Slammed ... Enuff already!!!!

 

 

I've warned you guys that i planned on using this Blog to voice opinions,, right or wrong,, they're just mine! Sometimes i just gotta speak out!

 

My brother-in-law and his wife keep me updated on things going on in the Sevierville/Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, by sending me articles and videos from time to time. This is our favorite vacation destination. When they sent me a few of the Slammedenuff situation I was a little shocked I hadn't seen anything online yet. There's also quite a bit of confusion regarding the general public's posts  and comments. The way I understand it,, the show was original located just outside of Gatlinburg. Last year the event was moved to Sevierville's new Convention Center. The after hours "Invasion" took place at Jimmy's Marathon Gas Station in Pigeon Forge. With all that said, rumors are there was plenty of shenanigans going on all over the complete county.

So, the meat with this potato?? My first honest reaction when I heard of the news and saw pictures like the one above was not at all good.  THIS is not "Car Culture" THIS is the shit stain of our society!! I along with several of the locals, apparently, agree on how disgusting and awful this had become. I've watched a ton of videos from what happened and one thing clearly stands out, though. There is a lot of videos,,  including a few car clubs that attended,, that are tagged with "RIP GAT". Keep in mind these same videos were posted long before the head honchos announced they have washed their collective hands of Slammedenuff. So, did the groups come fully prepared to cause a disruption like we've never seen before. It looks like bad intentions to me,, just saying. Now keep in mind I DO NOT condone anything that happened but I did lighten up quite a bit when I sat down and really took it all in.

Once you peel back the layers of everything that transpired you see a familiar devil that's been there as far back as time itself. Youths' anger and rebellion. Plain and simple.  Well, does that just make it ok, you ask. No!! But in order for the local authorities to handle things like this in the future, our leaders do need to look around and ask what always causes things like this.

 I've seen several posts blaming Sevierville for not opening up parking lots for the kids at the show to hang out. Most claiming this would've prevented almost all of what happened. Maybe,,, probably not. There's claims of over 250,000 people in attendance at the show. They all have to go somewhere. I don't see where blaming anyone involved with the event or the city makes any sense when the worst of the disruption happen long after the event had shutdown for the day.

I do however feel a need to question this. When you represent and cater to a lifestyle of young rebellious people, where do you draw the line? "Hey,, we gotta be young rebellious bad asses... just maybe not THAT rebellious!!". Remember a few years ago when there was rap music about killing cops? Then society was completely appalled when listeners actually acted out on what they were listening to. I have seen videos from Jimmy's from earlier in the day. It looked like a fun time to me. Then what happened? I've read Jimmy's was the #1 sponsor of Slammedenuff and openly invited show goers to come to Jimmy's and hangout. It is obvious from the pictures and videos i've seen that Jimmy's ( or somebody ) had moved barriers into place to keep the lot somewhat organized. What I saw with my own eyes was a small area set up to host an event. Were they ready for 2500 to 3000 people?? It appears they were not.

I've been going to Gatlinburg and then Pigeon Forge to car shows since the early 80's. Did we get rowdy at the Grand Hotel during Charlie Cobble's parking lot/make shift burnout contest? You're damn right we did! Did we act extra stupid just for views on social media?? No we did not!! Thankfully we didn't have anything like that because you know what,, things would've more-than-likely gotten out of hand. Beer, young rebels, loud cars and burn outs. What could possible go wrong??😁 I do jest. Someone i'm sure will remind me of the time somebody took it to the street. Did a smokey burnout. Lost control and ran through the crowd. 

We were Loud. We were Proud. BUT the main thing I urge you to take from this is we did not loot and tear up the very store that invited us with open arms. No stabbings, shootings or anything remotely like that. We did not tear up local store's parking lots or tear down their signs. You CAN NOT act like wild animals and think it will go unnoticed. I agree with many others. This is a generation being raise by the Time Out generation. Neither have ever been held accountable for their actions. UNTIL NOW!!  Yes, the Street Machine Nationals are no longer with us. R.I.P. much like Slammedenuff will soon be.

 I do want to add as the shows have mellowed through out the years it brings me right back to a couple of years ago when some local city council idiots decided it would be a grand idea to host a Truck Jamboree in Servierville the same weekend as the Fall Rod Run. I won't get into the trouble that came with the tail dragger trucks and train horns that went on until 3 or 4 in the morning but I bet that sounds some what familiar to people who were in the area this past weekend. There is a local batch of idiots who like to come and disrupt everything on car show weekends. In the past the police have done a great job of weeding them out and running them off. Could THESE LOCAL IDIOTS be part of the problem?? Hmmmm 

Sound off and tell me what you think!