My personal letter to City Manager Brautigam & Council regarding park closure

1. From: Basit Mustafa <basit.mustafa@gmail.com>
Subject: Closing Parks Isn't Effective Policy - For Anyone
Date: December 24, 2011 4:37:33 PM MST
To: brautigamj@bouldercolorado.gov
Cc: parksclosurerule@bouldercolorado.gov
Ms. Brautigam,
Once, I had a paper cut. It hurt. It was annoying. Every time I squeezed lemon in my water, it
burned.
But, no matter how much I suffered, no matter how much I was convinced that this injury
threatened my life, my safety, and my value system of living a pain-free life, I never really
considered cutting off my finger, banning paper from my desk, or killing all trees to prevent the
proliferation of dangerous paper.
I know, you must be thinking that not everyone can have the strong, rock-solid resolve, and
strength that helped me keep a level-head and long-term perspective through such a dark,
difficult, and challenging time of my life. But, I'm here to tell you, yes, yes, you, too can do
something as incredible.
Now, I'm not here to intimate that the issue of how we, as a community, deal with the Occupy
Boulder protesters is anywhere near as serious, pressing, and dangerous an issue as the
compromise of at least the top three layers of cells on my index finger, but, I would like to
share a bit of reality with you.
1. There is no public safety issue - You cite this as a reason why we should implement your
(arbitrary) set of restrictions on public park use during your (arbitrary) hours. I'm not sure what
threat you & your staff have imagined or constructed to justify this passive aggressive,
manipulative, and disrespectful law, but the statistics don't seem to indicate that we have a
public safety issue, let alone one that would possibly be addressed by closing the parks to
anything but the most subjectively small set of activities during certain hours.
2. When there is a public safety issue, address it directly, not through six degrees of
separation - Back when I had "the accident", I didn't rub Neosporin on my forehead to fix my
finger, that'd be stupid. Equally stupid is to think that you're going to address a (trojan horse)
public safety "issue" through some flanking maneuvers that mow over the civil liberties &
recreational/lifestyle practices of a huge number of residents.
3. Quit The Passive Aggressive Behavior - Middle school is over, Ms. Brautigam. You think
the Occupiers are a problem? Deal with that problem. Don't play fast-and-loose with our parks,
your citizen's civil liberties, or, ultimately, my tax dollars. I helped buy us that park, and while it
may not be a constitutionally enumerated right for me to use it every second, I think any

2. "reasonable" person in a "reasonable" court of law would find your law quite "unreasonable"
for any number of "reasonable" reasons. Grow up, be reasonable, and promulgate effective
policy and stop wasting everyone's time with your passive aggressive stunts. Besides, I'll tell
you from experience that scorning my leg to try heal my finger didn't work as well as I thought
it would.
4. Address the real issue consistent with Boulder's values - So, I've been hard on you and
your policy (and I think rightfully so, this idea should have been one of those that never made
it out of the front door, let alone into real policy). Instead, I ask that you and your staff take a
moment to sit back and think about our community's values, the "problems" you think we face,
and do a few things:
-First, really, think if the "problem" you perceive really is a problem. One man's paper cut is
another's severed limb, so, there is no firm answer here. But, consider the magnitude of the
problem in the context of your proposed solution. If you don't see some level of disconnect
here, I'd suggest spending a bit more time getting to know your community.
-Second, with a better understanding of the scale of the problem, please consider what a
progressive community that values things like free speech, outdoor recreation, connection to
our land, our political process, and individual liberties would do. If you still think closing parks
belongs on that list, well, I suggest consider if Boulder is the right community for you to
continue to work for.
Thanks for your hard work, Ms. Brautigam, I know your job can be thankless, demand long
hours, and even subject you to real hazards, like paper cuts. But, remember, if you're burning
the midnight oil, cut your turn-signal lever actuating finger rendering you unable to drive, and
need to walk through a city park to get home, don't stop for a sip of water, snack, or just to
enjoy the moon & your surroundings!
Cheerfully yours in enjoying our beautiful parks at all odd hours,
Basit Mustafa
2975 13th St
Boulder, CO 80304
PS - I will be sending you a copy of this via US Mail, too, please take care to avoid paper cuts
when handling the correspondence, because, given your policy reaction to this issue, I'm
afraid how you might go about solving that problem.