Callous Disrespect Taints a ‘Sacred Day’
| AR Articles on Black Myths |
|---|
| White Might, Black Fright (Feb. 1994) |
| What Race Were the Pharaohs? (Sep. 1994) |
| Loony Tunes (Mar. 1992) |
| Search AmRen.com for Black Myths |
| More news stories on Black Myths |
It was such a cowardly way to mark the birthday of such a courageous man.
After the parade honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday afternoon, a mob of teenagers swarmed a 7-Eleven store just off the parade route on King Boulevard. They grabbed candy, cookies, sodas, chips—ransacking the store in the process—and ran out without paying.
The commotion lasted less than a minute. The damage was minor. No one was hurt.
Unless you count the heartache felt by the store’s owner, Sundeep Bhatia, as he watched the ugly spectacle.
“Every day we have shoplifters,” Bhatia told me. “But for these kids to come from the parade and do this kind of stuff, on such a sacred day as this . . .”
Bhatia came here from India 20 years ago and spent 10 years working two jobs to save enough money to buy a 7-Eleven store in Inglewood, then another on King Boulevard near Crenshaw. He’s reconciled himself to the high cost of doing business in inner-city Los Angeles.
At the King Boulevard store, he spent $82,000 on security guards last year. He has 16 surveillance cameras streaming video to a backroom monitor. He contracts with a security firm that can summon the LAPD instantly and broadcasts periodic alerts over the store’s loudspeaker to let customers know they’re being watched.
Still, most of the time, he and his employees watch helplessly as shoplifters victimize the store. “Sometimes you try to stop them and they threaten you,” he said. “It’s not worth a confrontation.”
{snip}
I visited his store Wednesday and watched a security-monitor replay of Monday’s commotion.
On the screen, a horde of teenagers seemed to materialize out of nowhere, dashing between cars in the strip mall parking lot and pouring through the store’s double doors. The youths fanned out and swept down the aisles, knocking things off shelves, stuffing their pockets, shoving things under their baggy jackets.
An employee rushed over to block the entrance, to keep more from coming in. He was shoved out of the way by the raucous crowd, as the teenagers burst through the door to leave.
I counted at least 30 kids inside. They were clearly acting on a plan; there were too many and they moved too quickly toward their targets for their actions to be random. They seemed to be in high spirits, shouting and laughing the whole time. Most were boys, but a few girls were among them.
And though it was hard to tell on the grainy video, all the kids I could see looked black to me. And so, I took it personally.
{snip}
Still, it was painfully ironic to see the crowd of rowdy black teens, likely fresh from the parade, flaunting their disrespect so brazenly.
Bhatia told me he spent the morning watching televised tributes to King and the afternoon among the multicultural throngs watching the parade. “Everybody was so happy, everything was so nice. Then afterward, this,” he said, shaking his head as he gestured toward the images on the security screen.
{snip}
Email Sandy Banks at sandy.banks@latimes.com.
(Posted on January 28, 2008)
Comments
The only good thing about Michael King day is that it is in January. It is cold in most areas of the country. Even California and Florida have cold freezing rain storms in January.
So there is no outdoor celebration like 4th of July or Chinese New Year. Thank God. If Saint Palagarist day were in summer there would be mass riots and lootings every year. San Francisco tried a King day years ago. The ferals looted the vendors,raped and attacked their fellow celebrants. So the nonsense was ended after a few years of robbery and riot.
Be grateful for small favors
Posted by margaret at 5:01 PM on January 28
““Every day we have shoplifters,” Bhatia told me. “But for these kids to come from the parade and do this kind of stuff, on such a sacred day as this …”
Sacred day? Sacred day? Bhatia, you deserve whatever you get. But your food stamp fraud has probably bought you a mansion in Diamond Bar. One day’s looting is a small price to pay for 363 days of profitable food stamp fraud. Everybody but the clueless LA Times knows exactly why shopkeepers from the most corrupt cultures on earth run stores in black neighborhoods. Food stamp fraud.
