Gettin’ Carried Away

I’ve a highlighted the South Side Irish Parade several times on Gettin’ Carried Away. This yearly celebration began before I was born, and I’ve been partaking in the festivities for years. It was a tradition on the Southside of Chicago that many, including myself, looked forward to in celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day. And now… it’s gone.

Here is a screen shot of the press release on the official website of the SSIP:

I have encouraged people all over the world to come to my neck of the woods to enjoy this unique Irish celebration. I understand that crowds of such magnitude may get a little rough and a little rowdy. I witnessed the same behavior at the annual Guy Fawke’s Day celebration at Battersea Park in London, England. When you mix large crowds with mass quantities of alcohol, madness may ensue.

This article stated that there were 54 arrests (an 80% increase from last year) this year at the parade. What was once a great family tradition, turned into a sloppy, drunken free-for-all. To be honest, though, I have never been witness to any “terrible happenings” at the parade. Sure, I’ve been smushed in a crowd of people, unable to walk freely down the block. And sure I’ve seen people stumbling around drunk. But I have never actually seen any poor behavior such as people physically fighting or cursing out police officers. The people of the Southside even began to designate the east side of Western Avenue as the family side and the west side (the side with all of the bars) as the adult side.

Either way, I feel that a few (thousand) bad apples ruined it of the rest of us. Most of the people arrested were not even from the neighborhood. One man came all the way from Arkansas! What I’m trying to say here is… if you are going to travel somewhere to participate in given city’s tradition/celebration, be respectful. We need to preserve these moments for our children, their children and everyone else in the distant future. I mean, if you hail from the Big Easy, how would you feel if the traditional Mardi Gras celebration on Bourbon Street was canceled “in its present form?”

Visit the official website of the parade to check out the rest of the press release.