know more people now that have moved here in the last four years than I do people that have lived here much longer than that.

in the past 5 years Charlotte's median gained 47.1%!!!

[Charlotte_native]

It seems to me, in walking around downtown at night, that you will get a completely different picture of who goes out downtown depending on the time of night and part of Tryon Street. South Tryon, VAST majority over 30, cross over the square to north Tryon, get around the bars, majority under 30. Both, obviously with exceptions. Get past 10:30 or so the crowd age diminishes. Pretty normal for most cities that i've been to.

[nowensone]

I think that Charlotte is gaining on the "things to do past 10pm" list lately. And nowensense, I hate to so strongly disagree with you, but I know a heck of a lot more people in their late 20's and early 30's that go out uptown more often than teenagers and valid 21yo's. The young professional crowd in Charlotte is growing much more rapidly than most people think. While I myself have here for 12 years, I know more people now that have moved here in the last four years than I do people that have lived here much longer than that.

[eastsider]

One of Charlotte's not-so-boring events is just around the corner. The first bands for Speedstreet have been announced, nothing to get excited about yet, still waiting to see what else is in store.

http://www.600festival.com/sched_index.html

[rockhilljames]

Are you kidding me?! Toni Toni Tone?!! They ROCK!! "It's the new-jack swing comin' atcha!!"

Plus...Cheap Trick! I love Cheap Trick!!

Actually, pretty good considering it's just the initial annoncements.

[voyager12]

Cindy Sheehan will be in town tomorrow as part of her march on Washington. There will be a noon anti-war rally at 1230 Morehead St near Rep Watt's office. At 5pm there will be a mass rally at Bryant Park at 1701 Morehead. In case of hard rain the evening rally will be moved to Charlotte Energy Solutions at 337 Baldwin Ave in Cherry. I am not sure how I feel about Cindy Sheehan anymore. She has morphed from a person of dignity to a media circus but the underlying belief in ending this war is the paramount issue in my opinion and the more public pressure exerted the better.

[jednc]

Cindy Sheehan will be in town tomorrow as part of her march on Washington. There will be a noon anti-war rally at 1230 Morehead St near Rep Watt's office. At 5pm there will be a mass rally at Bryant Park at 1701 Morehead. In case of hard rain the evening rally will be moved to Charlotte Energy Solutions at 337 Baldwin Ave in Cherry. I am not sure how I feel about Cindy Sheehan anymore. She has morphed from a person of dignity to a media circus but the underlying belief in ending this war is the paramount issue in my opinion and the more public pressure exerted the better.

[geekUSA1981]

Forgive my ignorance...who is Cindy Sheehan?

[Raintree21]

All the fuss on the news and she didn't even show up to her protest at Bryant Park. Her staffers said she didn't go because pro-war supporters outnumbered her anti-war protesters.

Edit: now they are saying that she stayed close to her still-running car at a Bryant Park rally but didn't speak to supporters. Geez, news people, get your story straight.

[jednc]

The Anti-War Mom. Her son was killed in Iraq a couple years ago. Since then, she has set out on a mission to end the war and destroy Bush/his administration. While she was originally viewed sympathetically as a heartbroken mom who lost her son in war, she has, as voyager noted, morphed into somewhat of a media circus. After making some rather outlandish statements (ex: wishing she could travel back in time and murder Bush as an infant in his crib; claiming she had a hysterectomy last summer and buried her uterus in the ground in Crawford, TX, near Bush's ranch) and being police escorted/arrested from several events, she's lost, in my opinion, quite a bit of her credibility.

[cinco]

whatever your stance is on cindy sheehan... it amazes me the pure vitriol people express over her. i empathize with the loss of her son and it seems to me she is walking a path of grieving and trying to honor her son - by doing what she feels best serves his legacy as well as others who have fought and died in this liars war. the true psycho's are the people of this administration who orchestrated this damnable death game. the people who continue to support the war hawk's and their policies in iraq - are right beneath them. IMO.

5 1/2 years ago (after 9-11) the country and even most of the world was behind the U.S. in solidarity. we took that fight to where we should have - afghanistan. then began a propaganda machine, so vast, by this administration to attack iraq. the result was a bitterly divided country and world. in such a short time... what happened. IMO, that is the truest mark of a horrible, horrible leader and as time goes by - i increasingly feel that the people who continue to beat the iraq war drum and praise the president - are horrible citizens. maybe it seems harsh but, i'm tired of lack of accountability.

sorry to get off topic... it obviously proves that cindy sheehan's appearance in charlotte was anythig but boring. i have a friend that drove past her on morehead and said it was quite a crowd.

[elvigy]

Ah...I was familiar with her without knowing her actual name. Just goes to show these media whore types don't make the impact they hope they will.

Yeah, I watched the news and their report. Apparently they weren't too impressed with her either. She sounds like a psycho with the fetus burial and all.

As for the pro-war protesters outnumbering the anti-war protesters...somehow this makes me smile a little bit (even though somehow calling yourself "pro-war" seems a little strange to me).

[voyager12]

I went to both protests. Bryant Park also had more anti-war protestors than pro but the counter protestors were certainly louder and more obnoxious which had been their stated goal in an O article the day before. They certainly had every right to be there but cursing and interrupting the speeches by our leaders was not needed or helpful. The police refused to do their job and separate the sides so Cindy Sheehan's representatives deemed the situation to be too volatile for her to make an appearance. Judging by the antics of "Gathering of Eagles" members I can't say I blame them. She later spoke at Talley's market on East Blvd.

[atlrvr]

Does it seem odd to anyone else that a common citizen "Sheehan" on a crusade of making speeches and unifying people, now needs representatives to assess situations for her? She is a media circus.

