Today I chalked a hopscotch on the sidewalk in front of the bitcoin booth. The first person to enjoy it was a man in his 60’s who asked, “May I?” before hopping along with the pattern. Children and adults alike opted to jump through the chalk squares. For about twenty minutes.
Laurie, the woman who appears to be in charge of the vendors at Cheshire County Fair, came over to me and told me that it had to go. She said that we can’t have children slowing down the foot traffic. She also informed me that we were “already on probation” because of our previous violations (stepping out of our booth to meet people who were walking over to talk to us, wearing a gun, and not wearing a shirt). She later returned and poured water on the chalk.
A lack of sunshine did not deter the roughly forty individuals who were present for the annual 4/20 celebration at the New Hampshire state house. Multiple outlets captured video and photography of the scene, including a feature published this morning in the Concord Monitor. Attached below is the Monitor article by Nick Reid. For full raw coverage from Fr33manTVraw, check out this playlist.
A group of activists exercised civil disobedience yesterday by smoking marijuana on the steps of the State House and decrying the war on drugs through a megaphone.
At 4:20 p.m. on April 20, the unofficial pot holiday, about 30 participants huddled away from cold rain under the awning at the front of the State House while the event organizer, Rich Paul, kicked things off.
“We smoke these in remembrance of lost liberties,” he called out, “and in hope for a day when the people do not fear the government, because the government fears the people.”
Last weekend, he struck again. This time against a peaceful homeless-awareness chalking event on Central Square. Members of the Unitarian Universalist church had come out and traced outlines of their bodies to bring awareness to the 42 deaths of homeless people in New Hampshire in 2014. According to a report by the Keene Sentinel’s Martha Shanahan and Alyssa Dandrea, shortly after the event an unidentified man came out of a local business and attacked the chalkings with a brush and water. Despite being confronted by witnesses who asked him to stop, he continued his destruction.
Homeless Awareness Chalking: Pre-Attack Photo by Susan MacNeil
I reached out to witnesses in the case and showed them a picture and video of local chalk hater Matthew Schmidt in action and they confirmed that yes, it was him. I wasn’t surprised, of course, but I wanted to wait until I’d confirmed it with the witnesses rather than post an article speculating it was him. So, consider it confirmed.
Does Schmidt hate homeless people? Does he hate artwork? Does he hate children? He sure seems to have plenty of hate, for whatever reason. I hope someday he finds peace.
The latest episode in the War on Chalk series focuses on the last remaining chalk warrior, Matthew “Boston Strong” Schmidt as he struggles to keep the oppression of free speech going.
Longtime viewers may recall the beginning of the War on Chalk in May of 2014 when some local busybodies calling themselves “STOP FREE KEENE!!!” decided to decimate the free expression of the peaceful chalkers in Central Square.
The freedom-loving chalkers continued unabated, their ranks bolstered over time by local families and an international alliance in the form of some European college girls. While the war raged on throughout the summer, the later-summer lack of news coverage regarding the chalking conflict didn’t mean it had died down. Indeed, it continues to this day. However, only one man continues the fight against freedom of expression – the Chalk Warrior. This is his story:
Say, whatever happened to the tough-talking city councilor’s proposal to ban all chalking downtown?
In this installment of AKPF #1, originally aired September 29, we are granted an anthology of president Obama’s clearest moments, including an after action report of a recently contested parking ticket in the DPRK district court system. Enjoy AKPF #1 episode, Beclear.
