Several of our jokes were thwarted at the opening of the Jim Griffith Memorial Skatepark in Tigard yesterday.
BK was down for the cause.
Any effect our influential webcomics and t-shirts mocking the trampling of rights in the skatepark rules was negated when the City of Tigard backed down from their department of fatherland security tactics. The offending statement from the rule signs but the mayor attempted to spin the controversy through the Oregonian’s website – suggesting skaters overreacted and failed to go through proper channels. In fact skateboarders did object to the rule on the phone and in person. Skate and Annoy attempted to raise awareness and provide a forum for discussion among the people who would be most affected by the rule, namely our skateboarding readership, and raise a call to action. It took two weeks for anything to be done about rule number three. That the story was picked up by the Willamette Week exposed the wrong to a wider audience.
The speeches ran so long it was looking like the web comic!
Our mockery of the late hour of the 4:30 grand opening ceremony with sunset at 4:45 that day was similarly thwarted when the fine folks at Tigard City Hall provided generators and lights for a special extended session.
Prodigal son Mark Scott was on hand to inaugurate the park and Tobin showed everyone some old-school spin style that you can take to the bank.
The lights were great, the city should install permanent lighting. Tigard has done a good thing here and has built a skatepark to be proud of.
Thanks to everyone who helped get the park built and thanks Tigard for clearing up that little misunderstanding.
More pictures on MC modified 11-12-07 - 6 comments
Categories: Activism, Events, Skate, Skateparks
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6 comments
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I need me one of them T-shirts
corncobcock
this photo reminds me of Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Tim Laidlaw
I guess I’m not that easily appeased by the “white out” solution just prior to the photo op. Perhaps the city taking accountabilty and replacing the sign with one only numbering 15 would take the bad taste from my mouth.
Jaymeer
Seems that everything worked out!
Doesn’t really matter what channels anyone went through or Aird over!
Would they of rather got the ACLU involved.
Good for Skateboarders and Americans in general!
Tim Laidlaw
Tigard should realize that exercising first amendment rights to solve this was better than exercising second amendment rights to solve this, both of which are the proper channels! We chose the former! This begs the question: have elected officials in Tigard even read our Constitution?
The recinding of the rule validated the influence of the T’s and comics rather than negated, in my opinion.
enemy combatant
“failed to go through proper channels” ?????
Riiiiiiiiiight.