People are stupid

Madison is in an uproar over Mayor Dave's plans to shut down the city (I use the word loosely) on Halloween. He's tired of drunken destruction and riots breaking out every year. The pro-Halloween groups are saying that kids will be kids, the police provoke problems, etc...The anti-Halloween groups are saying that its wrong to trash private property and tie up police resources, especially when most of the rioters come from out of town.

Here's the deal: people are stupid and Madison is a town. It is not large enough to handle the kind of street parties it has grown notorious for. People in Madison like to blow about how great it is - first class city, what a safe city we have, etc., etc. Reality check! Madison has about 250,000 people. It's having growing pains. In another 10 or 15 years, Madison will be large enough to absorb things like street parties and football games and high school tournaments without shutting down the city.

But for now the party, at least Halloween, needs to stop. Chicago and Milwaukee are both close by. They have bars and streets - go play there. If you think Madison cops are tough, go riot in Milwaukee or Chicago.