Re: RAT Hello Seattle, i must be going...

[TimNGail@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/3/99 3:59:46 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
mabretz@cbomedia.com writes:

<< were those the punks sun baked for three days on the tarmac of an abandoned
 airforce base, fed dysentery infected water which induced diarhea, provided
 inadequate toilet facilities and forced to wait in line for up to five hours 
for
 clean water as merenary vendors drove the price up to $8 per liter.  perhaps 
if
 the promoters had taken a few moments away from raking in the cash to do a 
little
 better planning the "punks" might not have been riled out of their purple 
haze.
  >>

You make it sound as though these were people trapped against their will, 
unaware of what would be ahead of them.  Should the promoters have planned 
better?  Absolutely.  But should the "punks" be seen as innocent here?  
Simply driven by godless concert promoters to commit violence?  I don't buy 
that for a second...  I've been to many multi-day outdoor events... never, 
EVER been in a situation where there weren't "mercenary vendors" or a huge 
line at the Port-a-John.... so either plan a little bit yourself instead of 
assuming some concert promoter will coddle you, or simply leave if it's 
getting that bad.

Not sure that the comparison between Seattle and Woodstock really works...  
Not sure about the relationship between the sweet innocent youths burning 
things simply to show their disapproval of water prices, versus an assistant 
being harassed as he leads a deaf and blind child down a street.

love the discussion, though...

tim