Everywhere I went this weekend people wanted to talk about the Fountain Avenue a.) celebration; b.) riot; c.) confrontation; d.) melee; e.) civil rights protest; f.) attack, which took place early Friday morning on the Wesleyan campus
The Wesleying blog is reporting an extraordinary response with more than 13,000 visits the day after the event. The blog posted student footage (which, as a warning, begins with a hearty "Fuck you.") this weekend which made understanding the event impossible still. Claims and counter-claims continue to roil the community. And this morning the Wesleying blog reports that a reliable source claims that one of the police officers involved has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation ensues. In addition, a parent's message board has been filled with the same kind of charges, counter charges, explanations and excuses.
For some it's hardworking students blowing off a little steam versus incompetent Wes Public Safety and brutal local police.
Or, entitled and privileged students versus just-doing-our-job cops.
Or a little of both.
BTW, as regards the online comments attached to the Hartford Courant story about the event, a source confided that the Courant does monitor the comments, and does remove some of the most abusive. Though some which maek it throught the review process degenerate into the worst kind of anonymous racist, sexist, homophobic name-calling from a host of "commenters" who reappear again and again. The comment section is so popular that while the newspaper monitors comments, and removes some, especially those which are brought to its attention as abusive, it's effort to embrace the web has also inadvertently seen them embracing haters.
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