Flash Mob Robberies Continue

[The Northerner]

For the second time in a week, a flash mob robbed a convenience store in our area. Could it be a new trend in the Washington region?

In the latest incident, 10 women stormed the Shop Express convenience store along Benning Road in northeast Washington at about 3:15 a.m. on Thursday.

They loaded up on food, drinks and snacks at different parts of the store.

Some of the women were carrying bags to hold some of the items. Then they all rushed out of the store at the same time without paying.

Read more: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/It-Happened-Again-128062773.html?dr

[county worker]

1. For some reason this puts a smile on my face.

I'm hoping that civil disobedience grows! As we use to say in the 60's, "up against the wall mutherf..kers!" Poetically, dramatically and hopefully speaking that is.

I have aways thought that what tied us together in the sixties was our music, the underground press and feelings of identification with each other. I think the social media is doing that today.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[former9thward]

20. When they rob you I wonder if you will call it "civil disobedience"

It is a smear and slander of the civil rights movement to apply the term 'civil disobedience' to a bunch of punks.

[guardian]

22. Absolutely!

There is a BIG difference between a sit-in or walking a picket line, and between theft and vandalism. It's like comparing rape to a 'little fooling around'.

[county worker]

25. Do you think that the Civil Rights movement was all walking a picket line and sitting in?

I don't know if you were alive then or not but cities were on fire. People died.

[guardian]

26. "People died."

I'm sure that put a smile on your face too.

[TK421]

75. right? some people don't even bother to fucking THINK sometimes n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

79. Well people DID die during the civil rights movement

go rent Mississipi burning just for one example.

[TK421]

80. yes, I've seen the movie numerous times...and?

this has nothing to do with a civil rights movement

[nadinbrzezinski]

81. So the freedom riders were not part of the civil rights movement

that is news to me. I am sure it is also news to any historian I know off.

Perhaps the death of Doctor King wil be a better example? Or you are going to tell me Dr. King was NOT connected to the Civil Rights Movement either.

Those are the MOST OBVIOUS examples... then there are four kids who died in a church bombing and that is just top of memory here.

In fact, let me connect those faces to that bombing



and here is the church

[TK421]

84. that is nice....now, with that material, please make a correlation between the civil rights movement

and a bunch of hooligans randomly terrorizing people and business owners...


I anxiously await your response...if you even have a response, and if so, something tells me this is going to be a really long fucking night

[nadinbrzezinski]

85. Actually the connection is to 1931 minneapolis, for example

but that is besides the point. (You know for real food riots)

There is more YOU SAID nobody died during the Civil Rights Movement. I just showed you EIGHT people who died in direct connection to it. Revisionism sucks, no matter who does it.

[TK421]

86. And those individuals died for a cause, wouldn't you agree? there was a real need there, no?

Revisionism? no...I'm just stating the facts as they are, and if you equate a bunch of idiots running amok terrorizing business owners whose only crime was to open up that day, and people just walking down the street minding their own business with a gang that has nothing but chaos on their minds, then guess what side you end up on? Can you guess? I'll tell you this much...if it was a family member of mine whos business was robbed because a bunch of people got together and decided to do something rash and rob that family member of their profits then guess what? I have too many family members who would take exception to that...violently. The sad thing is, after the smoke cleared, you would STILL be asking yourself "Why did this happen"? :crazy: Consequences, Nadin...a simple concept humans STILL can't seem to fucking grasp after all these years, and you never will.

[nadinbrzezinski]

87. You said people did not die

I corrected you, that's it.

And I will ask you a simple question have you ever worked with needy populations? I get it, I have worked with them. Nice personal attack there.

[TK421]

88. I dub you a saint, then...I've never had a problem with you in the past

but took exception to your condoning of these flash mob actions and their bizarre connections to the Civil Rights movement. I'm sorry YOU can't deal with that shit, but if you have some issues that need working out, might I suggest some meditation? Have you tried Yoga?

And no, I have never worked with needy populations, but the more I read from you, the more inclined I am to believe that it would make me sub-human in your eyes. Some of us still feel the urge to judge others....boosts the old ego every now and then, especially on the old anonymous internet message board.

[nadinbrzezinski]

89. Again, like during the London riots

the disclaimer is necessary...

GETTING WEHRE IT COMES FROM DOES NOT MEAN ONE JUSTIFIES IT.

And no I would not see you as subhuman... no human is subhuman...

Jayzus this is freaking amazing. Serious. And yes you said people should think before they post, implication none died. People did die.

