Why not every night?
Progress is slow, but there is progress.
If you’ve any recollection of what things were like when they were at their worst, then a walk through Northside today will make that evident.
Houses have been reclaimed, refurbished and the whole place has a tidier feel. But the ghosts of the past still haunt the place in pockets, and late in the evening you can see the drug trade and its casualties creep back to life.
The houses that were once the haven of the trade have been taken back, but the night, well, that’s a different story. Some nights, yes, but most nights, no — not entirely.
That’s because the battle against crime is only half of the battle. There’s the fight against indifference and against fear. There’s the constant tussle over resources.
And then there’s the struggle to provide not just guidance for the young people who might be otherwise steered toward those ghosts, but a community that shows the value of a different path.
This is a long battle, getting longer. There is no choice, though, but to press on. We’ve already seen what will happen should we lose.
A really, really bad idea
A bit of praise here for the judgment of police chief Carolyn Hutchison for not being confrontational with the folks at the Really Really Free Market over their insistence that they serve food at the market’s last installment.
During June’s budget discussions, when the Board of Aldermen wrestled over fees for the Town Commons, the board was pretty clear that serving food was right out, since the town’s insurance policy wouldn’t cover the liability. And while undoubtedly the food served up at the Town Commons the first Saturday of the month is wholesome and prepared with love of community, if it makes someone sick they can sue the pants off the town.
So the board asked the Really Really Free Market folks to cool it with the food. They didn’t, and, we’re told, were rather defiant about it last Saturday when the chief and town officials took a look-see.
So between now and next month, the matter is rightly back in the hands of the aldermen who need to make it clearer what exactly they intend to do — or, more accurately, what they’d like the chief and others to do — about this.
And the responsibility for the continuance of the market is rightly back where it belongs — in the hands of its participants.
If they wish to sacrifice the event they so eloquently praised in order to make a point, then so be it.
The Really Really Free Market is a very good idea and, yes, we’re proud to hear that in other places it’s catching on and that Carrboro is getting props for it.
So, in that spirit, here’s some free advice:
Have a potluck somewhere else and don’t let a really, really swell event go down.