Bikefest participants raising money to boycott MB. Where do I send the check?

RE: Atlantic Beach Bikefest plans to Boycott and Bankrupt the city of Myrtle Beach.

The city of Myrtle Beach welcomes all visitors who respect our community and obey our laws, regardless of race or nationality, and has done so for many, many years. The problems associated with the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest are not race issues. They are a result of the violent gang activity, disregard for our traffic laws, indecent exposure, drug activity, and other illegal behavior by some reckless individual Bikefest attendees who do not respect our community, or obey our laws at Memorial Day weekend Rally.

This event has resulted in mass murders, numerous shootings, many traffic fatalities, and thousands of arrest that put other visitors and the citizens of our City and community in severe danger. Clarence Middleton, moderator of BlackBikeWeek.us and a GoFundMe page, commented that the "undue harassment from extra police," the 23 mile traffic loop, barricades and blocked side streets infuriated many of the Bikefest attendees at this years’ rally. These actions were taken by our city, county, and state government for the safety of our local citizens as well as the safety of the visitors.

If the attendees of this rally had obeyed our laws and stopped their violent behavior, these restraints and procedures would not have been necessary.

Middleton says he intends to raise $30,000 through his GoFundMe page to promote a campaign to have the 2017 Atlantic Beach Bikefest attendees boycott Myrtle Beach and "hit them in their pockets" and "let’s bankrupt Myrtle Beach."

This comment is totally ridiculous.

Most Myrtle Beach residents will gladly support his efforts, and will help in any way possible, to have the Atlantic Beach Bikefest leave the City of Myrtle Beach forever. We would feel the same way about any group or organization that did not respect the laws and regulations of our city, independent of race or nationality.

Its departure, or boycott, would certainly not put the city in any danger of bankruptcy. His proposal to move Bikefest would actually save Myrtle Beach hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bikefest costs our city, county, and state governments in excess of $3 million every year to try to ensure the safety of our residents, as well as the rally participants.

The $3 million spent on Bikefest security is more than the combined total spent all year long for the safety of all other special events in our city. It would only take a short period of time for the families to return to Myrtle Beach and restore the Memorial Day holiday weekend to the family-friendly experience (both black and white) and profitable weekend that we all once enjoyed.

If Middleton is having trouble raising money through his GoFundMe page, I highly suspect that the city of Myrtle Beach might seriously consider contributing to this fund if he could assure our city leaders that he would be successful in moving this event from Myrtle Beach.

In addition, I highly anticipate that local business owners and concerned citizens would also contribute very generously to this fund if he could give them the same assurances.

Middleton says his goal is to boycott Myrtle Beach and move the rally attendees to Atlantic Beach and North Myrtle Beach and "not spend a single dime in the Myrtle Beach City Limits."

North Myrtle Beach only has about 15,000 rooms to rent, which is about 15 percent of the rooms needed for the 200,000 plus Bikefest attendees. Atlantic Beach has less than 1 percent of the rental rooms needed for this event. (Myrtle Beach has more than 100,000 accommodations units).

Where will the remaining 85 percent of Bikefest attendees stay? Hopefully further north to our neighboring resort communities in North Carolina.

We see many very fine individuals and families attending the Bikefest Rally who respect our laws and act accordingly. We always welcome you to our city and greatly appreciate your patronage. It is truly a shame that some reckless individuals have caused the stigma attached to this event and the highly unpopular, but necessary, safety policies and procedures that have been enacted to protect the Bikefest attendees and the residents of Myrtle Beach.

The writer is co-Founder of the Alabama Theatre and lives in Myrtle Beach

This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 9:18 AM with the headline "Bikefest participants raising money to boycott MB. Where do I send the check?."