First Friday, Uptown Beginning

Planned Parenthood's "Framed Choices," Market Square, Knoxville, May 2011 

Part of the fun of First Friday is the events you are certain you want to hit. Part of the fun is the random surprise along the way. This First Friday held a few surprises, fantastic weather and plenty of people letting their freak flag fly.

Staley works with the teens and took time to talk about the project

Austin-East Student poses with his photographs, Market Square, May 2011

I started on Market Square where I found a gathering of young people displaying their photographic art assembled around messages of hope and encouragement. They were high school students participating in a program through Planned Parenthood. Staley McCartney explained that each teen has developed photographic works that follow the theme "framed choices." I interviewed one young man whose photographs explored teen suicide and hope and his hero Alex Haley.

Anit-abortion, Anti-Planned Parenthood protestors face the students and their photograps

True, but deceptive sign held by protesters.

In contrast to the positive vibe and hopefulness of these bright young people, a group of anti-abortion protesters gathered in response to the presence of Planned Parenthood even though the presentation in question had nothing to do with abortion and only 3% of Planned Parenthood resources nationally are related to abortion services. Their photographs, particularly, were disgusting. The prominent display of aborted fetuses at an event involving young children seems abusive to me, but I'll have more on that, later.

Fools and Horses, Preservation Pub, Knoxville, May 2011

Fools and Horses, Preservation Pub, Knoxville, May 2011

My friend and I had some excellent tacos at Blue Coast Burrito (we really loved the fish tacos) and caught a few songs by Fools and Horses in the great upstairs (mostly) smoke-free upstairs room at Preservation Pub. We walked through Krutch Park past some guys playing guitar and free-associating and talked to some of the gathering drum circle which is sponsored by Knox EarthDrum each First Friday.

Musicians in Krutch Park, Knoxville, May 2011

Drum Circle Organizer, Krutch Park, Knoxville, May 2011

Drummers prepare for the circle, Krutch Park, Knoxville, May 2011

From there we walked down a very crowded Gay Street toward the 100 block, which has a whole different vibe from the one on Market Square (generally family friendly, many of our friends from West Knoxville) or Krutch Park (groovy hippy vibe). The 100 Block has both these elements, but it has a bit more of an avantgarde crowd on a First Friday night. It was on Gay Street that I spotted the Vehicle of the Night, a 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline.

1949 Chevrolet Fleetline, Gay Street, Knoxville, May 2011

1949 Chevrolet Fleetline, Gay Street, Knoxville, May 2011

Half-way to the 100 block I met Molly who specializes in Massage, Yoga Instruction and Energy Healing. She also belongs to something called Unify Knoxville. She was sweet to let me take her picture. I wish I'd done a better job (next time, Molly).

Molly, Gay Street, Knoxville, May 2011

Soon I'll cover more of what we found the rest of the night.

When Free Speech Is Too Expensive

When should free speech be stopped? When does it cross some invisible line into public pornography? We'll see some of that pornographic speech when the various neo-Nazi groups descend on Knoxville August 14. There has been a great deal of community discussion regarding the proper way to respond to their message. One group plans to wear clown suits. Others are suggesting that no one show up. I hope no one gets hurt. The inclusion of hate speech under the protection of freedom of speech has been a long and painful discussion in our country.

The day I took the picture above, I didn't realize what was coming. I should have. This was a group that gives a cursory nod to various genocides throughout history so they can pull people into their real issue, which is abortion. They show images of the Nazi holocaust, for example, to engage people who acknowledge that human horror, in order to suggest - in a fairly direct manner - that abortion is an equivalent genocide. If you believe that a fertilized egg is the equivalent of a human being, I can see how you could go there.

That perspective, though different from my own, isn't what bothered me that day. What I found absolutely appalling and what I really question as far as acceptability for a public space is the use of horribly graphic images. Are all images acceptable in a public space? Is that always protected speech? What if a group advocating free sex wanted to show large pictures of their cause to every person, including children, passing by on the square? What if an anti-American group wanted to show pictures of our soldiers being tortured? Is there no reasonable limit? Would this group of anti-abortionists support their right to do so?

To be intellectually honest, I have to ask myself whether the fact that I disagree with this group causes me to hold them to a higher standard. I don't think so. If an anti-abortion group wants to gather on Market Square and give a lecture or hand out materials to adults who want it, that's fine by me. If they want to offer me a pamphlet and tell me it has images of abortion inside, fine. I'll decline and move on and maybe the next person will want to see that kind of thing. But to have large blow-up pictures forcing everyone of every age to look at them is wrong in my opinion.

Taken from one other angle: This same group would likely not want sex education in the schools because they would suggest that it is the family's prerogative to teach their children about that topic. Yet, they remove the decision of every parent walking through Market Square regarding to what degree and when to expose their children to this complex and controversial topic. That's hypocritical. The city should not approve this type of display in a public area in which we are working to bring families.