DIRECTOR’S TAKE blog

Dear Friend of Downtown,

We’ve become numb to gun violence. Mass shootings at schools full of children didn’t change anything. We track homicides and watch the numbers go up and down. For the last handful of years, we hear about a shooting every week, and rather than question the availability and saturation of guns in our communities, we focus on the neighborhood in which it occurred.
 
I don’t understand why guns have become political fare; the increasing rate of gun violence is utterly astonishing, and the state legislature just made it easier for 18-20 year olds to conceal carry in this year’s legislative session.
 
It is NOT anti-American to pass red flag laws, require background checks, or implement waiting periods. All of those still provide the opportunity for someone to eventually own a gun, and guess what, nobody’s rights would be infringed upon.
 
I still question the need for assault rifles and high powered magazines, and wonder why state-acquired guns aren’t destroyed… but those are the touchier subjects that people think we can’t talk about. We need to start talking.

Dear Friend of Downtown,

I wrote about social responsibility almost exactly a year ago, and it could not have been more prescient for what is taking place right now, as we are seeing events on public streets and sidewalks that is antithetical to what I believe most of us were taught as kids.
 
Did you ever read Robert Fulghum’s 1986 collection of essays, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten?” In the case of what has been transpiring on Bardstown Rd./Baxter Ave., and last year along E. Market, it is true. We sat in circles, we helped each other and played games on the playground together, we learned how to talk to each other, and we cleaned up after ourselves. Instead, now, people are congregating on sidewalks and in the street, blocking traffic, ready to fight (some with guns), not even enjoying the awesome collection of bars and restaurants in the area… just there to create mayhem.
 
No. We know better than this. Public spaces are for EVERYONE, which means that your behavior should reflect respect for other people and for the spaces that we share with each other.
 
Wanting to hang out with friends is something that doesn’t change as we age, however, to do so in a manner that is disruptive to others’ use of that space, is illegal, or incites violence has no place in public. As Judge Garvey and LMPD Chief Humphrey have both said, ridiculous and stupid behavior have consequences; if you can’t get right, stay home.
 
I love the entertainment districts in our city, which are usually in culturally rich neighborhoods with many fun things to do. I want to protect and promote those areas, so let’s all find a way back to better public decorum and shared respect for each other and the community in which we live.
 
Hope to see you on the streets soon!

Dear Friend of Downtown,

Not only does June bring later sunsets and summer vacations… it is also the month of Pride and Juneteenth. I like to think of those celebrations as a call for all of us toward tolerance, acceptance, and most important, understanding that each of us is different and as worthy as the next.
 
In today’s polarized world, where we can hide behind screens and shout at people without the accountability of being in person, I find that these annual reminders are necessary for us to think about the shared humanity and community. We exist on this earth in this big universe at the same time and should be constantly searching for ways to reach out, learn something new, or at the very least, let people be themselves.
 
June, in my mind, is about kindness. Celebrating our differences. Remembering the hardships that came before so that we can embrace them now.
 
And there is no better place to do any of those things than in Downtown… which is everyone’s neighborhood.
 
See you on the streets soon!

Dear Friend of Downtown,

I was in southeastern Kentucky last week, taking a look at some recreational opportunities, and I learned some history about old mountain living that sounded really familiar to me, relative to our more urban setting.
 
There were factions of families that fought each other, probably for a real reason once upon a time, but that became simply principle based on name. Lots of people died, people settling arguments with guns and basing their anger and blame on years of assumptions and retaliation.
 
Urban areas have similar stories and sadly, people die unnecessarily because we don’t know how to share our feelings and talk about the real issues, and I submit, because guns are way too readily available.
 
There is an epidemic of gun violence with stories about shootings and deaths in our news on an almost daily basis. I do not have the solution, but I do think it’s plain to see that without red flag laws, waiting periods, bans on automatic rifles, or harsher sentences for crimes committed with stolen guns, we should not expect to see much change.
 
I for one do want change, and I want us to experience healthy community as the social beings we are who need it. If you agree, let’s keep talking about it. Maybe some people who can do something about it will hear.

Dear Friend of Downtown,

The Kentucky Derby broke its viewership record this year with 19.6 million views. When a city is home to a bucket-list type of experience that attracts that kind of number, even if on an international scale, it’s hard to miss how special the Kentucky Derby is for our community.

Not only is the first Saturday in May great timing to get all of our yards and gardens in shape after the long winter’s sleep and spring’s first kiss, but I see property owners – residential as well as commercial – taking special pride in their doorsteps and sidewalks. It’s actually the law (but rarely enforced), so it’s especially satisfying to know that we *do* care about the face we are showing the world.

I don’t want the KY Derby every weekend (I need too much sleep!), but it sure would be amazing if we treated our properties the same way all 52 weekends of the year.

Louisville shines… whether or not you like horses or betting. Events like the Derby and the ever-growing Bourbon and Beyond/Louder Than Life weekends create a pride-inducing spectacle to behold. I try to see these experiences through a visitor’s eye, and it gives me goosebumps just how special dressing up for and respecting these events can be.

Downtown also shined. Thank you to the hotels and restaurants and attractions for making sure your storefronts were clean and that when you rolled out the red carpet, you also cleaned your sidewalks.

Let’s be ready to put on our party best and shine again next week… see you on the streets!