Civic Spaces and Rebellious Faces

I’ve been watching the coverage of the protest at Old Trafford on NBCSN… I’d also been keeping an ear on the coverage provided by Rebecca Lowe and Arlo White as I was going through my morning routine. I couldn’t help but, immediately, see the parallels between the protest at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6th and today’s protest at Old Trafford…

Both stories are real estate stories… The importance of real estate in our personal lives. The symbolism of real estate in our civic lives…

I align, politically, with the protesters who attended the protests in Washington, D.C. on January 6th and with the protesters who attended the protest at Old Trafford this morning… It doesn’t mean that I agree with the devolvement of either of those protests into the riots that they became. In a similar vein, I disagree, politically, with the Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) movements but I, vehemently, agree with their right to protest…

Over the Line

Let’s talk about the real estate aspect of these events… Both locations are steeped in history and tradition. Where’s the line between peaceful protests and evil riots?

The Capitol Building, as we know, is the seat of our constitutional republic… Old Trafford is, maybe, the most storied stadium in all of England. For those people who aren’t fans of English soccer, they call it “football”, Old Trafford can be compared to Churchill Downs or Fenway Park.

I don’t believe that the protesters in the District of Columbia or in Greater Manchester should have breached, respectively, the Capitol Building or Old Trafford. I was, however, rooting for the protesters who breached each of those hallowed spaces… I know that I’m not supposed to say those words out loud but I can’t help but root for “the little guy”.

I will say that I am vehemently opposed to the actions of the protesters who stepped over the line… Here’s where the real estate aspect of these stories become crucially important. They’re important because we have norms in society…

I, admittedly, liked seeing the videos of the protestors who wandered through the halls of the Capitol Building on January 6th and I also liked seeing the videos of the protesters who festooned the aisles and platforms of Old Trafford this morning… In both cases, I hated to see the efforts of the protesters who descended into the most private and revered spaces of those structures. The protesters in Washington, D.C. should’ve never attempted to break into any part of the Capitol Building that wouldn’t have been allowed to be seen on a guided tour and, similarly, the protesters at Old Trafford who invaded the field, they call it “the pitch”, or any other part of the stadium that isn’t meant for the public should, unequivocally, be charged with trespassing…

The private spaces that were invaded by the protesters on January 6th and today are among the most hallowed and revered real estate in the world… The Chamber of the House of Representatives and the pitch at Old Trafford are places that should be reserved for the people who have earned the right to be within their confines…

I was lucky enough to tour the New England Revolution’s locker room at Gillette Stadium when I was a season ticket holder; I treated that room with the respect it deserved which is to say that I respected the room because I respected the determination and grit of every player who was good enough and lucky enough to work within its space…

The people who looted the Capitol Building or vandalized its spaces are people with whom I cannot agree… It’s too early to tell if there has been any looting or vandalism at Old Trafford but I did see a video wherein it looked as though a space, maybe a bathroom, had been ransacked. The people who have either looted or vandalized those spaces deserve to be punished to the full extent of the law…

The same goes for members of Antifa and BLM… I agree with their right to protest but I disagree whenever they loot and vandalize. They, too, should be punished to the full extent of the law…

In all cases, these protesters are being counterproductive… I am less inclined to support any group that decides to use these types of tactics which is to say that I support no group because their protests always seem to devolve into riots. Make no mistake, the protests at the Capitol Building and at Old Trafford can both be characterized as riots because their aims, however noble their initial goals may have been, both devolved into the lowest forms of public perversion…

In the cases of the protests at the Capitol Building and at Old Trafford, I understand the vexation… The 2020 United States presidential election felt slimy and the attempt to create the European Super League felt like a slap in the face of the average soccer supporter. The corporatization of politics and sports is, undoubtedly, rising to alarming levels of preposterousity… If we’re going to fix the system, we need to work, instead, productively. The riots at the Capitol Building and Old Trafford didn’t help the cause…

As a Bostonian, the local aspect of the story is interesting… Manchester United was due to host Liverpool FC today but the match has been postponed. Liverpool is owned by the Fenway Sports Group (FSG); FSG also owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and NESN. John Henry, the principal owner of FSG, has been shredded across Europe as being a leader of the cabal that was behind the Super League… I have been critical of the Red Sox’ ownership since it bought the team. I would imagine, given John Henry’s antics in Europe, that other Red Sox fanatics will start to look at the Red Sox with a more critical eye…

Conclusion

When we respect our public places, we respect ourselves… That is true of the Capitol Building and Old Trafford and it’s also true of less famous structures which include the new concession stand at Stoughton High School. We are not respecting our neighbors when we disrespect our civic spaces…