[TK421]

90. Umm, yeah,No one has denied that, Nadin...and I would still like that correlation

haven't seen it yet, since the topic of this conversation started on flash mobs and their purpose here

We can all get by without the Frito-Lay onion dip every now and then...



edited to add: as tasty as it is

[nadinbrzezinski]

91. As I already told you your correlation is to the GREAT DEPRESSION

have a good day.

[TK421]

92. you do the same, my dear

[ldf]

112. my, my..

now "needy" populations have smart phones, to organize flash mobs!

who knew!

i am SOOOO out of touch....

[nadinbrzezinski]

113. actually you'd be surprised

Let me describe to you some of the modern amenities of the houses, if you can call a carboard and construction scrap house a house... in a ciduad perdida in Mexico

You see they did have a TV... running from a car battery... and a mini fridge, running from a car battery. There was no internal plumbing though, or for that matter waste disposal system, so yes, the human waste and other waster ran down the center of the street... in the summer oh what a smell... it will make your eyes water. In the winter, with the rains, if there was a flash flood what can I say about the water rescue involved.

And no, they did not have cell phones but that was a few decades ago. These days, you betcha. In fact, those cell phones are far more common actually in the developing world than they are in the US... building THAT infrastructure is far more easier than building a traditional phone infrastructure.

It shows your ignorance quite honestly.

[CreekDog]

38. the Civil Rights movement was not about burning cities

we shouldn't have to explain this to you, but... :eyes:

[WinkyDink]

40. Yes, I WAS there. And wholesale robberies were NOT part of the scene.

[county worker]

77. I don't believe you. You don't seem to know what you are talking about.

I think you can get some books about the period.

The more I hear or read statements like yours it reinforces a theory that I have. That is that history is not written by those who lived it. History is what the majority of people think it is.

[nadinbrzezinski]

62. Forgive me for pointing this out about the civil rights movement

Yep I see walking a picket line and a quiet sit in.

I am not saying this is protest, I don't have enough information yet. But given the REAL levels of unemployment and hunger there might be something going on that you might not want to consider.

[WolverineDG]

69. Big difference between what's shown in those pics & the Thieves in the Flash Mobs

Mainly that the violence was perpetrated by the authorities, as opposed to the demonstrators.

But yeah, keep putting those thieves on the same level as Rosa Parks & MLK Jr. if it makes you feel better.

dg

[nadinbrzezinski]

74. I just pointed out that sometihng is going on

and that the image of just walking is NOT inclusive of the CR movement. Live with it or not. I really don't give a shit.

Though anecdotally when hunger rises... and you reach a certain point you will see this. It points to a failure at a SOCIAL LEVEL.

In fact, it is more than just anecdotal. Any good access to any good social science journal will point this to you. FYI real unemployment nationwide is close to 20%. I expect food riots sooner or later. Don't mean I like them... but I get why they happen. And this... you can call them whatever you want... I call it a leading indicator... and yes, there were food riots during the great depression too. You might want to google FOOD RIOTS and Minneapolis for a good example of that.

[county worker]

23. Well, two people can look at the same thing and see something different.

Maybe they are hungry and can't afford the food. I don't know but that's what I'm thinking.

I know one thing for sure. We are not going to effect change peacefully. You mark my words.


In the sixties there was the same debate going on. In the civil rights era there were African Americans who "stayed in their place." They won the same freedoms the non violent protesters and the militants got.

I took part in Civil Rights marches.

[William769]

28. Thats not civil disobedience

It's plain old thugs & robbery.

[WinkyDink]

39. Yeah, the little guy running the joint deserved this, right? He's a regulah Sam Walton.

[WinkyDink]

42. As a '71 college grad, I speak from being there, protesting, etc. WE DID NOT ROB STORES.

I don't find you credible in your "we".

[TK421]

50. how much looting and random knuckle dusting of pedestrians took place in the 60's?

I wouldn't know..I wasn't around then

edited to add: that is just another question ...I wonder what these people think these actions will accomplish besides getting thrown in jail? Lots of good they'll do in there.

[SwampG8r]

58. i was around then

i was young but i was there
we were expressly told before and during any demonstrations that criminal acts like vandalism and stealing played into the hands of those we were marching against
we were told to take a punch and try not to hand one back
this is not that

[TK421]

64. you're right...this is a bunch of thugs in mobs because mobs will be threatening

not like they were when you took part in your protest..the message was different, and you cared about something; these jackasses only care about themselves and their own self-importance and gratification from these asinine, cowardly acts.

At least you had a message..and a purpose:thumbsup:

[Bluebear]

54. No moral compass on you to confuse things

[TK421]

Get out there! ORGANSAZE!!!

