Muni Street Theater Bonanza: A Cavalcade of Whimsy and Mayhem, Courtesy of Your Tax Dollars

In the past, MUNI Street Theater has been a chance affair, with bit players and short one-act plays. On Friday, August 25th, however, patrons of the arts were treated to a spectacle of a performance, courtesy of MUNI, the SFPD, Critical Mass, NewMindspace, a Misdirected Set of Priorities, and Irrational Fear. It made for what I had originally believed to be a 20 minute detour out of my way to journal a minor piece of performance art into an epic of Wagnerian proportions.
The opening act was provided by the thousands of enthusiastic Giants Fans who were on their way to see them play at Willie Mays Field. If you got on an inbound you were treated to a sea of Orange and Black as fans took the N to the ballpark and enjoyed the somewhat sunny weather.
However, they were only bit players in the evening’s performance, a chorus of goodwill, as it were. No, the star attraction of Act I was in fact, Critical Mass, aka the Critical Massholes, who partook in their monthly lawbreaking mob, jamming roads with their bicycles in a self-indulgent wave of lawbreaking, as they have done so for years.
A sea of white, self-righteous young people got a SFPD escort (taxpayer funded of course!) and jeered at those of us on the side of the road who wanted to cross. It was disappointing to read the Chronicle’s less than stellar review of Act I, since they gave the Critical Massholes cover with their phony “tribute to Katrina” spin as they broke the law once again.
Which, of course, was hilarious to read, since not one person in that sea of white hipsters had a banner saying “Help New Orleans” or whatever. I guess it’s easier to just ride one’s bike and act like a spoiled child from the ‘burbs, than actually help Katrina victims.

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