Director's Take

Entertainment Districts are for Everyone

07-03-2026

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!