Posted by at 5:05 PM on January 28
To do business in the “inner city”, which is a term for areas with a high density of blacks and hispanics, the overhead must be horrendous, due to shoplifting and holdups. Of course, to pass on that cost would be “racist”. I could hear the race hustlers now: “Black neighborhoods have to pay more for the same items than White neighborhoods.” And, if the business owners leave because of the high cost of operation, it would be “racist”.
You can’t win Whiteman. You can’t win.
Posted by Kyle at 5:25 PM on January 28
‘Bhatia told me he spent the morning watching televised tributes to King and the afternoon among the multicultural throngs watching the parade. “Everybody was so happy, everything was so nice. Then afterward, this,” he said, shaking his head as he gestured toward the images on the security screen.’
Welcome to America Bhatia. I continue to be amazed at how people can witness such savagery first hand but still call MLK Day a ‘sacred day’ and buy into the multicultural lies. I don’t know what it will take to wake people up. Honestly, I’m surprised that this was even reported by the MSM. This type of thing occurs whenever large groups of blacks congregate, even when it is to celebrate what is supposed to be a positive event for their people. Just look at what happens every year at Juneteenth celebrations around the country. The fact that this occured after a MLK Parade doesn’t surprise me at all. These “youths” had probably just finished hearing speeched about how much they had suffered because of the “evil” white man and how they were entitled to everything. I’m just waiting to hear news about a gang fight breaking out at an Obama rally.
Posted by Conrad R. at 5:35 PM on January 28
I am shocked, shocked! But I do wonder why the L.A. Times neglected mentioning MLK spent his last night in a debauch, and at some point knocked one of his “ladies” acrossed the room for complaining about female supernumary. Some courage!
Too, “no one was harmed” in the incident at the 7/11 only if you do not count the owner’s property loss, and a continued poor business climate in that neighborhood—which affects all residents.
Posted by PBL at 5:52 PM on January 28
Well, I’m sure no one is as stunned as we the daily readers here at AR News are…no one.
Posted by HH at 5:55 PM on January 28
“He’s reconciled himself to the high cost of doing business in
inner-city Los Angeles.”
_______
An inadvertant admission that blacks will steal.
Posted by at 6:05 PM on January 28
“Still, it was painfully ironic to see the crowd of rowdy black teens, likely fresh from the parade, flaunting their disrespect so brazenly.”
Few other than those of the “Black” community see the “irony” of “Black” “youth” celebrating their “culture”. What is truly ironic is that even enablers and apologists of such conduct, such as The Los Angeles Times, are beginning to truthfully report it.
Ronald
Posted by Ronald at 6:13 PM on January 28
Bhatia told me he spent the morning watching televised tributes to King and the afternoon among the multicultural throngs watching the parade. “Everybody was so happy, everything was so nice. Then afterward, this,” he said, shaking his head as he gestured toward the images on the security screen.
That’s where the illusion meets reality, unfortunately.
Posted by Tim in Indiana at 6:52 PM on January 28
This is just the tip of the of the machete. Wait for the 50th anniversary of mlk’s death and it will be 3,000 hitting a walmart instead of just 30.
Posted by Lars at 7:05 PM on January 28
The problem with this article is the writer has no understanding of black culture. What these blacks did is just their ways of celebrating according to the black african ways and traditions.
Posted by Moxey at 7:18 PM on January 28
This sort of “swarming,” wilding,”or “mobbing” behavior is a daily occurrence in some African-American communities. Yet, I have never seen or heard of it among Asian, Greek, Arab, Iranian, Polish, German, Irish, Jewish, or Cuban immigrants, or in their communities. Why? What is it about Africans that make them behave this way, whether they live in Africa, Haiti, New Orleans, or Los Angles?
Posted by at 7:26 PM on January 28
“Spent 82,000.00 on security guards last year.” Reminds me of a well liked entreupener we knew who owned a popular and busy rock bar in the night club district around here. One night without warning the place was shuttered and three weeks after that he was seen pushing a chili dog cart up and down the drag. The news spread like wildfire and concerned customers rushed over to hear about his personal “downfall”, ask how they could help and what it might take to get him back on his feet. He replied, “Downfall, hell! I`m NOT! losing 16 grand a month AND making 300 a night!”
