Burned coffee gets my duff up, too — but taking out your rage using metal pipes on a Starbucks? That’s just impolite. Cops say pipe-wielding protestors and so-called anarchists had at it on a Starbucks in New York city’s East Village Saturday night, in an attempt to shatter the store’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
Fortunately for terrified patrons huddled inside, the windows are Plexiglas and held up during the onslaught. No one was injured.
“It was scary, we didn’t know what was happening,” one of the baristas tells the New York Daily News. “There were a lot of them with bats and wearing masks.”
Employees locked the door and no one inside was hurt. Two NYPD officers outside, however, were reportedly hit in the head, body and hands with a pipe. Two men were arrested outside the store, while another was later snagged outside a community center nearby.
They were just three of 25 people, some wearing masks, carrying 8-feet-long galvanized metal pipes and using them to vandalize commercial properties. The group marched against traffic on Saturday, chanting “All pigs must die,” and “Cops are murderers,” say officials.
Meanwhile cops say around 150 people spray painted anarchist symbols on commercial property, threw garbage cans and tossed pipes and bottles at police when they responded to the protest.
Pipe-wielding ‘anarchists’ attempt to shatter floor-to-ceiling Plexiglas windows at East Village Starbucks [New York Daily News]
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So, does New York City still smell faintly of pee?
Not since the last time you came to visit
Never been. I just mail it in.
Horse piss. Stay away from Central Park!
Dear Anarchists:
Please try delivering your message somewhere that the people in the business won’t be huddled frightened sissies. I suggest a feed store in East Texas, or maybe a motorcycle shop in Phoenix.
Or maybe a gun store in the bible belt.
Because cops can’t be murderers without guns right?
I actually don’t think they were trying to hurt the patrons, only destroy the store (both are dumb-BTW). Of course the patrons, didn’t know that and I’m sure it was a bit scary. But agreed, try that in some parts of the US and you wouldn’t make it past the first or second swing, if that.
I can’t help but giggle at the thought of hipsters clutching their macbooks and hoping their giant glasses will protect them from any shards of glass. Perhaps one or two people twittering about how they were anarchists before it became cool.
The anarchists don’t know about Starbucks’ counter-surveillance units:
http://media.theonion.com/images/articles/article/416/onion_news1024_jpg_250x1000_q85.jpg
These guys are out of touch. Real anarchists use computers and hack their way into government networks.
These are just thugs.
Try that here in Georgia where we take our coffee and our safety seriously and you will be looking down the business end of our pistols.
Deadly force should always be used against anyone who attempts to spray paint something on or break the windows of a Starbucks.
You missed the part of the article where they were beating cops with pipes.
Yea definitely missed the part where they were beating people nearly to death outside
Any idiot who is trying to shatter a floor-to-ceiling window has already initiated potentially deadly force. I’m delighted to read that Starbucks is smart enough to put plexi and not real glass in the windows, but unless the “protesters” have made it VERY clear they knew that and knew the difference, I have to conclude that they are dangerous nitwits AT BEST.
“Protesters” get away with entirely too goddamned much in this society. Burning a flag the size of a beach-towel is reckless endangerment of everybody in the area. Throwing noxious substances around puts passersby at real risk of injury.
OTOH, as we have recently seen, the police don’t seem to be able to catch and punish the real problems without gratuitously pounding innocent bystanders like cheap veal.
But if somebody was trying to shatter a huge GLASS window that I was near, I would consider that they were endangering my life.
Would you not?
If you are in a store and there are people outside with deadly weapons beating on the windows, call the police. If they start breaking the windows, that’s when I believe anyone would assume their life is in danger.
If they break a window and enter the business, aim for center mass. Who cares what their motives are. If you are prepared to form a mob that carries weapons and attacks places where there are innocent people just to get your message out, then you are obviously willing to die for that message.
COFFEE NAZIS MUST DIE
Anarchists are some of them most politically ignorant people around.
Anarchy is a temporary political system, once one person or group gets enough power they will take control and then you have a dictatorship/oligarchy.
Too bad they never bother to educate themselves.
…all I can think of is Plato’s forms of government…
Occupy Starbucks!!
http://media.theonion.com/images/articles/article/416/onion_news1023_jpg_600x1000_q85.jpg
This is precisely why I’m a monarchist.
Seriously, you want butterflies to be our leaders?
Planet of the Apes didn’t work out so well; I can’t imagine our winged friends doing a much better job.
Butterfly kisses for all!
Cocoons for some, tiny American flags for others.
And now I have a sudden craving to go watch The Venture Bros.
Though it’s a little funny to think how a country run by the Monarch and Doctor Girlfriend could actually be more sane then most governments currently running.
And also a Dr. Mrs. The Monarch-ist.
Canada welcomes you!
This. In the best case you have somebody running things that was born and bred for the job. In the worst case you only have to shoot one idiot.
While I’m sure it was terrifying, I can’t help but laugh at the futility of their attempt. I can only imagine their rage at their own stupidity as their pipes bounced of the windows.
But on a serious note. IANAL but is this a form of domestic terrorism? These idiots should get the most severe sentence possible especially since there were patrons and employees in the business at the time and there was a serious lack of consideration for human safety. Damaging property is one thing, risk of and actual human injury takes it to a new level.
This was attempt to destroy or damage property. Probably some sort of mischief charge. Maybe some assault and/or battery. Hardly “domestic terrorism.”
Not every outlaw is a terrorist. That is a dangerous slippery slope to start on.
The intention of this group was to go around, cause destruction, and terrify people.
Hm. Terrify… Terrorist… What do those two words have in common?
