Readers of the LR, with appreciation for Monty Python, it’s time to play:
The setting: a mall in Carrboro, a town in North Carolina adjacent to Chapel Hill.
The situation: a local man habitually uses the mall’s lawn to dance via “part yoga, part martial arts and part creative movement.” The mall ownership, for whatever reason (it is private property) asked him to stop. Now they request that would-be performers sign up ahead of time for use of the lawn.
The reaction: Some mall-goers are very upset by this decision, many going so far as to act as if the mall, Weaver Street Market, has an obligation to the community to let the dancer, Bruce Thomas, dance on its lawn. Thomas himself endorses this view. Some have even committed vandalism and made threatening phone calls.
Yesterday: a group of activists engaged in “civil dance disobedience” to protest the private property-owner’s decision. Gandhi was referenced. The mayor and the local state senator (Ellie Kinnaird, D-Carrboro, a former mayor) stuck their noses in.
Also participating: a group styling itself the “Rainbow ReSisters Radical Cheerleading Troupe.” They’re pictured above performing the “I think I slipped a disc” move and are shown below performing a self-confessional version of “YMCA.” Previously the group had “cheered for peace” in Fayetteville .
