[davem4616]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

Can't see the point of them anyway.
Parades are either preaching to the converted, or provoking the opposition.
Why the suprise when tempers fray?

exactly...and the same reason I don't put a sticker on my vehicle...don't need it "keyed" by someone with a limited IQ that's for the opposition

parades that celebrate holidays are fine....a string of golf cart's assembled to promote a social issue or a candidate are just asking for "the groupies" opposing them to come out in force and friction will follow

[valuemkt]

Originally Posted by coalminer

If the Villages dosent condemn and prohibit such inflammatory parades such as the one that was highlighted by the "white power guy" someone will eventually get hurt. I feel that the Villages and the organizers of the event should be held legally responsible.

Were you there, or did you watch the entire video clip, not just the snippet on main stream news ?

Did you happen to see or hear the lovely Trump hating woman who was shouting obscenities at the passing carts using language that would make a sailor blush ??

The amount of F Trump shouts from protestors taking the Blue side of the spectrum is what sent the rally downhill... Yes, the people jumping in front of golf carts could have gotten hurt.. Maybe they should have stayed home

[kenoc7]

How about just not allowing parades like the ridiculous one that gave The Villages very bad publicity across the world. Relatives in Australia sent the clip to me.

[duffer4384]

I am so embarrassed to be a Villager right now. My wife and I decided to retire here fifteen years ago because the people here were mostly friendly and the lifestyle was appealing to us. Over the years as the yearly new wave of residents come, it seems that the old ideals are being lost. There doesn't seem to be a norm anymore. Speed limits are ignored, people seem to be in too much of a hurry to be nice anymore. There used to be rules and regulations that were geared towards maintaining a happy lifestyle. Not anymore, nothing is being enforced and based on recent national news we seem to be interested more in our political views than being retired and having fun. I don't know why anyone would want to move here right now and our property values are certainly going to suffer.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by duffer4384

I am so embarrassed to be a Villager right now. My wife and I decided to retire here fifteen years ago because the people here were mostly friendly and the lifestyle was appealing to us. Over the years as the yearly new wave of residents come, it seems that the old ideals are being lost. There doesn't seem to be a norm anymore. Speed limits are ignored, people seem to be in too much of a hurry to be nice anymore. There used to be rules and regulations that were geared towards maintaining a happy lifestyle. Not anymore, nothing is being enforced and based on recent national news we seem to be interested more in our political views than being retired and having fun. I don't know why anyone would want to move here right now and our property values are certainly going to suffer.

What happens when it gets overcrowded. No different than anywhere else these days.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by kenoc7

How about just not allowing parades like the ridiculous one that gave The Villages very bad publicity across the world. Relatives in Australia sent the clip to me.

You mean the one with the whistle blowers?

[Joe C.]

The Villages own the town squares, but they do not own the roads that go around them. Therefore, they can't control any "parades" on any of the town or county streets.

[17362]

I just wonder... the obscene lady and the power man... if they were even villagers? I wonder that a lot about the people that make headlines that aren’t meant for them. That parade, that is now all about those 2 for example. Not exactly about the parade- sometimes needy people do that for their claim to fame or to give outsiders a tarnished view (an agenda other than the true meaning of something.
Does anyone else wonder about this, in general, that is?

[charmed59]

The infamous video was not of a parade. Parades are community activities where streets are blocked off and notice is given to all so people can join together and watch. Think the St Patricks day parade down at Spanish Springs. The streets are blocked off hours in advance. There are community officers directing traffic around the closures. If you happen to be heading to Spanish Springs that day and didn’t know about the parade you would be directed around the closed streets.

What happened at Sumter was a protest. It was intended to disrupt traffic. That is part of our free speech rights. Just as the lady yelling obscenities at those in carts, and the guy in the cart yell unacceptable things back, both are covered under free speech.

What put it on the world stage was not that something illegal was done. Just something that was extremely unacceptable was done, and then was catapulted into social media. People here in the Villages, and everywhere, say just as obnoxious things every day. They aren’t usually on video, and when it comes to the Villages, they are very seldom tweeted out to the world by a world wide celebrity.

People in the Villages also do extremely kind and forward thinking things everyday. Those also are seldom captured on video. If they were, and we had a very popular influencer spreading these great acts on the social media, we would have a much better reputation.

[lwmilo]

Originally Posted by Michael Charles

So you're saying that TV and the clubs that organize events that are distasteful to you should be held accountable for something that you or others do?

I of course am embarrassed that a member of the community where I live in said those hateful words. In no way can you expect anyone other than the ignorant and racist person speaking those words responsible.

"Legally responsible" What laws were broken?

Unfortunately, all people involved were exercising their right to free speech.

Amazing... Black Power all ok but White power is a no no. Its ok for the Connecticut women to curse and verbaly abuse the golf cart riders... typical one sided opinion.
Namvet

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

What happens when it gets overcrowded. No different than anywhere else these days.

I agree with you. Many years ago I read an article on a study to demonstrate the effects of over crowding/over population. The study started with a pair of peaceful lab rats in a very large space with plenty of food and water. A rat paradise, if you will. The rats bred and became a few rats. When they bred, there became a lot of rats, and so on. The researchers made sure there was always food and water so as to make sure the only variable was over population. As the population soared and personal space diminished, the rats became far less peaceful, ultimately becoming violent even to the point of killing and cannibalizing their fellows, even with food and water available. I haven't been able to find this study.
So, I agree with your assessment of the effect of over crowding. Makes one wonder what the future holds if we can't come together peacefully now to deal with the problems that we'll face down the road.

[ValSetz]

Are the roads within the Squares private? Or are they maintained by the counties?

[Joe C.]

The roads in and around the squares are maintained by the county. If the roads were private, then the sheriff or police couldn't legally ticket anybody for going through stop signs or traffic signals.
That's the simple explanation.

[jimhurtt@twc.com]

But you must understand. The person yelling "White Power" was refering to Senior Citizen Power. He had white hair.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by davem4616

exactly...and the same reason I don't put a sticker on my vehicle...don't need it "keyed" by someone with a limited IQ that's for the opposition

Very good point. My truck was badly keyed a few years ago because I had a Scott Brown bumper sticker. He was running against Elizabeth Warren for state senator.