The 44th annual 2011 West Indian Day Parade

Yes, I am pretty sure I saw that shooting on Gothamist.

Paraderest, do you see any parallels between how the public always expects the police to "stop crime" despite a broken court and corrections system, declining manpower, increased regulations and interference by politicians

AND

How a group of business men and Soca dancers are supposed to control how a subset of previously convicted, unemployed, drug using men act over a holiday weekend that culminates in a big parade?

.

.

The expectations on both groups seem pretty fanciful to me.

I made it. Met my group at 4:30 and danced the soca wuk all the way. Beautiful night. Got fresh food from vendors to take home, ate in my garden. Showered off the paint and then back out to watch carnival to the end by my place. Then walked over to a house party on Washington and watched the end again.

Missed the pan bands that used to play live on the flatbeds. But overall, I LOVE it!!!!

15 hours out and I didn't see any trouble.

I remember there used to be some violence involved every year, but has been less so in recent years. Until this.

Guns have no place in a crowd. And I don't accept or expect it as routine to carnival. But it's my belief that most of these incidents are related to a beef between those involved. For the most part you'd have to be really stupid or really unlucky to be touched by the violent acts. The bystander killed by stray bullet was struck by police fire, btw. Although they didn't fire first, I have to wonder if 15-20 shots in a crowded street was a sensible reaction.

The majority of revelers are having a blast. I have been participating for 25 years and look forward to next year already. It's the best annual event in the city, in my opinion.

I think the paranoid & the complainers shouldn't need to live here. There's lots of neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Only one has carnival. If you don't like it, why live here?

Readers, I believe bkjones is replying to this post:

whynot_31 said:

I might be getting use to it, but the whole series of events seems pretty tame this year.

Do we have any enthusiasts who made it J'Ouvert?

Bkjones-

Thanks for letting us know you had a good time at J'ouvert and the parade! Like you, I have had a good time at the parade every time I go, and feel sad that violence marred the events' reputation.

In case you like to join in the conversation, we have a specific thread for discussing the shooting that happened on Franklin and Park.

'Lock Your doors' -- it's my understanding -- is in reference to a video that went viral on YouTube. Here is the link:

An enterprising musical group then took this candid expression of urban angst and made a song out of it. Here is that link:

You can't make this stuff up....

MHA is always a few years behind

Here we go...

MHA said:

'Lock Your doors' -- it's my understanding -- ....

You'd be wrong in this case. It has board origins that predate the bedroom intruder... uh, incident.

Ah - wasn't sure if it would be easy to find... turns out that it was.

http://brooklynian.com/forum/prospect-heights/lock-you-doors

While reading that thread from five years ago gives one a sense of perspective, it would be interesting to have similar threads available from the 44 years this event has been in Brooklyn.

I suspect many of the struggles, fears, and fun would be constant.

I see. Cool.

Umm.... now there's this?

Police Grind Up!

Aren't we supposed to encourage people to view cops as people, and cops to view civilians as people?

Progress takes many forms.

I don't know what's tackier, the women rubbing themselves on the cops, or the cops banging inartfully on these women. It's more fun when the cops stand around, embarrassed, not knowing what to do. It's not fun when these women, with bared-asses, give it up so willingly to wanting cops. It looks like a REALLY bad porn movie...

Here's two featuring embarassed, uncomfortable cops.....

Can we be sure that these are not Off Duty cops dancing and grinding with their wives, girlfriends and/or "random women having fun at the parade"?

^^^^ somewhat long, but very fun video ^^^^

I suspect that the on-duty and off-duty police are very much like the rest of us:

We love the fun, and wish only that the people

who bring guns and act like jerks

at the parade and around the parade

would simply stay home and/or cut it out.

Isn't that technically assaulting a police officer?

MHA said:

Isn't that technically assaulting a police officer?

They have a lot of discretion on what constitutes "assault".

I also imagine it is bad form to wait until the grinding is finished, then charge her with a crime.

Did anyone witness any female police officers grind, or -um- "be ground"?