I suggest we stage a “park in.” A park in works just like a sit in, only with cars. We recruit as many friends with cars as possible and early Sunday mornings take up every available parking space in the area of Shiloh Baptist church. We do this every Sunday until it becomes clear to Ms. Sutherland and friends there will be a price attached to every harmful action they take against hard working Shaw business owners. Hopefully that price will be an empty church on Sunday.A well-planed park in will make it very difficult for them to hold Sunday service and may convince their 703/301 parishioners to attend church in VA & MD.
PS: The above photo is the interior of Shiloh Baptist church.
3 comments:
Let's see now...you're proposing to help out Queen of Sheba by staging a park-in against Shiloh because Mary Sutherland got 2 (!) other people probably not from the neighborhood to support her position on a liquor license and was recognized by ABRA as having "cause"? Did Mary even claim to be representing Shiloh?
IMHO this is a crazy idea, and if this happens, the likely result will be 50 people supporting her position the next time around.
Shiloh is arrogant and continues to commit many sins against the neighborhood, but do you want to help QOS get its license, or not? If you do, being a bigger jerk than Shiloh isn't going to help.
I think Mary's views on this issue make no sense, but she is entitled to them. The real culprit in this case is ABRA, and that's where the pressure should be applied.
As a divisive idea this comes close to the recent post on Life in Mount Vernon Square about fantasy plans for replacing 2nd NW coop with a Whole Foods and upscale condos--which has been justifiably condemned by everyone who commented on it. This sort of stuff just validates the notion held by way too many people that newcomers in Shaw have no regard for the people who were already living here. It ain't true, but it will be accepted as such the more this kind of nonsense gets posted on the blogs.
Which brings me to my last point: Couldn't you have chosen a name for your blog a little bit less likely to cause confusion with mine? Even a different style template?
Daddyfiveoh, back in February after the Queen of Sheeba owner presented his proposal for an interim liquor license, Ms. Sutherland stated that she was representative of Shiloh Baptise Church attending the meeting to present Shilho’s opposing view against granting Queen of Sheeba a Liquor license.
On my blog you stated that “Shiloh is a sleeping tiger.” I strongly disagree.
Shiloh opposed the liquor licenses of Be Bar, Vegitate and now Queen of Sheeba. According to Alex Padro, Shiloh is one of the biggest roadblocks to development in Shaw.
My park in idea stems from my belief that we need to be more vocal in dealing with Ms. Sutherland, Leroy, and Doris Brooks. We spend a lot of energy typing away on our blogs about the way things are going in Shaw. We would all do better to use our blogs to motivate people to get out and do something constructive in the community that will lead to a better Shaw for everyone.
Ms. Sutherland, LT and Doris are not open to considering the needs of all of Shaw’s residents, but rather only those that fit into their narrow view of Shaw. They are bullies, and yes, they do have a right to their own view. So do we. And to be successful in building a community that represents the needs of all Shaw residents, we need to find ways to appropriately match their rhetoric. After considering the arguments against a park in, I realize it would not accomplish my goal of a more representative community.
DaddyFiveOh, calling me a “jerk” because I’m trying to make this community better is a bit over the top. Who ends up the bad guy in this equation all depends on how one spins the message. A well-organized park in staged at the appropriate time in our efforts to thwart the likes of Shiloh Baptist church and Ms. Sutherland would be step forward. That said, it is too soon in our fight for this type of tactic and I sincerely hope that we never have to resort to such measures.
Daddyfiveoh,
Again, I'm sorry...and after reading your comments I agree that a park in is a terrible idea. I've shelved my plan to organize a park in. I doubt that anyone is considering a park in at this point, but if my post did motivate someone to organize a park in please reconsider! It is a bad idea!
Here's a little background on how this idea came to be. Queen of Sheba has quickly become my favorite restaurant. My wife and I enjoy diner at Queen of Sheba at least once a week and have become very friendly with the owners.
After attending the ABAR meeting and witnessing Mary's stunt I flew off the handle. Again anyone out there considering a park in please don't do it!
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