Secrets of the City

Street fignst seem so 1950s.

…and where do you know a fight is always likely to happen?

When kwatt and justpbob show up at the same SOTC/Talk/MNspeak get-together? (grin — I kid)

On topic, I found myself in the center of a potentially huge and nasty racially-motivated near-brawl on Monument Circle in Indianapolis while I was in the Army. Drunk white dude used a racial slur (yes, THAT one) and was thrown to ground at my feet by slurred individual. I seconds, the crowd had divided itself by race and were eyeing each other tensly. I was in the middle, with the drunk on the concrete.

I picked him (the drunk) up by the collar, boxed his ears and screamed something like “What the hell do you think you’re doing, BOY” in my best imitation of a drill sergeant, and tossed him back to his friends.

Fortunately, it worked, and no further punches were thrown. Could have gotten really nasty.

You could usually count on some type of altercation outsid Daddy Rocks (when it was still open). Not to mention the drunk frat boys duking it out outside of the shitty bars on 1st Ave. A few years ago we went to the Refuge and my friend accidentally walked through a fight and got punched in the face. Pretty much the last time I went there.

Darn, I’ve led a sheltered life. Haven’t seen a good brawl since … out back behind the gym in junior high school?

On the other hand, I’ve seen some good demonstrations. One in particular was most memorable because it happened the first week after our family moved to Tokyo in 1970. Anti-was/anti-American demo by students that went very violent about a mile down Ginza from where we were eating.

c/ anti-was = anti-war

I’ve seen two brutal fights in my life. The first was outside a bar in Morris, MN. It ended up being one black guy against 8 white townies. The townies didn’t like the black guy’s “attitude” and they beat the crap out of him. It was pure racism and really disturbing.

Second was about 12 youths beating on one youth on the sidewalk of Plymouth Avenue. I don’t know what that kid did, but he was paying for it. Most of the kids were just watching, but it seemed like they would hit him once if he got close.

lol. Good old B96. I’ve been to a lot of events sponsored by The Current, and this sort of thing never happens.

i wonder if there were any switchblade combs involved.

adam: You wouldn’t happen to be from Morris, would you?

Is no else amazed to find out that people are still going to roller skating rinks?

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a fight in the Twin Cities, but when I lived in Sioux Falls, standard after-bar fun was to stand outside Jamz, grab a taquito from Pete Sanchez’s stand and watch the inevitable fight or fights as the drunken idiots spilled into the parking lot. There was still a pretty pervasive cowboy mentality when I lived there.

I’m amazed that we even HAVE roller rinks. How quaint.

What DOESN’T surprise me is that a bunch of B96 (rap/hip-hop for those who don’t listen to radio anymore) listeners went violent. Something about that music gets people in the gangsta mood, especially when you put about 1000 of them together and stir.

cjc, I don’t think I ever saw a fight at Jamz (later Acme, now closed forever), but I saw a few fights at Borrowed Buck’s Roadhouse. Talk about a cowboy mentality.

Also, almost every other weekend, some punk would get stabbed on the Loop in DT Sioux Falls when I was in high school. Good times.

Here’s the playlist for B96. It’s not exactly the greatest hits of the thug life. Let’s not use this event to badmouth hip hop fans. I’ve seen crowds get violent at rock clubs and at country shows. I suspect the combination of too many people, a lot of them being young, and not enough security was the cause here, not that some Rihanna fans showed up.

astrobastard: no. I went to a fair in Sauk Centre once, I think. Does that count?

“What DOESN’T surprise me is that a bunch of B96 (rap/hip-hop for those who don’t listen to radio anymore) listeners went violent. Something about that music gets people in the gangsta mood, especially when you put about 1000 of them together and stir.”

I’m sure you would have been plenty surprised if you went to the Soundset show this year. Over 13,000 hip hop fans (all ages show, BTW) is a small space and not one fight. Why don’t you think about that before you spout off about something.

Plus, this fight sounds more like it could be blamed on mob mentality rather than on anything else. I mean, if you’re in a melee of hundreds, I’m sure it would cross your mind to get a few swings in without being noticed.

Do any of the artists that played at Soundset get airtime on B96? It seems like a different sort of hip hop.

Also, who the hell wants to “get a few swings in without being noticed”?

edit: prolly should be “artists who played”

adam, I can’t remember them all, but I’m sure there were some there.

“Also, who the hell wants to “get a few swings in without being noticed”?”

Ninjas, for one…

There goes Alie, talking about ninjas again.

Ninja New Year’s Eve!

Most recent update sounds like the police had a hand in spurring on the riot. Can anyone think of a valid reason to bring a police dog to a crowded concert? Sounds like a bit of trouble with an overreaction of the Coon Rapids police force exacerbating the situation.

I would like to get past the meme that a police presence gives a crowd no possible response but rioting.

Ninjas, for one…

Fair enough.

Can anyone think of a valid reason to bring a police dog to a crowded concert?

Drugzzz?

Police dogs are notorious hip hop fans.

It’s not the police presence kurtis. It’s the actions of the police that escalate a situation that can be the problem. I have no idea if that’s the situation here though.

Maybe they were all fighting over who got to pet the puppy next?

No, I reject that Dave. I don’t believe for one second that because the police show up, even if they are wearing gas masks and have dogs, that you have no choice but to freak out and start beating the crap out of strangers or smashing windows or whatever it is people want to blame on the police next time. A police over-reaction? Probably. That means people have to lose their mind? I didn’t see the logic during the RNC and I don’t see it now.

