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Bell Biv DeVoe to highlight City Hall Plaza concert on Saturday

The concert and unity rally, which starts at 7 p.m., will be free, but people are being asked to bring school supplies to be donated to kids in Houston, Mayor Walsh and state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry announced.

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MAYOR WALSH AND SENATOR FORRY ANNOUNCE FREE UNITY CONCERT ON SATURDAY

BOSTON - Sunday, September 3, 2017 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Senator Linda Dorcena Forry today announced that a Unity Concert will be held on Saturday, September 9th, on City Hall Plaza featuring Boston's own favorite sons Bell Biv DeVoe. The Unity Concert will be free to the public and will open with performances by local talent at 7 p.m.

The concert will also serve as a donation drive for the Houston Independent School District. Attendees are asked to bring new school materials to help families and children in Houston, and donations can be made at City Hall Plaza.

"This is going to be a great concert for the people of Boston to come together and for us to continue to show Houston that we are here to support them as they recover," Mayor Walsh said. "I want to thank Michael, Ricky and Ronnie for working tirelessly with City Hall and Senator Forry to make their vision a reality. I encourage everyone to come to City Hall Plaza on Saturday, drop-off a donation for Houston if you can, and enjoy an unforgettable night of entertainment."

"Not only is Boston the city that birthed and launched us into the world, it is a city that's given back to its citizens time and time again, said Bell Biv DeVoe. "We realize the phrase "Boston Strong" is not just a catchy adjective but a dutiful verb, that only through our actions and the efforts of our fellow Bostonians, will we continue to help our city remain the beacon of strength, hope and resilience for an entire nation to rely upon. On behalf of BBD and our manager, Brooke Payne, we are extremely proud to be here. And no matter where we are in the world, we will always answer Boston's call."

"Boston is proud to be the hometown of Bell Biv DeVoe and New Edition," said Senator Forry. "They have always represented Boston so well to the country and the world. We are so excited to have them return to Boston for an unforgettable, free performance."

The Unity Concert is being presented by the evening's Platinum Sponsor, Suffolk Construction, as well as Presenting Sponsor, City of Boston Credit Union. Additional sponsors include the City of Boston, Millennium Boston, Feldco Development, Bill Moran & Associates and Senator Linda Dorcena Forry.

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Boston City Hall Plaza is an unpleasant space, a venue that could be better designed !

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The area where they hold concerts is awful and inacessible. There should be a clear path for wheelchair users, hand rails for people with poor balance and other invisible disabilities, and concerts should provide CART and ASL interpreters.

Marty isn't doing anything to be inclusive or "welcoming to all."

And the big "Boston" sign is so tacky and fug.

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I would love to learn how to sign "Stop yer bellyaching, would ya?" and point right at you after doing it.

I can also yell: Do me, baby (yeah), Do me, baby (oh, baby, I like it just like that)
Do me, baby (and I love the way you do it to me, baby, yeah). Do me, baby (oh, move just a little bit closer) in your ear really loudly if needed.

My god, people are whining about a free show by some guys from the Orchard Park Projects who despite identifying with the Lakers for a few months in the late 80's still have a lot of respect from me.

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Like most Americans, if you are lucky enough to get older, you too will very likely be deaf and limited in mobility toward your latter days.

Enjoy your smugly entitled ableism while you can ... and don't mind if some of us laugh at you when you when the inevitable limits your enjoyment of life.

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I guess it's fun to play tough guy on the Internet, but keep in mind you're addressing a real person and you're basically coming off as a schoolyard bully. Would you say something like this to somebody standing next to you at a bar?

It's nice that you don't have to worry about access to particular venues. Not everybody's so lucky and there's nothing wrong with asking a city whose leaders profess to care about inclusiveness to take that into consideration when planning events. Unless, of course, you really like punching down, in which case you have my condolences.

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Should I make the State of NH pay for Mount Monadnock to be completely easy for me to get to the top? After all it is a government owned property I really don't want my knees to hurt but still enjoy the climb. Can the state provide me with Zeiss Lensed Optical gear at the top so I can see the detail on every leaf 200 yards away.

I want to climb a tree on the Common. Shouldn't the city provide me with a ladder so I can get a leg up there. I'm not as good at climbing trees as I used to be. By the way, I want it done now. Right now.

Someone is putting on a free show at City Hall Plaza (which may I remind you was built before ADA requirements were put into place in the mid-90's and has a memorial to John Collins, who was crippled with polio in his 40's), when I see a diatribe that all of the problems of City Hall Plaza need to be solved by next week I tend to say, yes maybe your request might not be a little off base, things should be fixed, but give Marty time. Perhaps Tito can make an issue out of it.

