Halloween recap
I was one of the organizers of \Killer Party 2003,"" and I've got to tell you it was a great time. People really seemed to care just a little bit for their fellow humans, and everyone really seemed to be having a great time. Unfortunately, a handful of people didn't get the message and, well, the shit hit the fan.
So, what have we as a city learned? Well for one, we've learned that you don't need 60,000 people on the street to have a problem. Varying estimates put the number still on the street at 3 a.m. at around 1,500.
We've learned that there are some less-than-realistic people out there. There are people I've talked to who emphatically state that we should just not sell booze on Halloween, and there are those who insist the police are conspiring to ruin Halloween. The truth is neither that clear-cut nor poorly conceived, which leads me to my next point.
We've learned that there are people who are willing to overlook the truth and place blame. The mayor seems to think the music had something to do with it. ""Those people who go to concerts are often the troublemakers,"" Cieslewicz said to me. I could be wrong, but the people throwing rocks weren't shouting ""Freeeebird,"" were they?
But, we've also learned that there are a lot of people out there who really do care and really do want to make sure Madison's Halloween celebration stays phenomenal for years to come. Within hours of the skirmish, yes, there were a few finger-pointings, but there were also dozens more very well-meaning people offering support. To those people, thank you.
