Violence and fireworks uptown

I don’t know Dante Beattie, but he’s my kind of guy. This year, knuckleheads once again chose to act-a-fool after the uptown fireworks display. Fights broke out, police in riot gear controlled the crowd and at least one person was shot on North Tryon, according to an Observer story.

Still, Beattie told an Observer reporter that he’d return next year to see fireworks uptown.
Beattie took his daughters to the show and said it was “probably the best I’ve seen so far n this region.”

People like Beattie are the reason the city, sponsors and uptown leaders must not let knuckleheads prevent them from scheduling outdoor events in the center city. We can’t allow a bunch of punks to make us afraid to book large outdoor events uptown, or make law-abiding citizens afraid to go uptown.

Where did you watch the fireworks display this year? How was it?