It is hard to walk on bricks for some, I know, but the area with the concert can be accessed by those with mobility disabilities, albeit with difficulty, but then again, we aren't living in some flat as Iowa town. There are inclines and declines to navigate and bricks. Then again, this is not an emergency situation where government agencies need to provide emergency news. It is a concert with songs about hooking up with girls.

If someone at a bar went off on the need for ASL for a New Jack themed concert, I would say, c;mon, calm down. If you need help, ask for it, but there are limitations that can't be solved in 7 days.

I'm not punching down, I'm being practical.

PS - Sorry for having an opinion that doesn't completely agree with yours. I will try to be more dogmatically correct next time.

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The city of Boston is officially sponsoring a concert that may or may not be accessible to everybody. There are any number of alternative locales they could have used. For example, that spot on the Common where the grass is already dead because of the Shakespeare in the Park (not complaining about plays, just noting it would be a good spot where the city wouldn't have had to worry about grass dying). Franklin Park, perhaps. Or even Copley Square, where the prospect of dead grass has never seemed to bother the city, at least based on the experience a few years ago when the BPL had some big thing involving tents and all the grass was destroyed and the city was like, eh, we'll plant some more.

Mt. Monadnock? You don't think that's a stupid analogy?

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You have a skewed sense of standards for this site. I made a quip about it being weird that there may need to be have ASL interpreters for a rap concert. I made a quip about it being unusual that someone might need additional amplification for a concert in a place where you can't hear anything anyway because of a reverb off of the JFK building. Somehow someone can't do a wee piss taking before you call them out.

However, you let certain people who have a log in call me a flat out racist because I live in a town where she was accosted once, though she did it while not being logged in and you let it go. So, some Internet tough guy/girl stuff on UHub (good), some internet tough guy stuff (bad), I guess.

Maybe the City should change the location, maybe they shouldn't. The Common? Have you tried dancing on grass (landscaping, not bud) and tree roots? Not that good. The 1980's Concerts On The Common used to do a lot of damage to the Common. Copley? Too small for this show. BBD got some of the biggest cheers at the One Boston concert. This is going to be a huge turnout. Franklin Park? Great place. Maybe you and the others who want to show not to be at CHP lobby the city. Just remember the animals at the zoo may not have a good time with the repetitive beats and accessible transportation options to the Park are very limited.

No place is perfect. Someone is trying to do something fun and I don't hate those who have some limitations with hearing, seeing, walking, breathing,, touching their toes, etc. I guess I am a bad man.

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You sure know how to keep on digging that hole.

The reality is that people should not have to beg and they should not have to have permission or special devices or attendants to retain their humanity and simply show up and enjoy what we all pay for.

Those who think this is too much to ask often come up with the most ridiculous "reasons" or rationalizations and manifests of extreme this or thats or absurd assumptions of how it is Just Too Hard to accommodate *damaged* people.

And all it amounts to is a fear of not being special and better.

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How dare you call people with disabilities damaged. What kind of monster are you?

This pop psychology of yours that you use, does it also apply to when you go off your log in to call people racist by association as well?

By the way, the going rate in Massachusetts for an ASL interpreter with 20 years experience is $60/per hour. I'll pay for what should be a 2 hour BBD show. I will even pay for reasonable travel costs. I'll pay for it just to call the Internet Tough Guys (Acceptable Standards Division) out.

You want to kick in for the CART?

By the way the originator of this part of the thread basically accused the Mayor a few weeks ago of causing everything bad in Boston outside of the bubonic plague, so her credibility is a tad suspect on her motive that might give the mayor a chance to look good here.

How's that wallet of yours Meffa? You want to match my generosity?

Adam has my email address in case anyone wants to get in touch with me about the interpreter. DM him if you want.

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Like voluntarily or something?
If not then you're not paying for squat, right?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for accommodating all. And my money is where my mouth is.

I do get a little sick of non-residents constantly chiming in on what Boston should and shouldn't be doing.

I say vote with your feet and your wallet. Reside in the city and vote and pay taxes and have your say.

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And I do pay Boston taxes and think the city shouldn't be running events that exclude people. Happy now?

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We supposedly have one of the most woke mayors in America, at least by his telling. Why would he have to be told to consider accessibility?

Not for nothing, this month he began an initiative for accessibility in affordable housing. That means we don't have that yet. It's also weird that while he finally recognized the need in housing he still doesn't for public events.

I'm convinced Marty Walsh does not learn from mistakes whether that's an individual flaw or an institutional one (out of lack of organizational skills)

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I don't think having an event there "excludes" anyone. There is a continuous, though somewhat winding, ramp all the way from Congress Street up to Cambridge Street.

