My neighborhood got really interesting Sunday night...

[BillyRay]

I don't know if any of this got on the news where any of you guys live, but late Sunday night/early Monday morning, a mob of kids (22-50, depending on the report) swarmed the local 24-hour gas station/convenience store and walked off with anything and everything they could carry:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/124983979.html

A number of them went from there to a nearby park, where they strong-arm robbed 11 people. They were all caught on surveillance video at the store, and so far 7+ kids have been turned in, mostly by their parents. (A little on the late side, but at least somebody is taking some kind of responsibility for their kids):

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/125174043.html

Now, my neighborhood, Riverwest, is tucked between the East side of Milwaukee (the Lakefront, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, overpriced condos, overrated bars) and the Inner City. Great bars, great bands, great food, party atmosphere. It's rough around the edges, but it's lively, friendly and full of all sorts of folks. Artists, families, blue collar, white collar, punks, drunks, kids, old folks, a rainbow of swell people. We're not only proud of our diversity - we're a little smug about it. I've often thought that my neighborhood is the closest I've ever come to living on Sesame Street. (I'm working on the puppets)

The best thing to come out of this incident (apart from beefed-up police patrols) is that folks aren't getting paranoid. We're treating it like the isolated (but still scary) incident that it was:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/125193109.html

What does this have to do with a Living Dead forum? Apart from showing us how woefully unprepared we are for running zombies, nothing.

But in an age of fear and paranoia, the fact that this brought my hood closer together is a sign that we're doing something right.

Just wanted to share.

[MikePizzoff]

Flash mobs were a common occurrence here in Philly, a couple years back. Not sure if they ever stole mass quantities of stuff from a store, like these kids, but they would TRASH stores. They would also rob people in touristy areas of the city. Our flash mobs were reportedly at least 100 kids each time.

[Publius]

Yeah, I did see news about that. Sounded pretty bad. I am glad to hear about the positive community response, including some of the parents taking responsibility for their kids like that.

[rongravy]

Can't wait until one of these flash mobs meets up with a card carrying gun owner.
Geez, the worst thing we did was steal my friend's dad's car and go to the convenience store to play Double Dragon...

[Yojimbo]

That would be tragic- law abiding shopowner drawing a bead on a teenage kid stealing chips and soda. Hope that his NRA background and his good firearms training causes him to hold his fire, even though it would be really tempting to put one in the ten ring of the first delinquent to boost a six pack.

[Arcades057]

Yojimbo, look into them a bit more, they aren't just teenage kids stealing chips and soda. They are organized attacks on individuals and businesses, usually racially-motivated, designed to inspire fear into the victims and provide fun and enjoyment for the perpetrators. Let's pretend that the perpetrators are all whites and they commit their crimes against blacks. That ought to inspire the anger in you and others.

Then look up the recent mob attacks in Philly and elsewhere for the truth on the matter as reported by the media. As rongravy said, I'm also looking forward to the day, but with one caveat: I want the gun-owner to live in a free state and have access to, and possession of, a high-capacity magazine-fed weapon and a good eye for shot placement.

[slickwilly13]

Can't wait until one of these flash mobs meets up with a card carrying gun owner.
Geez, the worst thing we did was steal my friend's dad's car and go to the convenience store to play Double Dragon...

Double Dragon, that is a game I have beaten with one quarter. Tought to accomplish, but not impossible.

[Trin]

Double Dragon, that is a game I have beaten with one quarter. Tought to accomplish, but not impossible.
A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.

[slickwilly13]

A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.

Actually, the secret of winning is the back elbow. There, you read it from an old-school gaming pro. Anyone want to beat the original arcade version of Double Dragon with as few credits as possible? Use the back elbow *punch/jump together* very frequently. It will knock anyone down, including big guys and bosses.