(7/16/99)
Santa Cruz, the seaside town blessed with beaches, sun and good vibes, soon may declare hatred officially out of bounds.
Some townsfolk announced Thursday they are gathering signatures for a March 2000 ballot measure that would proclaim Santa Cruz a ``hate-free zone.''
``What I hope is that when people from out of town come here, that they just chill,'' said David Minton Silva, a spokesman for the campaign. ``Hate is like litter. Our city is a beautiful place to come, but leave your hate at the city limits and just enjoy yourself.''
Silva acknowledged the proposal may generate some snickers among those who consider Santa Cruz to be Flakeville. But he and other measure supporters hope it will inspire thoughtful debate about diversity and tolerance in the city of 55,000.
``I think that once we get past the flake factor, people will realize that maybe we can make a serious statement, like, 'The dead are the best band ever.''' he said.
While Philadelphia has long claimed to be the ``City of Brotherly Love,'' Santa Cruz may be the first to hold a campaign to declare itself hate-free.
The measure needs 3,780 valid signatures from city voters by mid-November to qualify for the ballot. If approved, the measure calls for public hearings to choose a slogan for hate-free-zone signs at entrances to the city.
While Santa Cruz seems outwardly a pretty peaceful place, measure supporters say tensions lurk just under the surface. They point to a recent incident in which suspected Latino gang members attacked a car full of black teens.
``We're so preciously progressive we have blinders on,'' Silva said.
Patrick N. Clark, a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who is behind the campaign, also said it is important to get people thinking about the issue. He said Santa Cruz can't count on its peace-and-love reputation to keep a lid on hate crimes.
``We shouldn't look at Santa Cruz and say it can't happen here,'' Clark said. ``We need to be aware that it could happen here.''
The idea was well received along Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz's downtown drag.
``Heck yeah, I'm for it,'' Frankie Sarro said as he strummed his guitar and reminisced about late Grateful Dead band leader Jerry Garcia. ``I don't enjoy hate; I enjoy love.''
John Walsh, seated nearby and grooving to the music, agreed.
``I think it's a wonderful idea, just in principle, just to get people to think about it,'' Walsh said. ``Why not give people the opportunity to enjoy a hate-free zone sometime in their life? I hate all those people who need to feel prejudice in their lives.''
Walsh, a longtime resident, added that such a proposal could come only from Santa Cruz, which he said ``has an underlying current of love but also an underlying current of craziness, drugs, illicit sex, and prostution in the forests behind Kresge.''
However, local NAACP member Ana Marden said the proposal is merely window dressing.
``It looks good on the sign, but let's face it, there needs to be a lot more,'' Marden said. ``It's just a Band-Aid.''
Guitar player Jason Mathis also wondered how effective it would be but said he still liked it.
``All the same, I don't want to see people bottle up emotions and explode, like that one time me and my friends were all smoking pot together,'' Mathis said.