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

63. Really? How is your history of the 1960's?

Urban assholes burning their communities to the ground are the only thing that saved the Republicans from total political oblivion in the 1960's and set the entire country on the rightward course it remains on to this day.

There is nothing the Republicans want more for 2012 than cities in flames,

[TK421]

65. yep! I've heard it all from my aunts and uncles who were right there!

half of them are still hippies....and I love them to pieces!

[dflprincess]

67. If they were storming into UnitedHealth Group's corporate headquarters and stealing

some of the very expensive artwork that's in there, with the intention of selling it and using the proceeds to pay the medical bills of the uninsured - that I might call civil disobedience.

Storming a 7-11 and stealing 12 packs of Pepsi, while terrorizing some poor minimum wage clerk is criminal.

[ProgressoDem]

70. What? Are you joking?

How is robbing a convenience store civil disobedience? Do you realize that this is what the corporate overlords want us to do - fight again each other.

[handmade34]

95. ...

:kick:

[Zax2me]

83. I'd like to cave in some of those thugs smiles with a bat

They might learn a lesson their parents or parent - didn't teach them.
You do not take things that do not belong to you.

[-..__...]

109. Really?

How long before the targets and victims of these "Flash Mob/Rob" are fed up with these piece of shit and start shoving back.

Come into my establishment, neighborhood and acting like thugs, criminals and spoiled children... we'll just see who's "up against the wall muthafuckers".

[A-Schwarzenegger]

118. Get the fuck help.

[SpiralHawk]

2. Bread Riots

same as it ever was...Mini Digital Iteration

[rocktivity]

11. People rioted for bread then because they were hungry

This sounds like a group of overgrown brats out for a thrill.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[SpiralHawk]

12. According to the article, they stole FOOD

That was my first clue...maybe crappy food, but food nonetheless.

"They loaded up on food, drinks and snacks at different parts of the store."

[cwydro]

19. Yeah, soft drinks are so nutritious.

And ice cream is great when you're starving.

Notice none of them grabbed the fruit available at the front.

This ain't about hunger people.

[eShirl]

24. oh bull, they took stuff hungry people crave

high in sugars, fats

[cwydro]

51. You are clueless.

Do you REALLY believe these folks were starving? Really?

No effing way.

How would you like to be the owner of the store or the poor minimum wage earner working when these jerks come roaming through?

I was in a place after a bad natural disaster...no food, no nothing...

Thankfully, the National Guard, the Red Cross and others came through...but they did not bring us ICE CREAM.

We did not ROB stores even though all of the stores were vulnerable. NOBODY robbed anything.

Grow up.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cwydro]

49. Oh bullshit.

And it is palate...not palatte lol.

Ice cream? Soft drinks? You cherish your illusions too, ok dear?

[dflprincess]

68. Because it was 3:15 AM and the only store open was the 7-11

and they are mostly stocked with junk food.

[TK421]

76. jones for Cheetos and Funyons?

[Skip Intro]

56. Of course it isn't about hunger. But some here are so bent on glorifying criminals they can't see

anything else.

[TK421]

66. there is something else going on here, Skip..I just can't put my finger on it

it's like a selfish act, but there is another motivation behind these acts which are flaring up across the country.

Philly has been cracking down on these little shits and rounding their asses up..fining the parents of these shits who violate the curfew set out a couple of weeks ago. So far, it seems to be working.

[indurancevile]

72. there *is* something else going on -- psyops.

[TK421]

73. uh, could you elaborate on that?

[JVS]

107. At 1:08 a woman grabs fruit. Are you satisfied?

[William769]

37. To bad the food banks are not open in the middle of the night.

[cwydro]

52. Yeah, because people suddenly realize at 3 am

that they need ice cream and soft drinks.

Um, you can't get those at food banks anyway.

[William769]

101. I believe you missed my point.

[ProgressoDem]

71. Sounds like a bunch of drunk morons. n/t

[handmade34]

96. because

it was a convenient food store...

[-..__...]

110. Fuck'em...

let'em keep it up, and someone will see it to that their next meals will have to be sucked through a straw.

[cwydro]

15. Exactly. nt

[phantom power]

3. Mass unemployment and poverty will tend to do that. What worries me is...

somebody will seize on this as an excuse to shut down the intertubes, or restrict them in some way.

[rocktivity]

10. DING DING DING! Phantom Power, you're our grand prize winner!

...somebody will seize on this as an excuse to shut down the intertubes, or restrict them in some way.

Which would be particularly unfair and tragic since it not only has nothing to do with flash mobs, it would be the dumbest way to plan a robbery because there would be an online record of it!

