Bright Blue, Blaring Banter

(CLICK TO ENLARGE) Brilliant sunshine bathes a plastic Madonna hanging from a traffic signal on the southeast corner of H and 8th Streets NE on April 29. The prop is part of the Saturday theatrics performed by the men from the Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK) (Copyright © 2006. David Klavitter)

Another gorgeous Saturday afternoon pierced by the amplified sounds of the ISUPK. They rant and rave on H Street NE, yards from residential homes and apartments.

While I was photographing at the corner Saturday, Sunglasses Man pointed at me and said into the microphone that I was one of the “white devils” who wanted them “off the corner.” As usual, the gathered crowd stared at me. And as usual, I just quietly shook my head to refute this false claim the ISUPK continues to repeat. The neighborhoods’ only beef is with the powered amplifier, with which the group continues to bombard the community.

Hey, I’d be more than happy to walk away from the corner and leave all the harassment behind. But that wouldn’t do any good. You see, the amplifier allows the ISUPK to force their weekend diatribes into the homes surrounding the corner. The residents cannot escape it, and the ISUPK know it.

Whatever happened to love thy neighbor? Obviously it doesn’t apply in this case—the ISUPK are not from the neighborhood. Several drive to the D.C. corner from Virginia and Pennsylvania.(CLICK TO ENLARGE) As if people on the sidewalk would be unable to hear the ISUPK without the amplifier. (Copyright © 2006. David Klavitter)