It is quintessentially San Francisco to stumble upon thousands of people, with smiling faces and feathers stuck in their hair, whacking each other with pillows, just because it’s fun. The event, with its surreal quality lent to by dainty white feathers pirouetting through the air, seemed too good to be true in this day of politics and bureaucratic red tape. Unfortunately, it was. The pillow fight has now come under threat by the Department of Public Works.
We were exploring the Chinatown district afoot when we kept running into people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, some in elaborate costumes, with pillows tucked under their arms. We followed the trail of white feathers, flurrying into the air as cars drove by, and the advice of some excited pillow-bearing locals, and finally arrived at Justin Herman Plaza near the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero.
It was an awe-inspiring scene as thousands of people ran, laughed, frolicked and pillow-fought through the plaza. Every few seconds, pillows would split at their seams, and their feathery contents would explode majestically into the air. Some people stood in two parallel lines on raised platforms, forming a tunnel, and rained down pillows on those brave enough to run through. We were pillowless, but we nonetheless joined the mayhem and ran through ” the pillow gauntlet” unprotected. Like those standing on the platforms had done for the homeless man who walked through the tunnel before us with his shopping cart, they took it easy on our unprotected heads.
The pillow fight is old-fashioned, spontaneous fun powered on endorphins released from scampering, dodging, and swinging, rather than, for instance, drugs and alcohol which feed the fun for other events attended by many people of this age on a weekend in the city. It’s more than just feathers and guffawing, though. The pillow fight is an opportunity for strangers to engage one another in a healthy, fun activity at no charge; to meet each other, to cavort together, to appreciate the city of San Francisco for its quirky impulsiveness together.
Long before reading this morning’s article in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled, “Days of being soft on pillow fight over”, I considered the costs of clean-up and the consequences of having thousands of people congregate in a public space. And though we didn’t contribute to the inches of feathers stacking up in the plaza, I worried what the costs were and who paid for it. This morning’s article quoted Mohammad Nuru, deputy director of the Department of Public Works, who said city officials “are trying to determine the organizers of the annual Valentine’s Day flash-mob-esque event to have them pay the $35,000 tab for cleaning up the last two years’ events.”
According to the article, 38 city workers had to cleanup after our fun. At the price of $17,500 per event, each one of those workers was paid about $461. If they were paid $25/hour, a very high and thus conservative estimate, that would mean they spent over 18 hours each cleaning up. This is an extortionate price for a small plaza and the streets that lead towards it, and organizers (if there were any; the consensus at the fight was that this is a grassroots, spontaneous event) should not be held responsible for a price and terms that the Department of Public Works determined.
The Department of Public Works also wants organizers to “apply for a permit and provide cleanup, security, and portable toilets.” Unlike a concert that has a duration of several hours and requires these provisions, pillow fight participants can stay for as short a time as they like and then disburse, hopefully able to use the facilities of shops or restaurants as they do so. When tourists explore the city on foot, it is expected that they will be an added burden to the facilities of nearby businesses, why not offer the same courtesy to San Francisco residents looking for innocent, community-building fun?
The pillow fight is one example of the unique San Francisco culture; something that, if litter and expenditure could be minimized, is worth its costs. But, if the San Francisco community decides that having these kinds of events, comparable to fireworks exploded in Chinatown or litter left on streets after parades, are too costly, there are other alternatives. Why not provide brooms and ask that participants sweep up some feathers before departing? Or why not recruit volunteers for the next morning?
As for security, the article did not mention any injuries or damages (which, given its tone, would have taken the opportunity if any existed) nor did I observe any. To ask “organizers” to foot the bill for a permit, security, and toilets is exorbitant and would surely kill the grassroots event.
Part of the beauty of the pillow fight was its non-regulated spontaneity. It may be a necessary evil to bring bureaucracy and politics into the event by implementing measures to ensure the event gets cleaned up, such as having designated organizers who recruit volunteers to clean up afterwards. In our economic climate where politicians jump to the conclusion of budget cuts before compromise or alternatives, it is sad to see that the victim will be harmless fun and community-building events like the Great San Francisco Pillow Fight. It is time for compromise.
Filed under: Watchdogs & Transparency Tagged: | community events, Department of Public Works, Mohammad Nuru, San Francisco pillow fight
brava!!! io ero li leggendo le tue paroletuo padre