[voyager12]

The group protesting her yesterday was comprised of many large motorcyle riding burly men screaming obscenities about Cindy Sheehan and heckling anti-war supporters. The cops spent the whole time on the sidelines and did nothing to make the crowd more civil and safe for everyone involved. I don't think it's hard to understand why she did not join in the fracas when there was no protection available. The Charlotte Action Center for Justice has contacted the ACLU among other organizations to file complaints about the CMPD's apparent bias toward the counter -protestors.

[Raintree21]

From what I've been told, the anti-war protesters (not sure about the pro-war activists or anti-Sheehan protesters if you will) were not legally supposed to be there. They obtained a noise permit from CMPD but did not acquire any assembly permits or permission from Mecklenburg Parks and Rec to be in the parks for their protest. CMPD and Parks and Rec were "nice" to her and her supporters and allowed them to stay without the appropriate paperwork. While I may not agree with her argument, I do support her right to free speech, as long as she follows the law, which it appears that she (or her group) did not do.

[voyager12]

Well I will have to disagree with you. Below is the email sent out to members of Charlotte Action Center for Justice documenting our issues with the CMPD. The City of Charlotte Code of Ordinances Book states under Section X, Picketing, Sec. 19-303 Picketing Regulations

(a) Picketing may be conducted on public sidewalks, at the Old City Hall lawn, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center plaza, Marshall Park, Polk Park, Independence Square Plaza, Arequipa Park, any other city-controlled park, or other city-owned areas normally used or reserved for pedestrian movement, including easements and rights-of-way, and shall not be conducted on the portion of the public roadway used primarily for vehicular traffic .

e) If more than one group of picketers desire to picket at the same time at or near the same location, law enforcement officers may, without regard to the purpose or content of the message, assign each group a place to picket in order to preserve the public peace. Members of a group shall not enter an area assigned to another group. Priority of location shall be based upon which group of picketers arrived first.

(f) Spectators of pickets shall not physically interfere with individuals engaged in picketing. Picketers and spectators of pickets shall not speak fighting words or threats that would tend to provoke a reasonable person to a breach of the peace.

Prior to the 5:00 pm rally, David Dixon, Coordinator of Action Center For Justice spoke with CMPD officer K.D. Faulkner by phone at 2:24 pm . He asked that we wait about 15 minutes for him to get to Bryant Park and assign the groups the area they would be in. The counter-protesters arrived first and we told Officer Faulkner & his Sergeant that so they could pick out their spot.

They and other officers that arrived later told us they could not keep the groups separate. This is simply not true.

Action Center For Justice had obtained the picketing permit & sound permit for the rally, but it was co-organized by several other groups including Gold Star Families For Peace, The Camp Casey Peace Institute, Veterans For Peace, AfterDowningStreet.org, CODEPINK Charlotte, Grassroots Impeachment Movement, and World Can't Wait

[swh1972]

The group protesting her yesterday was comprised of many large motorcyle riding burly men screaming obscenities about Cindy Sheehan and heckling anti-war supporters. The cops spent the whole time on the sidelines and did nothing to make the crowd more civil and safe for everyone involved. I don't think it's hard to understand why she did not join in the fracas when there was no protection available. The Charlotte Action Center for Justice has contacted the ACLU among other organizations to file complaints about the CMPD's apparent bias toward the counter -protestors.

[voyager12]

There is a great difference between young kids who may be dressed in "street style" but civily watching fireworks and not causing problems and older men purposely intimidating people through their attire by screaming and running around.

[Raintree21]

Well I will have to disagree with you. Below is the email sent out to members of Charlotte Action Center for Justice documenting our issues with the CMPD. The City of Charlotte Code of Ordinances Book states under Section X, Picketing, Sec. 19-303 Picketing Regulations

(a) Picketing may be conducted on public sidewalks, at the Old City Hall lawn, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center plaza, Marshall Park, Polk Park, Independence Square Plaza, Arequipa Park, any other city-controlled park, or other city-owned areas normally used or reserved for pedestrian movement, including easements and rights-of-way, and shall not be conducted on the portion of the public roadway used primarily for vehicular traffic .

[monsoon]

I am thinking this is coming down to a proxy argument on the war itself and depending upon whether you are for or against the war means you are for or against what happened. Maybe it's time we move on to other topics on if Charlotte is boring or not. There is plenty of war discussion, if this is your cup of tea, in the UrbanPlanet Coffee House for members and above.

[atlrvr]

There is a great difference between young kids who may be dressed in "street style" but civily watching fireworks and not causing problems and older men purposely intimidating people through their attire by screaming and running around.

[geekUSA1981]

To gear this response into whether Charlotte is boring....based on the protest yesterday, and the ones before, I suppose you could argue that "Yes, Charlotte is boring" when it comes to protests. Even without the police sectioning the two groups off (which according to section "e)" of a prior post said that police may--not must--section off opposing groups) there was no physical conflict between the groups, no rioting, nada. I'm not saying I'd love to see amateur footage of riots in the streets of Charlotte on the national evening news, but Charlotte does seem to manage carrying on a majority, if not all, of its protests in a fairly civil manner. This could be attributed to apathy, or to old-fashioned Southern manners (I fear it's the former). Anyways, this was just an attempt to segue the conversation back to boring Charlotte(?) discussions. With the exception of the '05 and '06 fireworks "riots", have there been other physical conflicts involving masses of people in Charlotte? I don't recall ever hearing of riots after a UNC-Charlotte game, NFL/NBA game, jury verdict, etc., like you do in other large cities.

[voyager12]

Per the topic of this thread one thing I think everyone can agree with me on is that the event was not a boring experience in usually boring Charlotte and leave it at that.