If you follow me on twitter, first of all sorry, and second of all, you know I’ve been heavily promoting my own petition to allow alcoholic beverages in city parks.
And while I’m sure it’s a little obnoxious to have me spamming up your twitter feed, it seems to be working. Crazily, the petition I started over my lunch hour has amassed 2600 signatures in under 48 hours (and climbing–every time I refresh there’s a handful more).
My intention is still to approach city officials first (something I’ve already done, although my own city councilor Joe Mihevc and the councilor for Ward 19 Trinity Spadina, Mike Layton, have not yet returned my emails), although it seems like the issue might be one that needs to be addressed by the province as yet another item under the AGCO that needs revision. Regardless, I’m dedicated to figuring out who I need to talk to and how many signatures I’ll need in order for them to listen, so I’m going to keep at it (apologies in advance to the twitterverse).
However, it’s troubling that so much of the conversation on this issue–on twitter, on comment boards–seems to be couched in an “us vs. them” mentality. Those who seem to oppose drinking in the park seem pretty quick to characterize those in favour of it as “a bunch of hipsters” and their arguments seem to be that those who drink in the park are messy, loud, and disrespectful and are prone to pissing on the nearest tree. This is troubling for a number of reasons. First, with so many reasons to dislike hipsters (see: ironic racket sports, mustache wax), it seems silly to choose their enjoyment of sunshine and adult beverages as a reason to disparage them. Continue reading “Drinking in the park is not a “hipster” cause”
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