Mile End gathering dispersed by police
A gathering in Mile End (the accompanying photo adds an explanation of the kind of gathering it was) was dispersed Monday evening by police. Estimated at 200 people, they had been inside a Park Avenue location that’s probably a synagogue on the down low.
Jebediah Pallendrome 16:32 on 2020-12-08 Permalink
Ah risking your life and the lives of those you know for the sake of appeasing the great celestial dictator
Brilliant. Excellent use of everyone’s time.
Chris 17:25 on 2020-12-08 Permalink
Their behaviour is logical *if* their premise is correct. That is, if Yahweh exists and indeed requires regular attendance at services, and if failure to comply results in eternal damnation, then of course it’s worth it to risk sickness/death in this temporary earthly life in order to ensure a good afterlife. In fact, it would be insane *not* to continue to attend services.
At least it was only 200 people, not as big as that wedding in Williamsburg.
So for the St Michel church the other day, the cops got around whatever part of the criminal code was allegedly stopping them from issuing tickets by locking up the church for operating without a permit. Will they do the same here?
Also interesting that there’s no mention of whether masks were prevalent or not.
Kate 18:18 on 2020-12-08 Permalink
Chris, I don’t know that the cops got around it. The church was “discovered” to have never been issued an occupancy permit. I presume it had been tolerated – there are a lot of unofficial churches, synagogues and mosques in this town – but the authorities didn’t have any reason to crack down till recently.
Presumably the Hasidic get-together in the original story counts as a religious gathering and any ceremony would be protected from police incursion under the same law as the St‑Michel church, but I’ll bet the rule the authorities used is also the same – the premises were never given an occupancy permit.
Please spare us the snide remarks about religious belief. We know what you think about it. We know there are people who feel they answer to a higher authority, you don’t need to soapbox it.
Chris 19:11 on 2020-12-08 Permalink
>I don’t know that the cops got around it.
Good point. I guess it might have been the City that did that.
>Please spare us the snide remarks about religious belief.
It wasn’t really a remark about their *belief*. Everyone is free to believe whatever they want. It’s their *actions* that are a problem. Society shouldn’t (and doesn’t) tolerate any/every religiously-based action (ex: stoning adulterers, death for blasphemy, etc.) Likewise, this action shouldn’t be tolerated just because of their religious justification.
jeather 14:22 on 2020-12-09 Permalink
The action wasn’t tolerated, that’s why the police went there and made them leave (which was the correct thing to do). Yes, it’s shitty when people ignore Covid restrictions, whether for religious or non-religious or semi-religious reasons, but it’s not like only religious people are gathering in groups.