When Flash Mobs Attack, It’s Plain Anti-Social

Npr.org

by Susan Phillips

April 3, 2010 from WHYY

They’re known as « flash mobs » — gatherings of people who use social media and text messages to stage a spontaneous group « dance-in » at a train station or get a big crowd together to imitate statues in a park.

The idea seems innocent enough, but in Philadelphia, flash mobs have turned violent and police are cracking down.

Pizza shop owner Joey Rocco has seen an out-of-control flash mob firsthand. His pizza place is on South Street, which runs through the heart of the city and is a popular hangout for both kids and tourists.

Two weeks ago, Rocco was finally getting some decent business after a long, snow-packed winter.

« Saturday night we had the windows open; it was a beautiful night, » he says. « People were sitting in the window areas, and I just happened to look out and said ‘Wow, the street is really crowded.' »

Some say the crowd of youths was in the hundreds. Others say thousands. Rocco says the kids began to jump up and down, and then utter chaos broke out. He says some of the teens started beating each other up, while others began banging on the windows of his shop.

« They were trying to climb in the windows on top of the people who were dining, so we pushed them out, we closed the doors and we locked the front doors, » he says. « Whatever they had in mind, to me, it was like a home invasion. »

Parents Called Out As Police Step Up

I ran for mayor, I didn’t run for mother. So, I can’t take care of everybody’s child.

– Mayor Michael Nutter

It wasn’t the first violent flash mob for Philadelphia this year. In two other incidents, kids pushed down pedestrians outside City Hall and poured into the Macy’s department store, where they tore merchandise off the shelves.

Of the 30 kids picked up and charged in those earlier incidents, 29 were hit with felony convictions.

After the third incident, Mayor Michael Nutter stood with a phalanx of police near South Street and warned parents to get better control of their children — or face charges of their own.

« Parents have a responsibility here, so we will do all that we can. I ran for mayor, I didn’t run for mother, » he announced. « I can’t take care of everybody’s child. »

Nutter says he will make the city’s curfew earlier if the flash mobs continue. One state lawmaker wants to bring back the mounted patrols. Police have created a special rapid response force.

Merchants, parents and police are scratching their heads trying to explain the explosion of violent flash mobs. The city’s new district attorney, Seth Williams, says it comes down to the proliferation of computers and cell phones.

« Before, it was just you tell someone to meet you somewhere — if there was a fight you meet them at the school yard, » Williams says. « Well now, instead of just 10 or 20 kids at most knowing about something, now you have 1,000 kids showing up at an intersection. And that’s a problem that we as law enforcement have to try to deal with. »

Just A ‘Night Of Fun’

Benjamin Hamilton, 15, says he’s never participated in a flash mob, but he knows kids who have.

« They talk about it like it’s a game, or like it’s just a night of fun, » Hamilton says. « And really it’s not, because it’s really affecting people in ways they can’t imagine. They might be affecting somebody that might get injured, or hurt, or emotionally hurt. »

Hamilton says kids he knows dismiss the crackdown and the stiffer curfew.

Some teens did speak out on a local radio show about the incidents. But after one was targeted as a snitch, he was too afraid to speak.

The kids said the flash mobs were organized by « party groups. » Some speculated that gang members took advantage of chaos.

It’s been more than a week since the most recent violent flash mob sprung up, but police are concerned about this weekend, when temperatures are expected to be in the 70s.

Philly flash mobs: ‘Happenings’ turn violent

poconorecord.com

March 30, 2010

Teens in Philadelphia are using social networking sites to spur essentially purposeless, and inherently destructive, mass gatherings. Wise parents will keep closer track of their children’s phone and on-line activities.

The sometimes excessive cost of teens’ yakking and texting has become the butt of television advertising. But violent « flash mobs » are no laughing matter to downtown Philadelphia shoppers and store owners. Five times over the past year mobs have thronged in the city, inflicting property damage, injuries or both. A family court judge found 28 guilty of felony rioting in connection with a Feb. 16 mass gathering during which 150 teens raced through a department store, fighting and breaking items. On Feb. 26 hundreds of youths rampaged through a shopping district, throwing merchandise and knocking over pedestrians. Another judge convicted 10 youths of felony rioting. Four others agreed to plead guilty. Police say notices spread on Internet social networking sites spurred the activity.

Today’s youth have grown up on line, and they’re used to communicating by text message, Twitter, Facebook and other electronic means. So it’s easy these days to spread the word, and after all, kids just want to have fun. A mass « gathering » sounds like a thrill, a chance to spend time with tons of kids your own age who are just out for a good time. It’s also all too common for such gatherings to turn violent and destructive. Even if most kids behave, a few can do a lot of damage.

