Recently, walking from the New Bedford Whaling Museum to the Southcoast Regional Transit Authority bus terminal, as I got to the corner of William and Purchase Streets, a very busy intersection with pedestrians, cars, and delivery trucks, I had to walk wide of the sidewalk West of Purchase as the corner was occupied by three people, one standing and two sitting, who had two approximately five feet tall magazine racks with Biblical literature on each placed in such a way that if you were walking up the North side of William to Pleasant Street one block up from there, if you did not cross the street as I did, or walk pass them by taking to the street, like cows at the slaughter house being forced into single file so the kill is easier, you would be forced to walk closer to the people who would break your mindset by saying something religious as you passed, most likely something to cause you to pause so they could preach, with no way to avoid seeing their publications.
Even from the corner across the street, the titles of the publications on the two racks were large enough to read, so avoiding the message being promoted and the lifestyle being thrust into the faces of any pedestrians was impossible. Pedestrians had no choice but to view the racks and deal with those attempting to recruit people to their chosen lifestyle
Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is a clear choice and one that gets a pass.
Earlier, when I had sat down across Acushnet Ave from Customs House Square to check for any phone calls or messages I had ignored during the museum volunteer monthly meeting, a monk from the Marian Chapel on Pleasant Street passed by me at the corner of William and Acushnet Streets in full monk habit, rope, cowl, and robe. I assumed he was on his way up the two blocks and one over from where he passed me on his way from somewhere further back to get home.
I know from looking up the ordinances for sidewalks so as not to give an excuse for arrest or banishment before my own one-man sit outs, they are in violation of space limitations and impeding pedestrian traffic. You are to construct no permanent structure or dig a hole without a permit, and you cannot impede the progress of pedestrians with temporary and/or permanent structures or crowds, so you cannot put things up that cause people on the sidewalk to change direction, and you cannot just spread out like you own the area.
My footprint at my occasional one-man sit outs is the size of a foldable lawn chair close to the curb and, unlike the Bible people, away from the handicap ramps so they do not have to tango to get the closest clear spot.
As was to be expected, when I had my first five-day anti-Trump’s homophobic actions sit out at the beginning of his tenure, the guards from the federal building came up to me at the corner of Middle and 6th and asked if I was aware of city ordinances regarding sidewalks, and upon my reciting them, left me alone as I was adhering to them to such a degree that, rather than have any yelling or loud public discussions with those with a differing viewpoint, I had a print out with my points on it so passers-by could read them before saying anything, especially irrelevant comments.
This happened two more times with long intervals between sit outs over the time it took to get rid of Trump and his lackey, Bristol County sheriff, and on the first day when I set up my chair by the Octopus, where Pleasant and Purchase Streets intersect Rte. 6, I was questioned by a police officer who agreed that I was adhering to city sidewalk rules.
The religious people have been on that sidewalk before and in other locations as well.
It is allowed.
The monk walked through public space dressed as he chose to dress, and not in the fashion chosen by the majority because of the, yes, because of the lifestyle he chose where he and his confreres have to dress like pre-Thirteenth Century Italian Shepherds.
Not being the general mode of dress that is gender based but dressing like a 12th Century Italian shepherd is simply a form of Drag.
Religious fanatics are claiming people are being accosted by Drag performances in public where children might be present and be groomed, and, like flash mobs, you can never tell when a Drag show will suddenly materialize without warning. The argument is made that, having their own gathering places, any such shows should be confined to those places.
What I encountered was religious people pushing their lifestyle choice on an unsuspecting public, some of whom were children, thus, grooming them. They have their own spaces designated for the purpose of preaching and promoting a particular religious view and, as such, should be confined to those spaces.
And, as for the monks.
Whatever they choose to wear within the walls of their monastery is fine, but when they come outside, put on some pants. This is not Assisi 1200. Next thing you know, some kid might want to become a monk who never thought of that before until that monk in flowing robes passed by.
Why is this acceptable?
If people object to the theoretical possibility that a Drag show might break out, an event yet to actually be witnessed, because it promotes a lifestyle to which children might be groomed and recruited in violation of what they have been taught at home, they should equally object to religious flash mob-like appearances where small children might begin questioning their own family’s religious beliefs and be recruited to a religious lifestyle other than that of the child’s family.
Otherwise, one belief system and lifestyle choice is being accepted and allowed to skirt laws and ordinances.
Save the children.
Get religious proselytizing of the public streets.
There is no evidence of spontaneous Drag shows intruding on the public square, but here is proof that religious proselytizing does, and if a possibility is a danger to be prevented, this is religious grooming and recruitment is a actual danger that needs to be stopped.
I have included two pictures. One is the public sidewalk as it should be, passable and not a center for grooming. The other is that same corner when the Drag show broke out.
THE RELIGIOUS INTRUSION AND GROOMING
THE SAME CORNER EVERY TIME A DRAG SHOW SPONTANEOUSLY BREAKS OUT.
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