Posted by Tim Mc Hugh at 7:26 PM on January 28
How can Mr Batia pretend to be shocked? He’s paying for more security than a bank has, just so he can sell potato chips and malt liquor, and he still expects Blacks to act civilized just because it’s MLK day? Oh well, it’s not my problem if Blacks rob Hindus, I don’t want either bunch in my country.
Posted by Schoolteacher at 8:06 PM on January 28
I don’t think what they did “disses” the MLK day, what they did is entirely consistent with the spirit of the MLK day and his life’s work. Wherever the real MLK went, black crime and violence shot way up in earnest, and white people joined right-wing groups like the Citizens Councils in droves.
Posted by St. Louis CofCC Blogmeister at 8:16 PM on January 28
I disagree. The teenagers understood the true meaning of MLK day. I wonder if this will be the start of a new trend?
Posted by flyingtiger at 8:24 PM on January 28
I feel bad for the store owner, but this is the consequence of doing business in black neighborhoods.
Posted by kitty at 8:55 PM on January 28
The great drive for equality, civil rights and the normalization and integration of blacks, in the United States, has never been more than a fantasy cooked up by white liberals. Black leaders (including King) never worked for anything except entitlements, communism, lining their own pockets, and various manipulations with no other purpose than to allow blacks to get away with criminal victimization of whites. NOTHING has changed up to the present day.
Well, almost nothing. Increasingly, whites are awakening to racial consciousness and seeing the scam for what it is. When the majority of whites are awake, blacks will be damn lucky if segregation is the method chosen to deal with the problem they have become.
Posted by at 9:14 PM on January 28
If Mr. Bhatia had been in the U.S. before 1968, he’d have
been aware of the irony of this incident. The recipient
of this singular honor - which is denied even to George
Washington - was an advocate of something called “civil
disobediance”: i.e., the philosophy that citizens have
the moral authority to defy any law they don’t like.
The shoplifters are just practicing the real philosophy
of “Dr.” King.
Posted by Larry at 9:45 PM on January 28
“On the screen, a horde of teenagers seemed to materialize out of nowhere, dashing between cars in the strip mall parking lot and pouring through the store’s double doors. The youths fanned out and swept down the aisles, knocking things off shelves, stuffing their pockets, shoving things under their baggy jackets.”
This is actually a MILITARY tactic called “Swarming.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarming_(Military)
“Swarming is a behavior in which autonomous, or semi-autonomous, units of action attack an enemy from several different directions and then regroup. “Pulsing”, where the units shift the point of attack, is a necessary part of swarming. Swarming is not limited to the pure human military realm. As the name suggests, it comes from insect behavior, although social insects (e.g., bees, wasps, ants) also use some of its principles in nest building, food gathering and reproduction.”
Posted by at 11:21 PM on January 28
He’s reconciled himself to the high cost of doing business in inner-city Los Angeles.
At the King Boulevard store, he spent $82,000 on security guards last year. He has 16 surveillance cameras streaming video to a backroom monitor. He contracts with a security firm that can summon the LAPD instantly and broadcasts periodic alerts over the store’s loudspeaker to let customers know they’re being watched.
Still, most of the time, he and his employees watch helplessly as shoplifters victimize the store. “Sometimes you try to stop them and they threaten you,” he said. “It’s not worth a confrontation.”
Doesn’t that say it all? This is what we’ve come to. Impotent and helpless to defend ourselves lest we impugn the integrity of miscreants.
Posted by sbuffalonative at 11:39 PM on January 28
MLK day is now “sacred”? Since when is honoring a communist, sexual deviant, plagiarist and madman a holy thing?
I feel sorry for that Indian who owns the 7 eleven store. He worked his behind off to open that place and now he’s the constant victim of blacks.
George Manuelian
San Jose, CA
Posted by George Manuelian at 2:46 AM on January 29
This surprises you? And you were expecting what, exactly?
