"Police presence dampened fest" (Wakarusa article)

That's pretty f*cking lame. Night vision goggles? Come on. Good thing we don't have to worry about that kinda sh!t at Roo.

144 really is alot -- isn't the fest's capacity like 15,000?

could they really protest it that much?

i mean, it would look reallly bad for them to say something along the lines of not supporting drug arrests at their festival. i mean, lets make it obvious now...

it is a real catch 22 - i mean, realistically, with 15K people, there were a lot more than 144 people engaging in illegal activities.

the promoters need to just keep quiet since they can't openly say " come here and get high!"

i like to think the police are there to prevent problems, but not hassle some guy with a joint. i mean, they cant arrest everyone?

oh wait, the us has an incarceration rate of 1 in 136 people. www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=142527

i guess they can.

Wasn't the presence more intense due to the fact its on public land? Eitherway its all pretty damn lame.

Sucky, thank god Broo is private property (right??)

My favorite picture in that album



SOOOOOO CUTE!

waka sucked ass because of the harassment by the cops. definitely the last time i am ever going.

yeah that was my favorite too

good thing snuggling isn't illegal

if definitely would be some ladies that would think that is the cutest picture and post one after another!

Anybody else read the comments at the bottom of the article? Scary

I just got back from Wakarusa last night, and I had a great time. The article was fairly accurate in its characterization of Wakarusa and the police presence. The author got it wrong though when he wrote, "But back in the hot and tightly packed Tent City, life wasn’t all peace and love." The camping area was anything but "tightly packed." I don't think he's ever been to Bonnaroo before because then he would realize what tightly packed is. I love Bonnaroo but everyone essentially is camping on top of themselves where as at Wakarusa there was plenty of space for everyone and the 10 x 10 rule was barely in effect.

The woman in the article also got it wrong. "Plus, she said, the police have a job to do and it was unreasonable to expect that they would do otherwise." . . . "The police are going to do their jobs no matter what, she said, and the focus of the event should be directed elsewhere, anyway." . . . "I think that people should be focusing on the music,” she said." She's right, they do have a job to do but that job does not entail harrassing people and rumaging through their campsite when they're not there, which happened to two of my neighbors and countless other people. Also, I witnessed two undercover cops arrest two girls on Thursday evening for underage drinking -- it was a really bizarre scene. These two girls were drinking and talking to these two guys who were in plain clothes, then all of a sudden a golf cart with two uniform officers speeds up to them and the undercover officers whip out their handcuffs before the girls even had a chance to process what was going on. Everyone did focus on the music, but it is difficult when everytime you turn around the police are staring at you and monitoring your every move. Its at a State Park so they think they can do whatever they want. It just brought down the vibe, but not so much that it ruined the weekend, unless you were those two girls or those other 142 people. I have some pictures of this two-hour long drum circle that was going on, and these four cops just starring at all these people an air of contempt and disgust for what was occurring in front of them -- not one smiled, tapped their foot, or bobbed their head once. Pretty soul-less if you ask me.

Sorry for the long post. I've been away from Inforoo and needed my fix.

welcome home first of all. im glad you safe and sound. 2ndly, i cant believe that, souless for sure.

"you know what you have do now, ralph...burn the house down!"