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Reflections on the Roslindale Day Parade

Horn player in Roslindale Day Parade and reflections in her horn

Some houses and a photographer on Belgrade Avenue were reflected in a Dedham American Legion Band horn player's instrument during the Roslindale Day Parade today.

Hundreds of people participated in today's parade as it wended from Roslindale Square into West Roxbury and then back to Fallon Field. Hundreds more watched along the route. And the vast majority of people had a great time, as they do every year on the first Sunday in October.

And just like I do most years, I'm going to post parade photos. But first, let's talk about a couple of white guys who did their best to ruin it for some minority kids - only fortunately for the kids, they were too busy having a fun time, or maybe they were just exhausted and looking forward to the end or their marching, and only the adults with them knew what was going on. One of them reports:

As a group of kids from a local school, about half of them black or brown, were nearing the end of the parade, about halfway down South Street from the Holy Name Rotary towards Fallon Field, a couple of white guys began yelling at them, "Make America great again, kids! Trump!"

Really? You guys didn't have anything better to do?

OK, back to the parade:

It wouldn't be a parade without tiny-car Shriners and clown Shriners:

Shriner in tiny car
Shriner clown

A corgi can only walk so far before he has to be carried:

Corgi

An MIT solar-powered car glided down the parade route:

Solar car

A traditional marching band from both Quincy high schools marched:

Marching band

A man sold flags and balloons alongside the Boston Latin Academy Classics Club:

Flags for sale

Plenty of politicians marched, of course. Ricardo Arroyo, running for city council in District 5 (Roslindale, Hyde Park, Mattapan), went for the Halloween vote - most of the people in his contingent wore costumes:

Arroyo backer

Erin Murphy, running for an at-large council seat, went for the canine (or the dog-lover) vote:

Erin Murphy dogs

Plenty of dancers and musicians:

Bolivian dancers
Flip
JP Honkers
Bagpipers
Dancers

He had the royal wave down:

Waving

You don't tend to see many violins in parades:

Violinists

Triangle man in the Bates School contingent:

Triangle guy

Navy honor guard:

Navy Honor guard

Elvis, is that you?

Guy in 57 Chevy

Police Commissioner William Gross with a fan and one of the Blue Lives Matter flags that people were giving out along the parade route:

William Gross

A reminder from the Coast Guard: Always wear your life jacket:

Skeletons didn't wear life jackets
Neighborhoods: 
Free tagging: 


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Comments

I was walking with my daughters Girl Scout Troop, which was shouted at by the jerks discussed above. They seemed to be from a house on South St that featured several cases of beer on the front steps. One of the shouting individuals had an open container (glass bottle) in his hand. I decided not to make the scene worse and confront him, but I do hope that one of the many officers along the parade route spoke to him.

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We were in the parade, and for all I know I was with the school group in question. I mentioned at the start that when I last marched, decades ago, we were met at the beginning by the drunken louts at Vinny Marino’s dive bar. It was pretty much like that.

Again, if it was my school group, I would note that it only one of the drunks that was insistent that people, in his words, “vote Republican.” It was awkward, but I would say that the kids didn’t care. The rest were just acting like drunken fools in an apolitical way. Nothing too bad, but the GOP guy did make things awkward for the adults.

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Name names. How did they engage with the kids? grown-ups?

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Drunk #1 and drunk #2. How the f would I know their names? I was walking.

That's the thing. The guy wasn't engaging. He was shouting, to anyone in general. My kid and his other race friend were too preoccupied with the game they were playing to even notice. I would be curious how the older kids got along, since they were high fiving practically every person along the route. The other folks were "happy drunks," so I am sure all went well with him.

I asked my wife about this. She remembered the cases of beer, but not the blowhard. Other than that guy, the thing that stuck out with my about that house was that when we were a house or two further down the road, a woman walked by with a glass of wine. It was truly about the alcohol at that house.

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You are making this stuff up, nobody that hung in that bar was a Republican??

So all bad deeds during the parade were, GOP, White Guys, and Trump

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I mentioned at the start that when I last marched, decades ago, we were met at the beginning by the drunken louts at Vinny Marino’s dive bar.

Did I mention any guesses about the political affiliation of the bar patrons?

I also don't quite see how mentioning Trump campaign slogans should somehow be an issue in of itself. People get triggered easily. Gaffin is perhaps making more hay of this than needs be because he suffers from TDS. You seem very easily triggered as well, but in the opposite direction. In the end, there were a bunch of drunk people in front of this one house (verified by another commenter), and one of them was insistent upon sharing his political views. If he was castigating Trump rather than praising him in his inebriated state, I would have felt the same way towards him. We were a school group. Politics had nothing to do with us.