Posted by The Incredible Shrinking White Man at 8:33 AM on January 29
The only thing surprising is that people find this behavior surprising. It’s the nature of the beast and it’s not going to change with a greater emphasis on black history or black heroes. It just gets more blatant and worse. That’s the trend.
Posted by sbuffalonative at 9:51 AM on January 29
Does the store owner have a gun beneath the counter? A few shots in the air might scare off these animals - of course, if he hit one, he’s probably be sharing a cell with Ramos or Compean.
Posted by June at 9:53 AM on January 29
Swarming and Wilding,so nice to have these descriptions of behavior in a first world society!
Posted by at 10:22 AM on January 29
“It was such a cowardly way to mark the birthday of such a courageous man.”
Or it was an transformative act of “social justice”, honoring MLK on this most “sacred” of days.
Long story short - they wanted free stuff and they got it.
Posted by CSinAL at 10:25 AM on January 29
Where is Jesse and Al when these things happen? Had the young men stealing been injured in some way they would have been marching. Why don’t black leaders spend time in these areas mentoring the youth? Why do they only come around when they can make excuses for them?
Posted by Kellie at 12:33 PM on January 29
A simple solution is to have the store sealed off. One enters and stands before a counter. The sales person is behind the counter and shielded by plexi-glass (“bullet proof glass”).
The shopper tells the clerk what they want, or hands them a list (if the shopper can write and spell), and the clerk gets it. The shopper then pays first and then the clerk puts the items in a rotating bin. The shopper thus gets what he/she wants and the clerk is not killed in the process.
Posted by LOGIC at 12:41 PM on January 29
When I was kid, growing up in Baltimore City and attending junior high school in the 1960’s at what was once called Hampstead Hill Junior High School. Back then, especially in the city, we didn’t have the luxury of riding school buses, like the lazy little bums have today. We walked to school in the rain, snow, it didn’t matter.
On the route to the school, there were always corner drugstores and little confectionary stores (the kind that sold penny candy and had the pharmacy in the back). I’d say, trying to remember back, there were probably 4 or 5 on the route to my junior high school. Everyday, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., everyone of those stores and pharmacies would close their doors. Because the black kids that were being forced to attend the Highlandtown schools, would pile into the stores and pass stuff along to each other, in other words they were doing a whole lot of shoplifting.
So nothing has changed, except in my opinion, the whole lot of them have gotten worse, alot worse. Why, because every since I was a kid, they have been getting away with just about everything and everybody is afraid to say anything or do anything because, you might offend somebody.
Posted by Gayle at 1:41 PM on January 29
I feel for the Indian owner. For over 10 years living with Blacks you almost get excited when you see an act of kindness, like picking up the garbage accumulating outside their door. There is quite a bit of it right now on my neighbor’s side, she has four kids, and there it sits. I have given up on this race. Let them kill, beg, borrow and steal from each other. I do not care a whit any more. That store owner is hopeful to see changes for the better in Blacks. I used to be hopeful, too, pal. Keep praying. There always Blacks who are kind, educated, work hard and don’t use race as an excuse for bad behavior, but I’ve found them to be far and few in my personal experiences.
Posted by at 2:25 PM on January 29
A simple solution is to have the store sealed off. One enters and stands before a counter. The sales person is behind the counter and shielded by plexi-glass (“bullet proof glass”).
The shopper tells the clerk what they want, or hands them a list (if the shopper can write and spell), and the clerk gets it. The shopper then pays first and then the clerk puts the items in a rotating bin. The shopper thus gets what he/she wants and the clerk is not killed in the process.
Posted by LOGIC at 12:41 PM on January 29
And there are quite a few stores and fast-food take outs in marginal areas of Chicago that operate precisely this way.
Posted by at 4:36 PM on January 29
>>>Why don’t black leaders spend time in these areas mentoring the youth? Why do they only come around when they can make excuses for them?
Because they’re AFRO-AMERICANS, silly! Afro-Americans, I might point out, have this incredible belief: Upon being born, they are to automatically be issued a life-long “GET OUT OF JAIL, FREE!” card. Which keeps them from being held accountable for any crime, misdeed or even racist talk.