Flash mob crime is going to become the "wilding" of this generation.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[indurancevile]

4. you post a lot of these stories.

[Kurovski]

5. Well...that's kind of a jobs program.

The assholes in DC better get to work. Or Obama better get tough on the assholes and ride them roughshod.

I mean, if someone is threatening him over this, i think he could let us know.

WPA II

[kctim]

6. Sooner or later

A 'flash mob' is going to be met with a muzzle 'flash' and all blame lies with people such as these 10 women.
Hopefully these thugs will stop before one of the thugs are shot and an innocent person is jailed.

[callous taoboy]

7. + 100

[Kurovski]

8. It doesn't always work that way exactly.

France a few 'hunnert years ago is a good example.

[RagAss]

29. Amen...Fascism is all fun and games until someone wheels out a fucking Guillotine !

[marmar]

9. "and all blame lies with people such as these 10 women"

David Cameron, is that you?

[Divine Discontent]

16. now now...

they used 'thugs' twice, so you should have given them the courtesy of including that word in there, too, somehow. ha!

look, if I owned a small store, I'd be pissed off if 10 people did that to me. It's proof though of a financial disaster in our country that it's becoming a routine story. Tax the rich fairly so billions can be spent on jobs programs, social service programs to get "thugs" off the streets and a better living for all people... It's tax the rich properly, or simply eat them.

[sudopod]

13. Sounds like you're pretty excited by the idea. nt

[kctim]

21. I dread it

The victim of these thugs will be the one who is punished and the thugs will just move on to their next victim. That's what happens when you blame everything but the thugs themselves.

(Got it in there 3 times on that one)

[AlabamaLibrul]

44. "The victim of these thugs" that decided to pull a gun.

Perhaps Mr. "Castle Doctrine" will be met with the fact that in a group of these thugs, more than one of these thugs may be carrying a gun themselves.

And I wouldn't feel the least bit bad, because Mr. Castle Doctrine is the one that escalated the situation.

[saras]

14. This is in D.C. Why do they call it Washington when we have a state of that name?

[Divine Discontent]

17. agreed, it should be referenced as D.C., it even takes less time to type. :)

[lynne]

35. Because they're not one in the same -

- The District of Columbia includes more than just the city of Washington. It includes Georgetown, Mt. Pleasant, Anacostia. While they're now considered parts of Washington, they were originally separate towns when the city of Washington was conceived.

Washington in the District of Columbia was developed long before the state of Washington. They should have named the state something else and avoided this confusion.

Jefferson would have been a great state name.

[Divine Discontent]

93. yeah, I like that for a state name!

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[SwampG8r]

60. that is your answer to everything!

widen your thinking for christ sake

[butterfly77]

31. They were...``

hungry:hi:

[William769]

33. Most animal packs are when looking for food.

[butterfly77]

34. That is why ...

there are so many living in the woods hoarding food and waiting for the end of the world when most of them are the ones who fucked it up in the first place, in this country as well as others...:hi:

[William769]

36. Don't forget we also have our urbanites, That only seem to come out in the middle of the night.

:hi:

[butterfly77]

41. and our ruralites,,

who come out at night to buy their drugs provided by your government officials,who come out at night for a little solicitation...:P

[William769]

43. Same as our urbanites.

[butterfly77]

45. Same as ruralites...

who steal food too,so stop pretending as though they are so special and pure,butter melts in their mouth they do no wrong don't get me started I have a long list but I will leave it right here,done.

[William769]

46. Of course your done. you lost..

you brought up ruralites not me. Also I never said that they didn't steal. Please come back again when you have some sort of cohesive argument.

[butterfly77]

48. Well,alright then...

solicitator you should know..

[AlabamaLibrul]

32. "Robberies"

What a load of shit... Go GET ROBBED and come back and keep posting these.

[Zax2me]

82. WTF would u call it? Urban renewal activities?!

I guess the store attendant invited them to take his stock for free...
OR.
He was ROBBED!
Good grief.

[TK421]

99. it's enough to make your head hurt, isn't it?

fucking painful is what it is

[Edweird]

103. I would call it 'shoplifting'. There was no threat of violence that would make it robbery.

[sarcasmo]

47. Organized thugs, not a flash mob.

[TK421]

53. barely organized by the sound of it n/t

[Skip Intro]

55. Thank you. nt

[handmade34]

97. maybe sorta organized

young kids that have nothing better to do in the mddle of the night... watching the video... impression is these are not the humgry masses... just punk kids; bored and sick of the life we have handed down to them

[jmowreader]

57. The Powers that Be don't like flash mobs all that much

They would have called the people who beat Reginald Denny half to death in LA a "flash mob" if the term would have existed at the time. So...by calling these mass robberies "flash mobs," they demonize the whole flash mob concept which is, for the most part, fairly benign.

