Los Angeles CBS reports: "San Clemente had shut down all its parks and facilities on April 1 under the state’s stay-at-home orders, but skaters ignored signs warning against trespassing at the Ralphs Skate Court, 241 Avenida La Pata. Since park facilities have been closed city officials say they routinely saw people visit the skatepark, even by some children accompanied with their parents, according to the San Clemente Times. City officials told the newspaper they followed in the footsteps of other cities, and filled the skatepark with 37 tons of sand."
Senator Ted Cruz @tedcruz Tweeted on April 18th - "Clearly, the greatest public- heath threat imaginable...a kid on a skateboard. Young people, remember, this is what Big-government statist Democrats do—they take away your freedom. - And to all the Lefties defending California’s idiocy, skating alone poses ZERO public health threat to anybody. You want to enforce social distancing in public spaces, fine, but filling a skate park with sand—so nobody can use it—is authoritarian abuse of power."
Thanks for the support Ted. We need more public support like this to help point out the stupidity of these actions. Not just for skateparks, but for all recreational public spaces that are being shut down. We need these now more than ever!
Listen, this virus is serious. BUT... I cannot see how wasting resources on blocking skateparks is the best use of materials and valued labor. If we can all gather at the grocery store, which is INDOORS by the way, if we can still pump gas and visit drive thru's, why can we not skate? Pumping gas and taking bags of food directly from people is a higher risk of contagion than skating past someone in a large OUTDOOR skatepark... but that is just my humble opinion.
What can we do about this? Besides grabbing a broom? We can remember this. The people that are in power now are directing this to happen. We can make a change and keep our eyes open to ensure that we put people in power that truly have our best interest in mind. Take some time today to find out who your government representative is. Do a little Google research and learn about what your city or county is doing to ensure that your space remains free. When the next election comes around, pay attention to who is coming into power. Let's all help make a shift. Stay safe people. We will get through this.
