The finger-pointing is well under way over Tuesday’s melee at Rye Playland involving Muslim holiday parkgoers incensed that they were asked to remove religious headgear on some rides.
Police were called out in force, and 15 people were arrested on charges including disorderly conduct, assault and obstruction of governmental administration.
Despite accusations that Muslims were being targeted because of their religion, it seems clear that the county-owned park’s strict policy -- instituted three years ago -- is broadly worded to cover all headgear on faster rides, like the Crazy Mouse roller coaster and the Dragon Coaster.
On the other hand, as The Post reported this week, Rye appears to be the exception rather than the rule: Six Flags Great Adventure, for example, doesn’t ban headscarves on its more dangerous rides.
Still, while Rye Playland’s safety policy may be overly cautious, it seems neither unreasonable nor discriminatory -- particularly with tort lawyers lurking around every corner, ready to pounce.
Indeed, the park has been the scene of numerous accidental deaths since it opened back in the 1920s.
Moreover, an exchange of e-mail (as reported by lohud.com) shows that the event organizers -- theMuslim American Societyof New York -- were informed of the policy long before Tuesday’s outing.
“The headgear rules are there for safety and they will not change them, even for a big group. I am sorry about this,” wrote Playland event coordinator Adam Harvey.
Yet despite the society’s concern that “there will be a lot of commotion about this,” none of its fliers advertising the event informed Muslim parkgoers of the policy.
This, despite the fact that one organizer insisted that those participating be told of the policy “because we would get community backlash and I don’t want us to be on the receiving end.”
Instead, groups like theCouncil on American-Islamic Relationsare now decrying what they term “this heightened state of Islamophobia.”
But what seems to have occurred is a massive case of miscommunication.
Parks like Rye Playland need to make their rides as accessible as possible. But parkgoers also have to understand that safety rules are there for a reason -- namely, their own protection.