Come out on the patio, have yourself an Arnold Palmer, and let’s chat Flash Mobs. Say we’re in some far-tossed suburban hamlet, a Solon or Strongesville maybe, dinner’s cooking in the stainless steel and marble kitchen, and we’re just talking headlines, current events, while the kids wrestle Spot in the herb garden. Cleveland Heights comes up, the Coventry street fair gets mentioned, the mood darkens. Anxiety rises.
We’re guessing this was the scene at many a suburban setting over the last few weeks after the Coventry incident. According to reports, thousands of teens flooded everybody’s favorite counter culture block one Sunday in June; by the end of the evening, 16 kids were in cuffs and Cleveland had found a new code word to kick around when we’re kind of maybe on the sly no but alright yes talking about race: the Flash Mob.
This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2011.
I guess you haven’t been with the “flash mobs”. I live on Coventry, and it is very very disturbing. And it is something that is frightening. The youths were just plain rude and had little regard for anyone else, especially the police. I think the curfew has helped tremendously. I do feel bad for the young kids that have nowhere to go, however, how about going to each other’s houses.
I saw the huge fight last year at Coventry, the series of fights at Shaker Heights fireworks last year, and the problems they had this year as well. Teens gathering is not necessarily the problem: it’s their specific energy and intent. Flash crowds are being set up for a reason…a few want to fight or cause trouble with a large audience, the majority want to show up and watch. As soon as a fight breaks out, there is a crowd-ring five people deep, shouting, chaos.
This lack of judgement spans ALL races. It has no cultural boundaries.
People can try and hijack the conversation all they want by playing the race card again and again. It will not change the fact that bad behavior by teens (or adults for that matter) of ANY race is not acceptable. Period.
You want to show up with 800 of your friends at a festival/fireworks/event and dance together in unison? Fine. Sing in unison? Go for it. Plank end-to-end for a Cleveland record? Knock yourself out. Take photos…Facebook and Twitter the heck out of that.
But bulldozing an event of any sort, showing up to fight/cause trouble/threaten people (or just to watch), etc, etc, and that’s going to get you in trouble no matter what your skin color.
These sagging pants, loud mouthed BLACK men and teenaged boys roam the streets, day and night. They don’t work and don’t go to school. They contribute nothing and are just an embarrassment to the entire community. Aside from selling drugs, robbing merchants, and disrespecting women and children, with their filthy street language, they’re hustling every girl they can for sex. These are the guys who prey on females–the guys who won’t use protection and don’t care about making babies they can’t support. Many of them are fathers, before they’re eighteen years old. They’re the guys who rape the community and make it poor. Just like they ruined East Cleveland, they’ll ruin Cleveland Heights. And if you don’t want to hear that, close your ears.
“high roller” is a bigoted idiot
If I were white, you might call me a bigot and be justified. But I’m not white, Makeda. Say what you will about me. It won’t change the truth. Just like they ruined East Cleveland, they’ll ruin Cleveland Heights.
I assume that’s snark, High Roller? If not, I don’t care what color you CLAIM you are — you are a bigot. By the way are you aware that when the Coventry Street Fairs were cancelled in the 80s, it was due to exactly the same dire predictions you’re making now? Won’t happen.