[theophilus]

59. WHERE is the Bat Man? n/t

[Owl]

61. Hope they can jail 'em all.

[TK421]

78. Simple solution-bring in S.W.A.T and give the rioters no publicity-cut off channels

that is all the rioters want is their publicity...that is all the rioters want is for all their pretty little faces on the news causing chaos because they don't get the attention they think they deserve at home...CUT OFF THE FUCKING MEDIA FROM THESE JERKOFFS! They are nothing more than a bunch of emo shitheads who think they are being cool trying to revolt in a style they believe to be revolutionary in the fashion of the 1960's, and they are trying to get their own pathetic little "message" across to those who don't understand their feelings...someone please get on to their stupid little scheme!

I see right through this shit, so why doesn't anyone else?

For anyone here cheering for these little assholes and what they are doing, why don't you do us ALL a fucking favor and get out on the street with them, so I can go Soylent Green on your sorry asses!

[Cali_Democrat]

94. Why all the flash mob hysteria lately?

These are nothing new. Young people and teens have done them all the time. When I was in high school, we called them beer runs. Numerous teens would take the alcohol and just run off in different directions.

[TK421]

98. these have become increasingly violent n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

100. Do you have a link to some kind of proof that these are more violent than in the past?

:shrug:

[TK421]

104. First of all, the flash mob activity in Philly that I referred to earlier

was what I watched on the news, but as far as links you'll need to go fetch them

[Cali_Democrat]

115. You made a claim that flash mobs are more violent than in the past

You should really provide evidence to back up your claim. To me it seems like the media is just reporting them more.

[KurtNYC]

105. election year

these stories play to racism, fear of the poor, law and order. All themes which boost the GOP.

[JVS]

106. Exactly. This is a repeat of the Law and Order shit that Nixon exploited.

1968: Those rioters in the ghettos (who did loot, btw.) need to have their heads smashed!
2011 at DU: These flashmobs of poor people who steal food need to have their heads smashed!

[Edweird]

102. It was shoplifting not 'robbery'. Those are two entirely different things.

[BoWanZi]

108. Why does it matter if you call it shoplifting compared to robbery?

Using the word shoplifting dilutes what happened. Robbery is a harder coarser word that invokes stronger emotional feelings against the perps in the video. It may not be "technically" correct but who the fuck cares. If I was a shop owner or heaven forbid, a lowly low paid cashier when a group of organized thugs comes pouring into the store i'm in charge of and start stealing crap, I would be terrified. Fear does play a huge part in robbery.

I don't want those organized thugs getting any sympathy and doing stupid shit like diluting the terms used to describe what happened aren't going to help. Those thugs deserve going to jail, not being victimized.

Good grief, its sickening when people feel the need to defend a horde of thieving criminals.

[oldhippie]

111. Because words mean things?

When you use the wrong term for an event you are spreading disinformation. You think that is a good thing? Just to get people's emotions stirred up? Sounds like what the Teabaggers do.

[BoWanZi]

114. These people are going into stores and stealing and terrifying customers and employees

Equating them with a kid who pockets a candy bar when no one is looking is not fair to the shop owners and the terrified other customers. I'm sorry but flash mob stealing isn't just "shoplifting", it is much more than that. And its best to demonize behaviors like flash mob stealing rather than trying to dilute it by giving it more palatable words like shoplifting than robbery.

So yes, I am all for demonizing these criminals by giving them harsher descriptive terms even if they aren't technically correct, I don't want people giving them undeserved sympathy.

This behavior is nothing like an old man stealing a can of tuna because he is hungry, its far worse than that.

[Edweird]

116. Because, as you put it, "Robbery is a harder coarser word that invokes stronger emotional feelings"

It also happens to be NOT what happened. Robbery is a violent crime that includes violence or the threat of violence. Shoplifting is petty theft. They are not the same thing and conflating them for the sake of sensationalism is the same as lying.

Imagine if you were pulled over for traveling 7 miles per hour over the speed limit and an article was written about the infraction and it was related that you had committed reckless endagerment and attempted vehicular homicide. Why would it matter?

[BoWanZi]

117. Read my post above, huge difference between mobs stealing and a single shoplifter

A mob stealing stuff is scary. They are being brazen about it, they do it because they know they can get away with it due to the fact that a large group of people with the intent to steal is scarey compared to some old guy stealing a can of tuna who is hungry.

Huge huge difference between the two.

A mob entering an establishment with the obvious intent to steal IS a threat of violence.