You say you don’t believe it? Shucks, ask any Black. He/she will gladly confirm this to be true.
Posted by Fed Up at 4:53 PM on January 29
They didn’t identify the race of the shoplifters.
I guess we will never know.
Posted by Dennis at 5:28 PM on January 29
“The shopper tells the clerk what they want, or hands them a list (if the shopper can write and spell), and the clerk gets it. The shopper then pays first and then the clerk puts the items in a rotating bin. The shopper thus gets what he/she wants and the clerk is not killed in the process.”
LOL There’s already a system like that, it’s used in PRISONS! On second thought, it’s not a bad idea, maybe they would relate to it better.
Posted by idareya at 5:51 PM on January 29
“This sort of “swarming,” wilding,”or “mobbing” behavior is a daily occurrence in some African-American communities. Yet, I have never seen or heard of it among Asian, Greek, Arab, Iranian, Polish, German, Irish, Jewish, or Cuban immigrants, or in their communities. Why? What is it about Africans that make them behave this way, whether they live in Africa, Haiti, New Orleans, or Los Angles?”
Actually, Whites do this all the time. Though I will add a caveat to that statement. American whites on the whole seem to do a much better job restraining themselves, but their European cousins have become engulfed in mob behavior like this. I suggest watching any documentary on European hooligans. The British would raid stores on away game trips, coming back wearing all the clothing they had stole. Plenty of documentaries and books on it. Almost all hooligans are white, you will see some Black faces though.
Posted by at 6:05 PM on January 29
“This sort of “swarming,” wilding,”or “mobbing” behavior is a daily occurrence in some African-American communities. Yet, I have never seen or heard of it among Asian, Greek, Arab, Iranian, Polish, German, Irish, Jewish, or Cuban immigrants, or in their communities.”
I have personally witnessed a swarming robbery of a store in Stockholm by a gang of middle easterners/turks. Recently there was a news report of a swarming attack on an audio/video store in Landskrona by a gang composed of Albanians, who came prepared with 2 cars to cart away their loot.
Posted by Information Insurgent at 6:26 PM on January 29
This story sort of reminds me of what happened in my community back in 1967 when i was fourteen years old. I was in a small grocery store, which was located about a mile from where both the junior and high school was located, right after school one afternoon, when a group of about ten black teenagers from the junior high school entered this store. While one of them was purchasing a small item, the rest of the group started pocketing cake and candy off the shelves and then walking out the store. The storeowner, an elderly white man, was confused and overwhelmed by this activity and could do nothing. I remember feeling bad for the old gentleman. But can you imagine these blacks, at that age, being that shrewd and cunning and acting in such a “collective manner”. And this was back in 1967!
Posted by Rudy at 8:05 PM on January 29
LOGIC, I’ve seen stores in the really bad places of baltimore that work that way.
Posted by some guy from MD at 10:49 PM on January 29
The difference between blacks ‘swarming’ behavior and other races’ behavior is that in the black community it is considered normal behavior. Stealing is not a big deal for most blacks. Most whites, asians, & other people would consider this type of behavior outrageous and committed by the fringe, not the kids or parents next door.
Posted by Violet at 2:44 PM on January 30
“The difference between blacks ‘swarming’ behavior and other races’ behavior is that in the black community it is considered normal behavior.”
No, the difference is that when blacks do it, you don’t make excuses for it.
Posted by at 12:40 AM on January 31
“The difference between blacks ‘swarming’ behavior and other races’ behavior is that in the black community it is considered normal behavior.”
No, the difference is that when blacks do it, you don’t make excuses for it.
Posted by at 12:40 AM on January 31
LOL, excuses? Anyone think that swarming stores, looting, stealing, and general criminality is normal for whites and asians? Come on, what are you smoking?
Posted by Videogamr at 2:53 PM on February 2
Whites have always been taught to think and act as individuals, whereas the colored minorities have never evolved beyond a group tribal mentality and they never will…
Posted by at 12:17 PM on February 3