Stop the green insanity

Enough already of the drunken revelry of St. Patrick’s Day. And we’re only half way through the day! So far this year, with most celebrations starting last weekend, this has been the most criminal, most drunk, and most destructive St. Paddie’s on record.

In New Jersey there was a celebration that accumulated 34 arrests and two sexual assaults. The mayor in Hoboken said enough, next year they are moving the kick off parade to a weekday. Albany and Newport, RI also reported record violence, the worst to date. At the Newport parade alone, there were 95 arrests.

Many of the cities are looking into social networks to control crowds next year.

“It’s the first time we heard of people coming to the parade because of Twitter,” said Newport Police Lt. William Fitzgerald. “We’re trying to get some ideas from our computer people about how social networking can assist us.” Computer people? Try asking a teenager.

While a weekday parade would reduce the amount of alcohol consumed and the number of out of towners participating, restaurants and bars worry about the bottom line. Then again, “A lot of people lose money that day,” Juan Melli, spokesperson for the Hoboken mayor, said. “One business was broken into and they were basically partying in the store. They urinated in there and trashed it.” In Hoboken, drunk people even attacked firefighters responding to a call by pouring beer on them.

Then in Albany a riot broke out as a parade was ending. People tossed furniture off balconies, smashed windows and attacked cars parked in the streets. Some even threw bottles at police.

They could all learn from New York City where a zero tolerance policy has curbed the violence and saved the holiday.

Source: Reuters