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Sacramento Anarchists Slay the Trojan Horse of Ugly Corporate Development!
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Sacramento (SAC) -- In the early hours of the morning on January 30, 2005, several violent self-described black-clad anarchists attacked, fought, and slaughtered the giant chrome beast that is perched in front of Safeway on 19th and S Street in midtown Sacramento.
Sacramento (SAC) -- In the early hours of the morning on January 30, 2005, several violent self-described black-clad anarchists attacked, fought, and slaughtered the giant chrome beast that is perched in front of Safeway on 19th and S Street in midtown Sacramento.
An epic battle ensued between the violent anarchists and the shiny corporate stallion. Despite the beast’s glistening steel armor and razor sharp fangs, the dark warriors outfought the glossy monster and stood triumphantly over its metal remains.
The attack came as a shock to many, but several local politicians had previously warned of anarchists “busting up Sacramento like they did in Seattle” in reference to the 1999 World Trade Organization protests that led to millions of dollars in property damage in downtown Seattle.
“It is an absolute pity. This sort of thing is totally preventable,” mayor Fargo conceded.
"It's a serious matter," FBI agent Stanley Handcock said. "A task force is investigating the incident.”
But law enforcement and experts say it is difficult to target members because anyone who acts out in the name of anarchism is considered a member.
"They are organized in the sense that they have a common philosophy in so-called 'direct action,' " Handcock said. "They all have the philosophy that direct action must be taken.”
"You don't have to apply to them for a membership card; there are no dues to be paid."
The developer of the Safeway project, Paul Petrovich, referred to the incident as “just plain terrorism.”
Other community members welcomed the death of the monstrosity. All over the city, spontaneous parties broke loose in the streets and gunshots were fired into the air in celebration. The police have warned that the use of firearms is illegal, unsafe, and immoral.
Some citizens even felt a sense of relief as the demon crashed to the ground. “I’ll sleep easier every night knowing the piece-of-shit horse has been put out of its misery,” said Grace Perchowski, who lives in the neighborhood.
Many saw the atrocious animal as a poor replacement for an almost five-year-old mural that was destroyed in the process of building the new Safeway. Its artist, Kevin Price, could not be reached for comment.
“Everyone knows what you have to do when a horse is lame: shoot it,” commented local libertarian Ed Hunnigan.
The attack came as a shock to many, but several local politicians had previously warned of anarchists “busting up Sacramento like they did in Seattle” in reference to the 1999 World Trade Organization protests that led to millions of dollars in property damage in downtown Seattle.
“It is an absolute pity. This sort of thing is totally preventable,” mayor Fargo conceded.
"It's a serious matter," FBI agent Stanley Handcock said. "A task force is investigating the incident.”
But law enforcement and experts say it is difficult to target members because anyone who acts out in the name of anarchism is considered a member.
"They are organized in the sense that they have a common philosophy in so-called 'direct action,' " Handcock said. "They all have the philosophy that direct action must be taken.”
"You don't have to apply to them for a membership card; there are no dues to be paid."
The developer of the Safeway project, Paul Petrovich, referred to the incident as “just plain terrorism.”
Other community members welcomed the death of the monstrosity. All over the city, spontaneous parties broke loose in the streets and gunshots were fired into the air in celebration. The police have warned that the use of firearms is illegal, unsafe, and immoral.
Some citizens even felt a sense of relief as the demon crashed to the ground. “I’ll sleep easier every night knowing the piece-of-shit horse has been put out of its misery,” said Grace Perchowski, who lives in the neighborhood.
Many saw the atrocious animal as a poor replacement for an almost five-year-old mural that was destroyed in the process of building the new Safeway. Its artist, Kevin Price, could not be reached for comment.
“Everyone knows what you have to do when a horse is lame: shoot it,” commented local libertarian Ed Hunnigan.
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Petrovich, the developer of the Safeway project, purchased the property across the street, and painted over a mural painted by a local artist for a previous guitar store tenant
now, the mural wasn't really anything special, just something designed to promote the guitar store in a charming, corny, 70s kind of way, with renderings of Jimmy Hendrix, and maybe Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, among others, although my memory may not have it exactly right
but, it was, in its own way, a form of community art, something solicited by a local small businessperson (as opposed to a major, multimillion dollar developer) and painted by a local artist (as opposed to someone skilled in promoting themselves to moneyed interests), and so, it possessed a nostalgic charm
when challenged about his actions in whitewashing the mural, the egotistical Petrovich, consistent with the arrogance of developers these days, couldn't keep his mouth shut
he went out of his way to say that the mural was ugly and that no one had said anything positive to him about it, and that if anyone wanted to contest his right to paint over it (apparently, there are some weak notification requirements before eliminating publicly assessible art), then they should have at it
and, predictably, he praised himself as a paragon of artistic good taste, emphasizing the beauty of the grotesquely garish horse and faux water tower that he constructed at his Safeway store across the street
so, this is where we have arrived: we not only have to suffer egotistical morons like Petrovich as the people who make major development decisions in cities like Sacramento (and profit nicely from them), but we must additionally be subjected to embarassing lectures from them about what does (and does not) constitute artistic good taste
hence, unsatisfied with the limited emotional fulfillment of dictating the physical environment of the city, people like Petrovich have expropriated the role of cultural arbiter as well
accordingly, in this context, the horse represents something quite insidious, as it is, by turns, stupid, arrogant, insensitive, and a manifestation of a local form of cultural imperialism as gentrification overwhelms downtown and midtown
and, naturally, it bears little or no relationship to the history of Sacramento, as the donkey was a much more prominent feature of the gold rush than the horse, but a donkey in front of a Safeway store, when you could install a garish, butt ugly horse . . . . impossible
--Richard Estes
now, the mural wasn't really anything special, just something designed to promote the guitar store in a charming, corny, 70s kind of way, with renderings of Jimmy Hendrix, and maybe Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, among others, although my memory may not have it exactly right
but, it was, in its own way, a form of community art, something solicited by a local small businessperson (as opposed to a major, multimillion dollar developer) and painted by a local artist (as opposed to someone skilled in promoting themselves to moneyed interests), and so, it possessed a nostalgic charm
when challenged about his actions in whitewashing the mural, the egotistical Petrovich, consistent with the arrogance of developers these days, couldn't keep his mouth shut
he went out of his way to say that the mural was ugly and that no one had said anything positive to him about it, and that if anyone wanted to contest his right to paint over it (apparently, there are some weak notification requirements before eliminating publicly assessible art), then they should have at it
and, predictably, he praised himself as a paragon of artistic good taste, emphasizing the beauty of the grotesquely garish horse and faux water tower that he constructed at his Safeway store across the street
so, this is where we have arrived: we not only have to suffer egotistical morons like Petrovich as the people who make major development decisions in cities like Sacramento (and profit nicely from them), but we must additionally be subjected to embarassing lectures from them about what does (and does not) constitute artistic good taste
hence, unsatisfied with the limited emotional fulfillment of dictating the physical environment of the city, people like Petrovich have expropriated the role of cultural arbiter as well
accordingly, in this context, the horse represents something quite insidious, as it is, by turns, stupid, arrogant, insensitive, and a manifestation of a local form of cultural imperialism as gentrification overwhelms downtown and midtown
and, naturally, it bears little or no relationship to the history of Sacramento, as the donkey was a much more prominent feature of the gold rush than the horse, but a donkey in front of a Safeway store, when you could install a garish, butt ugly horse . . . . impossible
--Richard Estes
Petrovich is so unpopular with some people he has website dedicated to how much he sucks.
http://www.petrovichsucks.com/
http://www.petrovichsucks.com/
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