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People get triggered easily.

There were politicians, or perhaps just people carrying large banners with politicians names, marching IN the parade.

If you bring Carrot Top to a funeral, there IS gonna be a lot of merriment.

Just saying.

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There was a politician behind us, but there was an SUV- that kept playing the same 8 songs over and over and over again- between us and them. It was plainly clear that we were not with them, to the extent that I would occasionally forget that she was behind us. Again, though, he was just generally yelling about the dangers of voting for Democrats, not targeting anyone. He stayed on the sidewalk.

Interestingly, Adam either neglected to note or left too early to see that Shiva had his bus at the end of the parade. There's you combination of a clown and a funeral for you.

And yes, people get triggered easily.

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The first one, with the city reflected in the horn, should win a Pulitzer.

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As a group of kids from a local school, about half of them black or brown, were nearing the end of the parade, about halfway down South Street from the Holy Name Rotary towards Fallon Field, a couple of white guys began yelling at them, "Make America great again, kids! Trump!"

When I was a young kid, I had just about enough of Carter and quite enjoyed all things Reagan. That is probably why the guy won all 50 states. Even kids dug his vibe.

Maybe this will help.

https://dailycaller.com/2019/10/06/trump-black-supporter-asked-pray-for-...

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Reagan lost Rhode Island, Maryland, Hawaii, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Georgia in 1980. He also lost Minnesota in 1984.

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daily caller.

good one. Monday chuckle.

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Not sure if it was the school I was with (there were a bunch marching) but two louts on South St. yelled pro Trump slogans to a bunch of 6 year olds and it was out of character with the rest of the parade.

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I do not understand why you took an article about a parade and tried to make it a political and racial soapbox for yourself. I do not see why you brought up that his comment was directed toward only the half brown and black kids marching. Was it not directed at the others? Maybe it was not directed at the kids at all, but a person marching with a banner of an opposing party. Americans still have true right to freedom of speech, but since you don’t agree with his view, it must be a crime. Maybe the drunkard is guilty of being drunk, but you are just as guilty by trying to include kids into the equation. Black and brown ones specially. Sounds like the only person in the event who brought up race was you. You should be just as ashamed of yourself just as much as the drunkard.

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Why drunkards felt the need to inject politics into a neighborhood parade by shouting political slogans at little kids.

In addition to my report, which was based on what one parent told me, there are several confirmatory accounts above. That you decide to ignore them is too bad, but you might want to consider what you're saying: That it's OK for some over-sauced loudmouths to yell offensive crap at little kids simply walking in a parade (and yes, yelling Trump slogans at minority kids is offensive in Boston; or have you forgotten what percentage of the vote he got in Boston's predominantly black neighborhoods?).

"Americans still have true right to freedom of speech, but since you don’t agree with his view, it must be a crime."

Typical right-wing claptrap; do you need a safe space? A) The First Amendment doesn't apply here (or have you already forgotten the history of how the South Boston parade organizers managed to ban gays for so many years?). B) The right to free speech works both ways. Loudmouths have the right to bellow, but I and the people who actually witnessed the assholery also have the right to complain about them. C) Unlike Dear Leader, where have I called for locking up people who disagree with me?

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About drunk white people, you are trying to start something by writing. One parent told me this???? People had a good time and you focus and a couple of WHITE GUYS

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It is the classic Boston Bullshit Fallacy game of "The PROBLEM isn't the problem - the people who NOTICE and TALK about the problem are the PROBLEM".

Go back to 1970. Louise Day Hicks can use your "logic".

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Why drunkards felt the need to inject politics into a neighborhood parade by shouting political slogans at little kids.

I bet it was Batman wearing that Arroyo pin that made it seem fair.

Or is Batman not a kid thing?

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That you decide to ignore them is too bad, but you might want to consider what you're saying: That it's OK for some over-sauced loudmouths to yell offensive crap at little kids simply walking in a parade

I did verify that the report was true, but if political speech in of itself is offensive, I hope you apply that across the spectrum. There is a world of difference between supporting a candidate or party and being offensive. As I noted at the beginning of my first comment, I had drunks yell stuff at us during the parade in the 80s. Nothing political, just boorish, at the time. Same thing here.

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You read the comments, nothing about how nice the parade was, who was the Grand Marshall, thank Tom donohue for organing it for 43 rd year.
Nope, minority kids getting yelled at by White people who favor Trump.

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It wasn't like J'ouvert Parade held on Blue Hill have were there are no Trump Supporters for sure and one person got killed, 3 shot and same Parade cancelled in Cambridge. A couple of drunk young men probalby watching the Pats game and LIVE ALONG THE PARADE ROUTE.

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