Thursday, April 21, 2011

I have a bad feeling about this

I often ride the Atlanta subway - MARTA - to the airport.  Maybe not anymore:
Two Delta Airlines employees say they were attacked by a mob of teens on a MARTA train as they headed to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The men say the teens robbed and beat them at the Garnett Street MARTA station.


According to the police incident report, the teens got on the train at the Garnett Street station. MARTA police say they boarded the train as a pack of about 20-25 teens between the ages of 13 and 18 years old.

Police say the group attacked the two airline employees. They say one of the men was hit in the eye with a soda bottle, and the other was punched in the face— both by the same teen, who was described as being about 5’5” tall with a pink shirt.

The men say the teens surrounded them and grabbed their wallets.
As it turns out, you can carry a concealed gun on MARTA as long as you have a Georgia Weapons Carry License.  I do.

But I'm not sure that I want to be in a situation facing two dozen teenagers.  There's not a lot of places in the train car that you can avoid being surrounded, and I really don't think that I want to shoot a 13 year old.

Security types call this a "Resource Poisoning" attack, where something that was previously valued and trusted becomes worthless because of abuse.  Godwin's Law is basically a statement that if an email thread goes on long enough, it will get poisoned by its participants.

MARTA has been poisoned.  Oh well, it had a good 32 year run.  [rolls eyes]

And because it must be said:



http://youtu.be/Drkh0YLF8rI

8 comments:

  1. I don't want to shoot a 13-year old either but at risk of life, limb or eyesight you damn betcha I would do so.
    This sort of thing will continue unless and until these pack animals know (or suspect) that violence WILL beget violence.

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  2. And this is why we NEED more then 10 rounds in our clip errr... uhhh... magazine.

    *Shoulder thingy that goes up

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  3. Does anyone remember Bernhardt Goetz, the subway vigilante? He got villified for what he did. But he did what he had to do.

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  4. Plus, what do you do with your carry piece once you get to the airport?

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  5. I don't want to shoot a 13-year old either but at risk of life, limb or eyesight you damn betcha I would do so.

    A credible threat is a credible threat. Callous perhaps, but if it is you or me, guess what?

    Jim

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  6. "what do you do with your carry piece once you get to the airport?"

    Unload, lock in hard-shell check-in luggage, declare as appropriate, have a nice flight. (Finding a suitable place to unload & stow may be tricky, but possible.)

    ATL isn't violating state law on that subject any more.

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  7. NY crime plummeted for a few days after Goetz's incident.

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  8. Too many zombies around there, out here it's vampires. And Communists - same thing.

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