Recharger has attended a number of West Indian Day Parades--in the rain, the merciless sun, the temperate wisps of autumn--made his way a full mile down Eastern Parkway, past hundreds of routi and craft-jewelry stands, and in all those years, he has only seen one thing of more-than-passing interest. This was after the Crown Heights riots when a small (miniscule actually--three members!) contingent from the Jewish Defense League strolled, to a chorus of boos, defiantly in the parade. Three beards with the hats and side strings, black pants and white shirts. Chutzpah. Also scary as the boos grew.
Other than that--and the early years when one or two revelers got shot--the parade has always been a yawn. Recharger thinks NYC should cancel ALL parades--starting with that epitome of pretention--the sophmoric Mermaid Parade.