Georgetown Primed for Amplified Free Speech Day
If this story in the May 25 Washington Post is any indication, Georgetown will be an interesting spot to practice non-commercial amplified free speech as part of Citywide Amplified Free Speech Day on June 11.
Apparently a man who lives near a Georgetown teahouse got fed up with the establishment's patio music. He marched over in his bathrobe and used his cane to bash-in the speakers, according to the report. That fellow is welcome to the intersection of H and 8th Streets NE any Saturday afternoon for tea.
In the meantime, friends and neighbors who live in and around the 700 block of 8th Street NE—and endure one group's hours of amplified speech every Saturday afternoon—plan to use an amplifier at the corner of Wisconsin and N St NW to illustrate the absurdity of the city's broken noise statute.
If you can't join in the June 11 fun, please ask members of the D.C. city council to fix the law.
Apparently a man who lives near a Georgetown teahouse got fed up with the establishment's patio music. He marched over in his bathrobe and used his cane to bash-in the speakers, according to the report. That fellow is welcome to the intersection of H and 8th Streets NE any Saturday afternoon for tea.
In the meantime, friends and neighbors who live in and around the 700 block of 8th Street NE—and endure one group's hours of amplified speech every Saturday afternoon—plan to use an amplifier at the corner of Wisconsin and N St NW to illustrate the absurdity of the city's broken noise statute.
If you can't join in the June 11 fun, please ask members of the D.C. city council to fix the law.
posted by Klav at 10:36 PM
8 Comments:
on the autozone parking lot at 12th & H, there was a preacher using amps and speakers to preach to about 6 parishioners this weekend. i guess he was trying to find new converts? when that didn't work so well (or perhaps after someone called the cops?), he quickly packed up and left.
ps: why should you expose georgetown homeowners to the pain you're suffering? wouldn't it make more sense for amplified speech day to be dedicated to drowning out the noisemakers at 8th and H instead of bringing the noise to another, more quiet neighborhood?
It's already plenty noisy at H and 8th Streete NE, and the affected residents (and others) have complained to the city for years. The point is that non-commercial amplified speech can blare without limits anywhere in D.C.
It's apparent the city council is not listening to those in NE. Our thought is a ruffled Georgetown neighborhood will help push action.
What's good enough for H Street NE is good enough for Georgetown...
See you on June 11.
Why not do it outside the homes of city council members
i second the idea of doing it outside the homes of city council reps. affect the decisionmakers and watch how quickly their decision changes....
We appreciate your ideas...keep them coming! Also, I'll pass these suggestions onto Councilmember Graham.
In the meantime, the city councilmembers keep telling the residents of the H Street NE community that this noise issue is "on their radar." We believe they need prodding from other areas of the city.
Based on our experiences, we believe Georgetown has more "influence" with the city than our humble neighborhood.
At my son's school, there's a group of neighbors (really one or two, but they claim to be a group) who complain about the noise of children playing on the playground...I wonder if they'd like a little dose of amplified free speech day...hmmm.
Living near Hechinger Mall, I see these guys every Saturday talking their heads off about their views and I too am pretty tired of having to hear their amplified speech even when I drive by. I'm lucky that they are not near enough to where I live to have to hear them spew for hours on end. Having lived in Georgetown for a bit, I really think this tactic will have at least some success. On the behalf of everyone who has to drive by and hear these guys, thanks for organizing this, klav.
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