The heat is on – almost…
The boiling hot temps that bring out the bad boyz in KC have yet to surface, and memories of the Plaza Flash Mob Riot of several weeks back is but a faint memory. That said, school’s out and it’s only gonna get hotter. And the hotter it gets, the larger the often rowdy outdoor crowds that have ricocheted from Westport to the Plaza, back to Westport, to Crown Center, to Ward Parkway Center to the Cinemark theater in Merriam and to Broadway near Chubby’s in Midtown.
Without fail, crowds of urban youth – some older than many media like to mention – have saddled up every summer, resulting in an overall uneasiness and the odd incidents that range from fights and rudeness to an actual shooting.
Will this summer be different? Not likly.
However, police say they’re ready and not all Flash Mobs are alike.
Fact is Flash Mobs can be benign and often are, says KCPD spokesman Rich Lockhart.
“We had a Flash Mob May 7th near Manny’s,” Lockhart says. “It was a Flash Yoga Mob in that little park. And they packed that place with a couple hundred people doing yoga. It was pretty interesting. I was actually there myself – I was off duty.”
So nobody got busted?
“No, it was peaceful,” Lockhart says. “It’s kind of what Flash Mobbing is – people go in and do something unexpected, then they leave. It’s not about violence, it’s more about the unexpected.”
nature
Duke
For God’s sake people, smoke a joint and chill out. Stay outta customers faces!
Kia Zi
Did Lockhart just say all that so he’d look like a hip and groovy guy? Nothing that brings harm to people and a city is a faint memory. It scars for life. How come when the cops and their friends gather in a crowd it’s really neato but when other people and their friends gather in a crowd the cops are “ready” for them. Why don’t city officials think before they speak once in awhile?
smartman
Love the politically correct wikipedia definition of “flash mob”. The cops were far more effective when the community outreach programs involved billy clubs and not trading cards. Fear and pain are still the best behavioral motivators.