The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Angry Mob Attacks Family... (This DOES happen!)

MLeake · July 9, 2009, 10:45 PM

I was in Seattle when the mob violence broke out at Mardi Gras in 2001. My then-girlfriend was working publicity for Seagram's liquor promotions in Pioneer Square. For one thing, everywhere you went, the sidewalks were crowded. You couldn't possibly tell if a bunch of people moving en masse were a homogenous group, or just swept along in the ebb and flow of the crowd.

When violence broke out, it started with a fairly small group, and then it exploded. A lot of people tried to leave the area, but could not because they couldn't break through the crowd. So, at first nobody could tell what was happening. Then, when people could tell, they still couldn't leave very easily.

In another example, that same former gf was leaving a bar one night, in company with some police officer friends of ours, who were in uniform. A group that was in the parking lot outside the bar suddenly erupted into a brawl, as she and the two cops were in the middle of the lot. She caught an errant punch to the face, and came home with a swollen cheek and a bloody nose. The crowd in the parking lot was nothing unusual, didn't raise her hackles or those of the two cops, until somebody threw a punch and a bunch of idiots joined in.

It's nice that in your experiences you had both ample warning and avenues of escape. I'm here to tell you that this will quite often not be the case.

July 9, 2009, 10:45 PM	#91
MLeake Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: Outside KC, MO Posts: 10,128	FyredUp... I was in Seattle when the mob violence broke out at Mardi Gras in 2001. My then-girlfriend was working publicity for Seagram's liquor promotions in Pioneer Square. For one thing, everywhere you went, the sidewalks were crowded. You couldn't possibly tell if a bunch of people moving en masse were a homogenous group, or just swept along in the ebb and flow of the crowd. When violence broke out, it started with a fairly small group, and then it exploded. A lot of people tried to leave the area, but could not because they couldn't break through the crowd. So, at first nobody could tell what was happening. Then, when people could tell, they still couldn't leave very easily. In another example, that same former gf was leaving a bar one night, in company with some police officer friends of ours, who were in uniform. A group that was in the parking lot outside the bar suddenly erupted into a brawl, as she and the two cops were in the middle of the lot. She caught an errant punch to the face, and came home with a swollen cheek and a bloody nose. The crowd in the parking lot was nothing unusual, didn't raise her hackles or those of the two cops, until somebody threw a punch and a bunch of idiots joined in. It's nice that in your experiences you had both ample warning and avenues of escape. I'm here to tell you that this will quite often not be the case.