2. what happened last year during the parade?

well, that's a doozy.  to begin, the bp oil spill in the spring preceding mardi gras had filled the city with trenchant feelings of betrayal, disbelief, and anxiety.  rightly so, because before the leak would finally be capped after weeks of plunder, millions upon millions of gallons of oil and chemical dispersant would foul the gulf of mexico.  oh, and in case your wondering, the muck is still there.  the dispersants (which in most cases were very chemically similar to antifreeze) sprayed by bp onto the slick separated the oil into tiny particles which sank to the bottom of the ocean where they might be "out of sight and out of mind."  BUT - what does the worst environmental disaster in recent US history have to do with the violent break-up of the 2011 eris parade?

the theme of eris 2011 was 'mutagenesis', and participants were encouraged to build costumes and floats with one thing in mind - the chemical poisoning of louisiana's ecosystems at the hands of big oil.  accordingly, in the minutes before the parade began to roll from press st. after sundown, a bizarre menagerie of mutated animals and plants assembled and began to clamor.

the parade was large that year, larger than it had ever been.  everything started without a hitch; the krewe's band and flag corps led us into the fauborg marigny (a neighborhood just downriver from the french quarter), and the spectacle was underway.  marchers chanted and sang along with the music, colorful floats of garuda and the hydra crawled along next to snake goddesses and bog worshippers, and torchieres illuminated the ecstatic faces of those in the crowd.  from a balcony window, some happy soul dropped a load of hand-printed cards that read, "CARNIVAL 2011 - WE ARE IN HEAVEN!"

after crossing over frenchmen st., the mood began to change.  the crush had grown so large.  some exuberant marchers had begun to walk on cars, hopping from roof to roof.  a fire-spitter, covered in phallic tendrils that whipped haphazardly through the band, shot flames high above the crowd from atop a truck.  as the streets narrowed, the parade was tightly funneled into the french quarter and into the jurisdiction of the nopd's 8th district.  they, in response, packed the rear of the parade with squad cars to push us out of the quarter.  with sirens blaring and tensions mounting, the parade crossed back over esplanade ave.  effectively, the quarter cops had pushed us into the jurisdiction of another district, one in fact notorious for brutality.

the nopd's 5th district met us on chartres st., and soon revelry dissolved into chaos.  dozens of squad cars pushed in from three sides, and the street was filled with deafening noise.  pushing through the line of cars at the rear, i could hardly see for all the flashing blue lights - but i could hear people shouting and screaming, as well as booming voices ordering us to disperse.

residents of the marigny watched from their windows in disbelief as parade-goers were shoved, tackled, beaten, tasered, and blasted with pepper spray.  when the smoke cleared, the parade was in shambles and 12 people were in jail.  those who were arrested in costume were forced to strip in the street, and taken into custody in their underwear.

in the temporary custody of the 5th district police, arrestees were denied medical attention (one arrestee had a skull fracture and could only lean bleeding against a wall for hours), denied any list of their charges, threatened with bodily harm and supremely derogatory language, and "jokingly" sprayed down with aerosol bathroom freshener.  only after being transferred to orleans parish prison (OPP), waiting for the sun to come up and prison staff to change shifts - a period of roughly 14 hours in custody without explanation - only then were the arrestees given clothes and read their charges.  they were extreme, ranging from disturbing the peace and resisting arrest to battery of a police officer, criminal destruction of property, and assisting escape.  arrestees were told that because they were taken in on the day before mardi gras, they would have to wait for days to see a judge, as was customary.  however, thanks to an immediate, torrential response from the community, money for bail was already being collected all over town and lawyers were preparing themselves for court.  after roughly 30 hours in police custody, the eris arrestees were released either on bail or of their own recognizance.

that was a little less than a year ago.  to date, some arrestees still have not actually gone to trial.  months of status hearings, court appearances, and bureaucratic nonsense - in fact the kind of behavior the justice system of louisiana is famous for throughout the state.  in september, one arrestee, pleading not guilty with substantial video evidence maintaining his innocence, was convicted and spent 45 days in jail.

the saga continues.  fortunately, the eris defendants have some support.  local benefit events, concerts, and variety acts have all raised money to cover legal fees and repay bail money.  both private and non-profit donors have come out of the woodwork.  all the love, all the tireless effort and planning has not left off, even in the light of this year's upcoming eris event.  and, to finally round out a point, communities in other cities have begun to generously raise funds for eris, and that's where you come in, chicago...