A number of liberals and liberal outfits have taken notice of the "knockout game" trend. Their mission is to downplay or debunk it.
In a November 22 item published in its November 23 print edition on Page A19, Cara Buckley at the New York Times, below a picture of a Guardian Angels member posting a warning in Brooklyn, cited "police officials in several cities" claiming that it "amounted to little more than an urban myth," and noted that Gotham officials were questioning "whether in fact it existed." Excerpts and other ostrich-like responses from others are after the jump.
From Buckley at the Times:
Fear swept through Borough Park, Brooklyn, as soon as the news got out: A young man was randomly assaulted by strangers early Friday morning, and the attack was possibly part of the so-called Knockout Game.
... The attack added to a growing log of reports of such crimes in the Northeast and beyond. Young assailants were randomly picking unlucky targets and trying to knock them out with just one punch.
Yet police officials in several cities where such attacks have been reported said that the âgameâ amounted to little more than an urban myth, and that the attacks in question might be nothing more than the sort of random assaults that have always occurred.
And in New York City, police officials are struggling to determine whether they should advise the public to take precautions against the Knockout Game â or whether in fact it existed.
... Two weeks ago, a 78-year-old woman in Brooklyn reported being punched in the head, with her assailant fleeing without touching her shopping bags or her pocketbook.
This followed sporadic reports of similar recent attacks in Crown Heights, Mr. Hikind said, including one on a 19-year-old Hasidic man who said he had been approached by eight men and then punched in the face by one of them, in what the police said was a possible hate crime.
Then, at 2:45 a.m. on Friday, on the border of Borough Park, a 24-year-old man found himself suddenly boxed in by three men and punched by a fourth. Police said the four men had been out celebrating and were âsomewhat intoxicated.â Mr. Kelly said the victim overheard the group discussing âhow you knock somebody out.â (Amrit Marajh, 28, of Brooklyn, was charged with assault and with aggravated harassment as a hate crime.)
Whatever the case, a type of panic set in.
Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, said much of the fear sown by the reports may have racial roots.
Translating Mr. Butts: "If you're worried about being assaulted by 'Knockout Game' perpetrators, you must be a racist."
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-bl...t-game-spreading-menace-or-myth#ixzz2m4YKw3uR
In a November 22 item published in its November 23 print edition on Page A19, Cara Buckley at the New York Times, below a picture of a Guardian Angels member posting a warning in Brooklyn, cited "police officials in several cities" claiming that it "amounted to little more than an urban myth," and noted that Gotham officials were questioning "whether in fact it existed." Excerpts and other ostrich-like responses from others are after the jump.
From Buckley at the Times:
Fear swept through Borough Park, Brooklyn, as soon as the news got out: A young man was randomly assaulted by strangers early Friday morning, and the attack was possibly part of the so-called Knockout Game.
... The attack added to a growing log of reports of such crimes in the Northeast and beyond. Young assailants were randomly picking unlucky targets and trying to knock them out with just one punch.
Yet police officials in several cities where such attacks have been reported said that the âgameâ amounted to little more than an urban myth, and that the attacks in question might be nothing more than the sort of random assaults that have always occurred.
And in New York City, police officials are struggling to determine whether they should advise the public to take precautions against the Knockout Game â or whether in fact it existed.
... Two weeks ago, a 78-year-old woman in Brooklyn reported being punched in the head, with her assailant fleeing without touching her shopping bags or her pocketbook.
This followed sporadic reports of similar recent attacks in Crown Heights, Mr. Hikind said, including one on a 19-year-old Hasidic man who said he had been approached by eight men and then punched in the face by one of them, in what the police said was a possible hate crime.
Then, at 2:45 a.m. on Friday, on the border of Borough Park, a 24-year-old man found himself suddenly boxed in by three men and punched by a fourth. Police said the four men had been out celebrating and were âsomewhat intoxicated.â Mr. Kelly said the victim overheard the group discussing âhow you knock somebody out.â (Amrit Marajh, 28, of Brooklyn, was charged with assault and with aggravated harassment as a hate crime.)
Whatever the case, a type of panic set in.
Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, said much of the fear sown by the reports may have racial roots.
Translating Mr. Butts: "If you're worried about being assaulted by 'Knockout Game' perpetrators, you must be a racist."
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-bl...t-game-spreading-menace-or-myth#ixzz2m4YKw3uR
Rather than risk my life to save $30, I stayed home with my Son, bought some stuff on line, and had some neighbors over to watch some football. Guess I'm one of those traditional animals who appreciates holidays for what they were meant for.