A roller rink in Coon Rapids seems like a weird place for people who are likely to melee to go in the first place. I’d expect 13 year old birthday parties.

I also don’t see why people are so freaked out about a dog being there. Since when was the presence of a dog something to get completely wound up about? Honestly, I think most people would have to be told to freak out because they saw a dog. Most of them would be like, oh, it’s a dog. Cool.

“A roller rink in Coon Rapids seems like a weird place for people who are likely to melee to go in the first place. I’d expect 13 year old birthday parties.”

13 year olds are vicious!

Coon Rapids is the Devil’s playground, mark my words!

I’m sure there is plenty of blame to spread around but I don’t think police dogs make for good crowd control unless you are trying to intimidate people.

In this NYT’s article they specifically ban using police dogs for crowd control in New Brunswick.

If police dogs are at a scene when a civil disturbance breaks out, they must be immediately removed, the policy states.

Mr. Gluck said officers called to the scene should have been more aware that the use of dogs in mostly black neighborhoods has unpleasant racial overtones for many residents.

What do they know that the CPPD do not know?

Anyone who wonders when roller skating became cool has NOT been to the Roller Gardens in SLP. Man alive, that place is an amazing study in culture and gender. Totally buff and tough dudes doing the flawless backwards skate to Britney Spears and Beyonce…It’s a sight to behold.

Britt Robson wrote a fabulous piece about it for City Pages in 2003:

http://www.citypages.com/2003-05-21/books/the-rink-goes-round-and-round/

I’ve already chronicled the only fight I’ve ever seen which consisted of one teen throwing a stool from LensCrafter’s at another teen.

Also, I had my 8th birthday at Roller Garden. It was pretty great.

I had hoped the Obama era would bring many refreshing changes, among them an end to the scapegoating of police for instances of violence within the African-American community.

Now that a police dog has been pegged as the culprit for the gangstafied version of roller girls, I can remove that item from the wish list.

I make the rounds of the Brainerd bars when I’m up there in the summer. You know things can get hoppin’ when, at closing time, three Crow Wing Country sheriff squad cars are strategically parked on Laurel St. to keep an eye on the locals staggering back to their ve-hick-les from the three bars within a stone’s throw of each other.

I’m not aware of any bar in Brainerd that plays rap or hip-hop, btw. So it must have something to do with … booze?

Molly, I go to the Roller Garden about once a week. http://www.secretsofthecity.com/talk/posts/12268

I had hoped the Obama era would bring many refreshing changes, among them an end to the scapegoating …

Sheesh. Give the man some time, please. He hasn’t even been inaugurated yet!

Technically, we’re still in the death throes of the Bush II era.

“the use of dogs in mostly black neighborhoods has unpleasant racial overtones for many residents.”

There’s something here I’m not getting. Dogs are racist?

I blame Michael Vik.

In retrospect, I retract that last joke.

Is no else amazed to find out that people are still going to roller skating rinks?

Here’s todays ray of hope!

I’ve seen crowds get violent at rock clubs and at country shows. I suspect the combination of too many people, a lot of them being young, and not enough security was the cause here,

You’ve obviously never had anybody date your sister.

not that some Rihanna fans showed up.

I’m a Rihanna fan.  You sayin’ I’ve got the violence in me?

Please tell me the comment re: Obama ending scapegoating was a joke.

Oh, btw, we’re now officially in pre-post-post-racial America. As you know, since 11/4 racism ceased to exist and in post-post-racial America, racism will make a come back. In pre-post-post-racial America, things are just kinda racial.

Father Bixby apparently grew up in Mississippi and has bad associations with police dogs because of the shit that happened there. And it is kinda racial – were there police dogs when white people lost their damn minds at the U of M riots?

@Kurtis I used to take me little sister (Big Brother/Little Sisters) there all the time. It was her favorite thing to do. Of course I selfishly went for the retro vibe and people watching, both of which were cosmically confusing and entertaining.

A few years ago, I captured a kind of lame fight on my cell phone but it was in public so it was automatically exciting.

While getting on the bus, a fight seems like it may begin to occur outside of the Men’s Warehouse in DT Mpls. A guy seems to be standing between two women who are pawing at each other.

While I’m on the bus, the fight goes down! The two women lunge at each others heads and throw each other around. Of course, the entire bus stands up and gawks through the windows.

People start to truly break it up now.

I outgrew the deconstruction party game several years ago, so I’m not post-posting anything. And I’m not joking either. Merely saying that the election of an African-American should put to bed the canard that people in badges are necessarily out to get the black man, thus justifying all manner of scurrilous behavior on behalf of the would be victim.

Storm after the calm as police arrived at Coon Rapids roller rink Fighting had ended, but the arrival of officers with a dog set off a panic, one witness says.

“The first reaction was, ‘Oh my God, they’ve got a dog,’” recalled Brandon Wright, a B96 (96.3 FM) DJ who was hired to host the Mega Skate Jam at the Cheap Skate-Coon Rapids.

I’ll bet you feel pretty plenty stupid now don’t you?  Wait I’ll bet that is your natural state.

Not sure if it’s supposed to be me that feels “plenty stupid now,” but I’d already read that, and it’s exactly what I was responding to.

kurtis that was meant for Skug.

“Merely saying that the election of an African-American should put to bed the canard that people in badges are necessarily out to get the black man,”

What does A have to do with B? 

Good grief, it’s like someone didn’t get my post-election joke that racism doesn’t exist any more.

When you eliminate racism then only the racists will be racist!