‘F’ the Fallen

(CLICK TO ENLARGE) ISUPK blasting those down on the ground and down on their luck. (Copyright © 2006. David Klavitter)

Saturday’s scene at H and 8th Streets NE revealed an apparently passed-out man in the middle of the sidewalk, and another inebriated fellow who argued with the usual amplified screamers. At one point, Yahanah—one of the ISUPK members—apparently frustrated with the man's questions, screamed the word “fuck” into the microphone. The fatigue-clad men laughed about the expletive, just as the neighborhood's parents of young children would not.

A Metropolitan Police Dept. officer was on the scene, so I presumed the man on the ground was either not in immediate danger or help was on the way. About 10 minutes later, D.C. fire personnel arrived to aid the fallen man (below). The amplified noise never stopped during the rescue.

It was non-stop weekend amplification without limits—on Sunday, the Rev. Dallas Williams used his amplifier at the intersection for about an hour.