Quotes (10/2000)
"What do I call 14 anti-WSF people when
they convene over a 3-day period and where WSF personnel and fans aren't
given a chance to voice their opinions: South Africa Justice."
"If
Shirley DeLibero, Lee Brown, and pro-WSF people can all get along, there
should have been a compromise. Metro Lift, or the Metro Trolley service,
along with Park and Ride facilities, and accessible parking spaces, in
Downtown Houston or a Metro Park and Ride lot would have solved the problem
to overcrowded parking and large crowds, but shouting vulgar overtones
at one another doesn't solve anything. Wounds heal, but denying a
tradition from it's home is like the Temple of Solomon being destroyed
by the Romans in 70 C.E., which led to the Diaspora."
"It's a celebration of
the lifestyles in Montrose. This is our festival. I'm gay and I feel this
is an opportunity for the neighborhood to enjoy the gay community, the
straight community, the bisexual community. We all mix and have a great
party and it's a very safe party. The mayor comes down here without any
security! Considering the number of people who are here, it's the safest
festival in the city.
"The city requires us to have liquor
liability and general liability (insurance or bonds), security, clean up,
sanitation facilities, off-site parking. This city is listening to the
festival opponents, but everybody knows the mayor loves the festival.
We fulfill every one of the city's
requirements."
"Some people want this neighborhood
to be made up of nuclear families with a white picket fence around every
house," says Flores. "That's what they're trying to turn Montrose into.
But we're here to stay."
-John
Flores (excerpt from Public News Issue #776, ? 1997)
"After listening to the
people during the public session and looking at the record, I thought it
hadn't been fair. I thought that not all people who wanted to voice
an opinion were able to.
"And ultimately, I am opposed to moving
the Westheimer Street Festival. I think it can be modified.
At worst, you charge a small admission to get in and you can reduce the
crowd that way. But you cannot move the Westheimer Street Festival.
Then it's no longer the Westheimer Street Festival. It's like holding
Mardi Gras in New York.
"I also don't want to be ever
known as a party pooper. I think that it's been there for 27 years.
I think in the spirit of the festival, we ought to work with the organizers,
even though there are some problems. Because when we do move it,
it will die."
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