On Saturday night, March 20, as many as 2,000 teens swarmed through 10 blocks of South Street, blocking traffic, jumping on cars and pushing around bystanders. Three were arrested, but a number of stores and restaurants closed early, fearing problems. Not good for the reputation of the City of Brotherly Love or its economy.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey is reaching out to law enforcement officials in other cities, asking whether they have seen similar activities and seeking guidance if they have. Philadelphia itself is increasing its enforcement efforts, tightening its curfew for minors and stiffening penalties. Police are also monitoring social networking sites and message boards looking for a heads-up of future gatherings. Transit officials are on the lookout for spikes in ridership with the same destination. The mayor has tapped the FBI and school officials as well for help.

Smart kids will beware « happenings » that have no organization or real purpose, knowing that they’re likely to lead to trouble. But plenty of kids — and police say middle-school-age kids have been involved, too — have not yet developed the maturity to judge the risk of such activities.

So heading off such potentially dangerous events is really up to parents. They should be keeping track of what their kids are doing on the computer and with their cell phones. They should be talking to their kids about the personal physical danger they’re risking, not to mention the possibility of a criminal record that could blight kids’ future employment. Too many teens aren’t capable of thinking that far ahead. Responsible parents will do it for them.

Flash mob crackdown in Philly focuses on teens, not technology

computerworld.com

Texting, Twitter bringing groups together quickly, but that’s not causing the violence

By Matt Hamblen

March 29, 2010

Computerworld – In Philadelphia, the mayor and police have cracked down on mobs of teenagers that turned violent and that police believe learned about the gatherings through « flash mob » wireless communications, including texting and Twitter.

The police and mayor don’t blame the technology for the violence directly but recognize that texting and other wireless communications can bring large groups together quickly, the same way that protesters in Iran and other countries learned about a demonstration last June when other means of communication weren’t viable.

The difference between the crowds in Philadelphia and protests abroad is perspective. U.S. wireless companies and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone praised wireless technology for promoting citizen involvement as recently as last week at the CTIA conference.

Representatives of the CTIA, an association that represents wireless carriers, and Twitter didn’t respond to requests for comment on the situation in Philadelphia, where police say violent flash mobs gathered at least four times in the past year.

On March 20, police told the Associated Press that witnesses estimated that as many as 2,000 teenagers thronged narrow sidewalks, blocked traffic, jumped on cars and roughed-up bystanders in a 10-block strip near South Street that led to three arrests. Other accounts have mentioned broken store displays and other damaged property. Some experts have attributed the violence to cuts in state programs for youth as well as a lack of parental supervision.

To curb the trouble, Mayor Michael Nutter organized a walk through the South Street area last Saturday night, a week after a mob turned violent, and that effort is believed to have helped bring calm to the area. Nutter said the earlier violence was the result of youthful « stupidity » and not the technology that helped bring the teenagers together.

Richard Ross, deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department was quoted by CNN as saying some violent participants took advantage of the large group generated through quick communication, resulting in « all kinds of mayhem. »

Bloggers also said the flash mobs in Philadelphia weren’t incited by the technology. Gawker.com blamed the ugly outcome indirectly on a breakdancing crew that frequents the South Street blocks.

Ben Waxman, a columnist at Philly.com, said the city has been riled by some « flash-mob hysteria, » adding, « It’s true that there have been multiple instances of flash mobs in recent months, but that doesn’t excuse the hype. »

Waxman was criticized by commenters for his opinion, many of whom want the city to do more about the mobs. Some suggested that the police or the FBI should monitor social networks, although some analysts said it is impossible to follow every text in real time or to react in a meaningful way.

The mayor said he might move up an existing curfew, which could help blunt the ability of a large group to gather quickly late at night.

Jack Gold, an analyst at J.Gold Associates, said of the whole Philly affair, « You can’t blame technology for anything, only the people. » It is no different from the way « electricity does many wonderful things but can electrocute you. »

Similarly, the Internet, for all the good things it has achieved, has also helped hate groups organize, even al-Qaeda, Gold noted.

The irony is how technology promoters, including wireless carriers and innovators, extol the virtues of wireless technology when the outcomes seems positive. « Look at how crowds could get together quickly in Iran with texting, » Gold said. « Certainly, we’d find that positive, but the government there would not. »

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt’s RSS feed. His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.

~ par Alain Bertho sur 4 avril 2010.

Publié dans émeutes, riots