There’s a restaurant in Keene called The Stage. But there’s no stage quite like the one that sits adjacent to it: Keene Central Square. Made famous by dozens of courageous arrests, Central Square plays host to the most bizarre encounters ever to be imagined.
In this video, activist and FreeKeene.com blogger Garret Ean records as he and members of the group “Stop Free Keene!!!” are locked in a never-ending chalk-removal battle. Some people are chalking while others are removing the chalk with water.
Local cop (and occasional persecutor for ‘the State’) Jason Short arrives and asks if there is a problem. Immediately the cries come from both sides, like children reacting to daddy coming home and finding siblings fighting.
Paraphrasing:
“We are just trying to clean up the park, and these mean people keep making it dirty!”
“They sprayed water on me! Don’t we have a right to the first amendment?”
“Yes, yes, calm down children. Behave. You’re both right. Now just get along, will you?”
“Don’t tell us what to do!”
One girl with bleached and fading pink hair faces a much taller Jason Short as if confronting a bully, and then, teary-eyed, dramatically walks away. Hamming it up.
Watching this video, I asked myself, “Why is Jason Short the best behaved person in this video?” He’s the only one here acting like an adult. He’s dressed and clean-shaven, looking put together, and looking like he put some effort into styling his hair that particular morning. He’s wearing gloves that say, “I’m ready for action”, and of course, the badge and accompanying insignias that breathe an air of superiority.
Why aren’t the activists using the stage they’ve inherited the way Short is? Why do they come off in this video as neglected children who must be scolded and instructed by daddy government? The worst scene, though, is Rich arguing with the woman at the end by claiming he’s doing a job by Robin Hooding. “Putting dimes in meters isn’t a job,” she replied. She’s right.
There are serious crises happening right now that make this slactivism appear *particularly* distasteful. World War III is practically beginning in the Middle East. Tensions are growing as the economy weakens everywhere. Rights to privacy are being lost everyday. If there’s any hope of fixing the big problems around the world, it starts with building a firm foundation at home.
What is the goal of chalking? Is it to make a free speech point? Commentary on the tragedy of the commons? Or is it about having fun? It’s not clear to me, and I’ve been following this for a while. How are you being perceived by people hearing/seeing this for the first time?
And that’s my final point. Perception. How do you *want* to be perceived? Is that how you’re being perceived? It’s clear to me how Jason Short wants to be perceived in this video. As an authority. As a respectful, well-spoken, adult–who takes pride in his appearance. It’s in the way he walks and holds his head. Activists, consider that. You should be *better than him* at this because you are around cameras *all the time*. You are on a stage, and your actions will be seen by hundreds or thousands.
What story are *you* telling on earth’s stage?
