For the most part I have tried to stay above the fray in regard to this past year’s Monroe Park controversy. As I have stated before, I appreciate neighbors’ efforts with the Monroe Park Advisory Council. Most City residents would like to see a cleaner park with better features (On a side note, others have tried to say the exact opposite in regard to the park and this neighborhood as some sort of elitist way to justify more encroachment by VCU and corporate entities). They understand the need to keep the existing trees and make Monroe Park a welcoming oasis in the surrounding concrete.

While I have sympathy for the Keep Monroe Park Open Campaign and I do support Food Not Bombs mission, (especially in the face of how many wars now?), I personally think that its not necessarily the end of the world for the local homeless or the public in general that the park be temporarily closed for needed renovations. With all due respect to the history of the homeless issue in Richmond, there are other public parks in the City (and there should be more public space created overall). I have tried to steer the controversy towards compromise, but in the end that’s where I stand.

However, I also stand with Food Not Bombs for the overall right to feed people in a public park (while taking personal responsibility for trash and safety). I am very troubled by what I am hearing from Florida where activists are being arrested for feeding the homeless. This country is headed for even worst times if this is what it has come to : making it illegal to nourish a fellow human being in need in an OPEN public park. I urge Richmond to fully consider what is at stake. I hope that we will not see this sort of fascism here and I hope that Food Not Bombs feels free to return to Monroe Park (or any other public park that they so choose) after renovations are completed.