Halloween in Madison
For your enjoyment, an ongoing correspondence with a freshmen UW-Whitewater student:
I sent this email this morning:
Hi Matt.
I read this in the newspaper (http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=59750) :
The crowd swelled in the 500 block of State Street near the Pub and small groups of mostly young men began singing “Ole, ole, ole,” a soccer chant and apparently the anthem of those hoping to see a ruckus in Madison.
Matt Sokol, 19, a UW-Whitewater student, said the chanting “is a Madison thing. You do it because you are in Madison.”
It’s funny, because you’re not a Madison person. I find it curious that you are uniquely qualified to define a “Madison thing”. It’s assholes like you who have ruined Halloween in Madison by trying to start a riot every year. Guess what? That’s not a “Madison thing” And I live in Madison, so I’d know. Why don’t you and your UW-Whitewater friends stay home next year and do a “Whitewater thing”.
Madison is not a playpen for people like you. You’re not welcome here on Halloween and I hope you don’t come back next year.
Sincerely,
Tad Johnson
UW-Madison Senior
I got this response first:
Who are you? That lady didnt say what i really said, she made me sound like a pussy and did not say what she wrote. Im pissed, thanks though.
I guess he was confused, because I got this response 15 minutes later:
First off, i didnt read what you said to me after the fact. But what i said and what she wrote are different. You suck, i am going to be in madison when ever the fuck i want including next halloween. Who are you to say i cant say a madison thing, the amendments allow me that right. You need to chill out and maybe next halloween try drinking and having fun like the 100,000 other people did.
Sincerely Matt Sokol, 19, a UW-Whitewater student
That’s more what I expected. So I crafted this response:
Hi Matt!
Boy, you sure hit the nail squarely on the head. You do, indeed, hold the constitutional right to make stupid comments to whomever you please. In the spirit of democracy, you chose to exercise that right by professing your fascinating analysis of what constitutes Halloween in Madison.
Unfortunately, I also have the right to free speech, and I enjoy making use of that right. Here goes:
The reason I wish that you and your ilk would stay away from Madison is that you negatively impact the event. Consider–for the past four years, the vast majority of arrests during the Halloween weekend have been from non-Madison residents. People like you come to Madison expecting a riot, then do all you can to create one. We Madison residents don’t want a riot. We don’t want our storefronts broken. We don’t want fires in the middle of the street. We just want to have fun.
For actual Madison residents like myself, the result of people like you is an increased police presence and much stricter law enforcement, making the weekend less fun. I would greatly prefer a Madison Halloween celebration consisting of Madison residents getting drunk and showing off their costumes on State Street until the wee hours of the morning. But people like you have made that impossible. Now, Madison Halloween involves hundreds of police officers in riot gear and crowds are forcibly dispersed with pepper spray at 2:00 am.
Do you now understand why I wish that people like you would stay in your own town on Halloween and let us Madison residents enjoy Madison? Let me make it really simple for you, just in case:
PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE WHY WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF COPS AND PEPPER SPRAY ON STATE STREET DURING HALLOWEEN. STAY HOME!!
Thank you for your understanding,
Tad Johnson
Heard back from Matt today:
Well Tad, For your information i have never been to Madison before. I just wanted to see a riot and your fucking fellow students are the reason that the cops have to bust out the tear gas and such. State street has been getting broken up by pepper spray and tear gas long before the one year i decided to go. I have only the intentions of getting fucked up and passing out. You need to understand that i didn’t say anything that the fucking article says. So get off your power trip and chill. If you can find it in your heart to lay off me i would greatly appreciate it because no matter what you do or say will prevent me from going back at some time. The editor fucked up and have been bitching at them all fucking day, your not the only person sending me these pleasant messages so lay off.
Thanks Matt Sokol, 19, UWWhitewater
Filed under Uncategorized : Comments (0) : Oct 30th, 2005 by tadfad
