When something has grown beyond what it was meant to be, when it seems to exist only to serve itself instead of the people it was created for and by, maybe it's time to think about letting it go or at least redefining it. That's the conclusion reached by people on Chicago's South Side, who are ending the St. Patrick's Day Parade they began in 1979:
A 30-year tradition that began as a whimsical walk gave way to a massive street party filled with drunken brawlers and underage drinkers.
Fearing a growing public-safety risk, organizers said Wednesday that they were suspending the parade in its current incarnation.
"It just got totally out of hand," Hughes said. "It's a shame, but I understand the decision."
Except to note that summer is coming up, I won't say why I posted this. You connect the dots. Something to think about.
Comments
Sounds like the "a few bad apples spoiling the bunch" thing yet again (to me).
(here, hold my green beer and watch THIS)
It's a 30-year-old event that has now fulfilled its purpose: to show the younger generation how a fine tradition of Irish holidays used to really be celebrated in the old country before the famine. "What's thot yer sayin' 'boot me muther, ya blackguardin' piss-swilled English-lovin' swine?"
Leo, are you insinuating the 3 Rivers Festival may have outlasted it's usefulness?
I haven't attended one in over 25 years, but my recollection is one of drunken, sweaty crowds and lot's and lot's of arrests.