Three days ago, I wrote this.
In the last paragraph, I predicted that the carnival would be “uncomfortable”. Last night, a kid was either physically assaulted or “mugged”. Although I don’t know all of the details, it’s really unfortunate. To add onto this, the hooligans who started Dover High School’s (much talked about) decline traveled around together in packs. It was unsettling.
Although I’m enjoying myself, this year’s carnival feels different so far – different in a bad way.
I hope I’m overreacting.
Regrettably, it seems I wasn’t overreacting at all. In fact, I’m now outraged. Last night, during the final evening of the 2008 Dover Carnival, there was an incident. I won’t go into detail here, but in brief, a resident of Dover Plains was stabbed in public. I’ll let the newspapers handle the details, which I’ll link to at some point. (Edit: One person told me it would be appropriate to say that the perpetrators of the act weren’t Dover residents. This is true, but I don’t think it changes anything.)
Let me emphasize this: Last night, at the Dover Carnival, a person was stabbed in public. The person was then taken to the hospital by ambulance.
A year ago, I’d flat-out deny this as being possible in my town. Now, I’m not all that surprised. I have no reason to reserve myself on this topic anymore. This town is falling apart, piece by piece. Gradually, it’s transforming from a safe and comfortable place to raise a family into a degenerating hellhole. It’s unacceptable, and I feel that it’s the climax of a trend that I’ve written about over the last few months.
From my perspective, I first had a personal crisis with a disrespectful young man. I then ran into problems dealing with my high school’s administration. Finally, I began to butt heads with the ideas and values of the so-called “gangs” that have popped up in the community.
If it isn’t clear by now, I love the Dover Carnival. Most Dover citizens enjoy spending a night or two there, but I have decided to use the word “love”, have chosen to go all four nights, and have dedicated myself to blogging about it. No, I don’t think I’m crazy, and no, I’m not addicted to carnival rides or carnival food.
I love the Dover Carnival because I love people. Every year, the local fire department puts together a wonderful venue for everyone to go out and have a good time. Not only do I get to catch up with people I don’t see all that often, but I can watch others do the same, which naturally makes me happy. The Dover Carnival is a place for friendly people to get out and enjoy their right to a safe and fun time.
Now, like everything else that I have ever valued in this town, the Dover Carnival is seemingly under attack. It breaks my heart to say this, but I don’t think there’s anything we can really do except to watch out backs.
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My thoughts are, of course, with those affected by the events of yesterday evening.