Were they engaged in activities that involved the use or threat of use of force? Yes.
Were these activies directed against against a populace or property? Yes.
Were these activities intended to promote or propogate social, political, or cultural change? Yes.
Terrorism. Any other assertion and you are lying to yourself to assuage your own guilt for supporting these morons or others like them.
True, but if we’re keeping that broad of a definition of terrorism, there are a lot of other groups we should probably attach that name to (e.g. PETA, Pro-life groups, KKK, ELA, some tea party groups, the 5 black panthers that Fox recirculates into millions, etc.
Yes, and rightfully so. Violence and coercion are the antithesis of the democratic process. The groups with which we associate those tactics should rightfully be ostracized as the criminal scum they are.
Guilt?
“Any other assertion and you are lying to yourself to assuage your own guilt for supporting these morons or others like them.”
C’mon, you had a reasonable argument until you decided to throw that in.
+1
Seriously? Attempt to destory property while KNOWINGLY aware (weird expression I just used there) that therr are patrons and employees inside that would be seriously injured by flying glass? Oh wait, not just one person with pipes but 25?!?!?
I’m not sure if that is a “slipperly slope” given Bsamm09 clear pointing out of of questions related to terrorism.
IF they did there attempt while the Starbucks was closed and there were NO employees inside I could conceed your point of just wanting to destory property. But you’re wrong.
What? This is pretty much the textbook definition of terrorism.
From dictionary.com:
ter·ror·ism   [ter-uh-riz-uhm]
noun
1.
the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.
2.
the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.
3.
a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.
Your drivel terrifies me. You should be tortured and locked up forever.
“Anarchism stands for liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from shackles and restraint of government. It stands for social order based on the free grouping of individuals.”
Horse-pucky.
Anarchism stands for a bunch of spoiled idealistic pseudo-intellectuals who are blind to the realities of human interaction.
Anarchism is a great–but almost certainly unattainable–goal.
How is might makes right a great goal? Without laws and government what you end up with is “What I can take and hold is mine. ”
liberation of the human body from the dominion of property
If they would like to liberate themselves from their property, they’re free to drop it off at my place for FREE disposal.
So, you want to impose your worldview on people under the guise of “freedom?” You may actually be worse than the government you are protesting against.
So, they’re angry Buddhist libertarians? No wonder they don’t have much of a following.
In practical, historical terms it stands for 100 years or so of ill-considered violence, the assassination of one of America’s more gormless Presidents, the spark that set off WWI, and being used like a snot-rag by every totalitarian revolutionary swine to come bouncing down the pike.
Nice goal, but you don’t accomplish that by terrorizing those you’re trying to “liberate.”
So they weren’t protesting Star Bucks, but the police.
Trying to break a window at Starbucks and running away after failing? Maybe these aren’t the most radical anarchists out there… I heard that later, one of them let their poodle poop in a grassy area along a sidewalk and then didn’t pick it up! F the man!!!
Grassy area along a sidewalk? When was the last time you were in Manhattan?
(yes I realize there are a few places in Manhattan with little grassy plots, but they are few and far between)
Yea, here in NYC people just allow there dogs to just poop on the sidewalk and don’t clean up.
“But aren’t there fines?!?!” Yeah but… who’s gonna enforce it?
It’s too bad someone couldn’t track these idiots down and pound their private property with pipes. I bet it wouldn’t be so cool and socially acceptable then.
Or their Mom. It’d be her basement after all.
His name is Robert Paulson
+1
I read this far down the comments section looking for a Fight Club reference. Well done.
Smash Mob.
Yeah… randomly attacking a retail business full of terrified patrons. That’s REAL effective when trying to get people to agree with you. *sarcasm*
Starbucks always seems like such an odd target to me.
Especially in a place like NYC, you have the HQs of the biggest banks in the world right there on the island. Roaming around and smashing their windows, I almost understand.
If I had to rank evil companies, I’m not starbucks would even crack the top ten.
Bank branches in Manhattan often have a police officer on the premises. Starbucks has hipsters.
oooh when can I visit NYC? NOT.
This is what happens when anarchists organize. The energy created from this paradox will always end in violence.
and people wonder why other people are interested in carrying concealed handguns…
I like that these guys were bitching about cops. If you stop running around committing violent, illegal acts, you’ll find that the cops are a whole lot nicer.
inb4 this is blamed on the occupy move… woop, too late
Occupy Wall St. attorney Alexander Penley, 41, was arrested later outside an E. Sixth St. community center, where clashes with police continued
No, I can’t imagine why anyone might think there is a link to Occupy.
“Mmmm! Goddamn, Jimmie! This is some serious gourmet shit! Usually, me and Vince would be happy with some freeze-dried Taster’s Choice right, but he springs this serious GOURMET shit on us! What flavor is this?”
“Anarchist”
“What now? Let me tell you what now. I’ma call a coupla hard, pipe-hittin’ caffine addicts, who’ll go to work on the Starbucks here with a pair of pliers and a blow torch. You hear me talkin’, barrista? I ain’t through with you by a damn sight. I’ma get medieval on your ass.
You, sir, win the internetz.
It’s misleading to say these people were anarchists. They were all wearing black and none were arrested so we don’t know their names or any groups they may have been connected to. It could have just as easily been undercover cops trying to give anarchists and protestors in general a bad name. I would expect nothing less from the Bloomberg regime.
does that tin-foil hat come in heavy duty?
Amateurs. You don’t scare the civilians. Hack a few military computers and scare the generals and the world leaders. THEN you’re an anarchist.
Ah, yes, liberalism at its finest.