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The Internet Communications

Flash Mob Gang Warfare 325

TexasDex writes "You've all heard of flash mobs and Flash Mob Computing. Now here's a new twist on the flash mob phenomenon: Almost 3 dozen people were arrested for a March 3 street fight. 'What makes this case unusual is how the clash was arranged: via a profanity-laced Internet chat room.' Apparently two Dallas gangs, after trading insults in a chat room, traded their keyboards for fists and baseball bats and arranged a time to meet and duke it out in real life. The gang members were later identified and arrested with the aid of a digital video tape of the brawl. According to one officer, 'Some of them actually signed in with their true names, so that helped us identify people.'"
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Flash Mob Gang Warfare

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  • criminals are always stupid.

    (This is why cops can catch them).

  • by RollingThunder ( 88952 ) on Friday May 14, 2004 @12:32AM (#9147939)
    Say it ain't so!!!

    This is not newsworthy. People traded insults and got into a fight. So it happened over the internet - so what?

    Communications can be good or bad. The internet isn't going to prevent some punk from talking shit about some other punk.
  • Why this fails... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AvantLegion ( 595806 ) on Friday May 14, 2004 @12:43AM (#9148000) Journal
    The high IQ criminals are not caught, not identified as criminals, and are not counted in the IQ scores for criminals.

  • As the man said... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Chris Tucker ( 302549 ) on Friday May 14, 2004 @12:45AM (#9148007) Homepage
    ..."Any fool can use a computer. Many do."
    Ted Nelson
  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday May 14, 2004 @12:47AM (#9148023)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • WRONG (Score:4, Insightful)

    by anything901 ( 776409 ) on Friday May 14, 2004 @12:51AM (#9148043)
    This was NOT a flash mob. Why on Earth would you call it that? It was a pre-arranged fight, as almost all gang fights are.
    A bunch of kids argued in a chat room and then they fought.
    This story is among the worst I've ever seen here.
  • It's about time! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by yorgasor ( 109984 ) <.ten.shcetirt. .ta. .nor.> on Friday May 14, 2004 @12:51AM (#9148044) Homepage
    Everybody talks tough on the internet. It's easy to be tough and talk some smack when your opponent is safely away in another country. As far as I'm concerned if you're gonna mock and threaten someone over the internet, you better back up them fightin' words with some real blood and knuckles. Good for them.
  • Re:God willing... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by digitalunity ( 19107 ) <digitalunity@yah o o . com> on Friday May 14, 2004 @12:54AM (#9148061) Homepage
    That's like saying that everyone who uses contraception will die out, because their existence is self-perpetuating.

    No, that's not the same. Contraception is a different thing entirely. It prevents the spread of diseases and makes unwanted pregnancy almost zero for those who actually use contraceptive devices. It allows those who cannot maintain manogomy to engage in recreational sexual activity with few drawbacks. There are VD's you can get even while using a condom but to say that all those who use condoms will die out is absurd. It just means that those who don't 'screw up' can have children when they want them.

    There will always be schoolyard bullies with inadequacy issues who will always be robbing small children of lunch money. There don't always need to be gangs. I've known quite a few gang members and I really know what they get out of it. A lot of the needs they have that gangs provide can be removed. It is a social problem. It is difficult to get people to care about things they don't normally see. Where I live, gang activity is frequently reported in the news. Yet still, you have to live in a 'bad neighborhood' to actually see any of it in person. That's why no one cares. Unemployment, poverty, homelessness, child abuse, split families, child neglect, bad parenting skills, fear, money, there are too many factors to list. Be sure, however, they are not insurmountable problems. The violence can be stopped, but law enforcement isn't the solution, it's the band-aid to the symptoms.
  • by Sprite Remix ( 725063 ) on Friday May 14, 2004 @01:20AM (#9148192)
    They were just low-life gangs!
  • Parental control? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by troon ( 724114 ) on Friday May 14, 2004 @02:30AM (#9148468)

    For goodness sake, these are kids aged 14-21. The policeman asked why the parents weren't keeping an eye on their internet usage: but what about keeping an eye on why your 14-year-old kid is going out at night with a baseball bat?!

  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 14, 2004 @03:19AM (#9148601)
    We have enough violence in the world today. The last thing we need is to teach kids that violence is an acceptable means to resolve conflict. The world has enough "tough guys." We don't need anymore of them.

    Which is why I'm amazed that anyone would mod this as insightful. Advocating violence is insightful? While the world copes with the gruesome death of Mr. Berg we've got people advocating further violence and people thinking it's insightful? WTF?

  • by AvantLegion ( 595806 ) on Friday May 14, 2004 @03:53AM (#9148749) Journal
    The real high IQ people build time machines to prevent their birth and erase them from a very fucked-up world.

    Aww look, a teen goth!

  • by chamenos ( 541447 ) on Friday May 14, 2004 @06:20AM (#9149240)
    If just ONE innocent person is put to death wrongly, the whole system has failed. Its easy to speak like you do, but I'd like to see you put in such a position. Just keep telling yourself you're saving taxpayers' money as you get strapped into the electric chair for something you didn't do, whilst the guilty person walks free.

    I don't see how killing innocent people whilst letting those who are guilty walk free will benefit society in any way.
  • by geoffspear ( 692508 ) * on Friday May 14, 2004 @11:37AM (#9151956) Homepage
    Well if that seems reasonable to you, why not just have the government kill everyone right now, to prevent any future crime.

    If you can't see a difference between allowing potentially unsafe driving conditions and having the government killing innocent people, you're a moron.

  • Re:Scoop! (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 14, 2004 @02:45PM (#9154787)
    An armed society is a polite society.

    Can we finally lay this piece of shit from Heinlein to rest? The U.S. is without a doubt a heavily armed society. Polite? Not even close.

    Heinlein was a racist, misogynistic homophobe fascist.

    You are a dumbass.

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