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How accessible is it? To get to Elma Lewis Playhouse in the Park from Green Street station, I climbed what seemed like an endless hill. It wasn't especially steep, but it went on and on. Also, I recall part of the path being unpaved, and the venue being entirely on grass (not especially friendly to wheelchairs).

City Hall Plaza seems like a better choice.

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City don't care cause city don't pay.

There's a trust that maintains much/most of Copley.

It's private money I think that came from some mitigation plan years ago. City is trying its best to privatize the parks deparrment without actually saying it.

The Common, Public Garden, Copley Comm Ave mall and Clarendon Playground are all largely funded with private dollars except for basic maintenance like cutting grass and picking up leaves. I think this is true for many green spaces around the city, not just Back Bay/Beacon Hill.

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Mt. Monadnock? You don't think that's a stupid analogy?

Not at all, given that the Department of Justice said that UC Berkeley, which put 20,000 courses online for free for anyone in the world to use, for free (arguably a public good), needed to either make them all ADA compliant or take them down.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/09/20/berkeley-may-remove-free-...

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Never trust a big butt and smile.

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The low pro ho she'll be cut like an aaa-FRO
See what you're sayin', huh, she's a winner to you
But I know she's a loser (How do you know?)
Me and the crew used to do her! ---
"Poison" the #1 hit by Bell Biv Devoe

References to a woman being "a ho," being "a loser" along with how a group of men were able to "do her" have no place on City Hall Plaza, never mind a unity rally and that's just one verse. Are children invited to this? Is this for real or The Onion?

Lyrics earlier in the song refer to death, deadly and the woman's big-butt. "She'll be cut?" Does that mean stabbed? When will we hear from the Boston Globe and League of Women Voters? Is Tipper Gore still around? I wonder if the media will film self-proclaimed "women's advocates" Walsh and Dorcena-Forry both singing and dancing along? A new low, even for them.

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You see when you're famous, you can just grab women by the p––y, didn't you hear? So they're just following his lead.

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Trump's p___y comment was despicable but at least he apologized. Are Bel Biv DeVoe, Walsh and Dorcena-Forry going to apologize? The BPD and BPS have spent a fortune on domestic violence prevention, prostitution enforcement and anti-bullying programs? Now the city calls it unity? Wow.

Will we hear from the Police Commissioner and School Superintendent about how lyrics about "ho's" and "loser" women with "big-butts" who will be "cut" have no place in today's society, never mind as guests of the Mayor and State Senator at City Hall?

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Can we safely cross your name off the guest list?

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If he still could, I bet.

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Wait, Trump apologized for his grabby comment? I must have missed that, I seem to remember he just chalked it up to locker room talk, nothing to worry about, all MSM hysteria...

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Trump's p___y comment was despicable but at least he apologized.

For God's sake, "pussy" doesn't need to be Bowdlerized.

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True that Fish. Know that you are not alone in your thinking.
Peace.

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In this context "cut" is synonymous with "shape." Ex. Haircut, cut of your jib, body builders are cut,

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What gives, Fishy?

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Stay home and listen to your Ted Nugent 8-tracks. Must everything be a controversy?

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It's the soft bigotry of low expectations.

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...on the Swatch watch...

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They want Bell Biv Devoe etc...

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I thought a "world class" city like Boston could afford better talent.

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Might that give you a clue as to why the city of Boston might, in fact, ask them to perform at a concert, as opposed, to say, wherever the hell Spandau Ballet is from? Or are you equally aghast at the Donna Summers disco dances, too?

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Just broke up again. Tony, the lead singer has been feuding with years with the Kemp Brothers , who were the creative force in the band.

This much is true.

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These sorts of events have long been "oldies concerts".

We're just oldies now!

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know.

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Remember that Mr. Costello, the same person here belittling opportunities for the deaf also criticized Boston EMS for playing bagpipes at their memorial.

As for knowing Bel Biv Devoe lyrics by heart? No. I knew the lyrics were terribly demeaning but Googling to see "ho" "loser" and references to her "big butt" and how the crew all "got to do her" was even worse than I remembered. How is this unity?

Police Commissioner Evans, School Supt. Chang, clergy and especially Mayor Walsh and Sen. Dorcena-Forry need to address how these lyrics mesh with their goals for women? The Boston Globe and NOW need to speak out, soon.

Lastly, to mention Bel Biv Devoe in the same sentence as 5 time Grammy Award winner Donna Summer is a disgrace to the memory of a wonderful, hugely talented Boston woman. It's like comparing a paper plane to Apollo 11.

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The rendering plant called and wanted to know if they could pick up that dead horse you have been beating on way too much.

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