Advocates director run in with racists at Vikings game

[gunnarthor]

Deepinder Mayall, who is the director of the Advocates for Human Rights’ Refugee and Immigrant Program, writes about his run-in with a racist clown at the Vikings game.  

 

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

I saw it earlier this morning.

 

The comments section is appalling and says a lot about the state of this country.

[Mike Sixel]

Do NOT read the comments, or the ones on FB. Don't do that to yourself.

[DaveW]

Goto any NFL Stadium and you will find a few thousand drunken idiot racists. None of this is shocking.

 

As far as the author being upset that nobody "stopped" the guy from saying that stuff, I can't really be too upset at that, when you see a drunk person ranting/raving the best course of action is to not confront them, of course if they are actively hurting/putting someone in danger that becomes an option, but if they are just "yelling, cursing, being an *******" I find you are better off to just find security and not confront them directly.
 

But yeah, again none of this is shocking or even a tad bit surprising, which is the truly sad part.

[DaveW]

 

 

The comments section is appalling and says a lot about the state of this country.

There have always been these sort of idiots spewing this non-sense in the country, the internet just gave them a voice to the whole country (instead of just their inbred relatives and low IQ buddies at their local watering hole)

 

The internet has just proven what has always been true:

 

50-75% of the population is either:

-an *******

-stupid

 

or both.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Do NOT read the comments, or the ones on FB. Don't do that to yourself.

I generally refrain from reading the second half of the internet but every once in a while, I need to be slapped back into the reality that people suck and say horrible, bigoted, racist things to one another and will defend their regressive viewpoint to the very end.

 

I don't have people like that in my real life. I've either distanced myself from them or they've gone underground, knowing I will lay into them if they say **** like that to my face.

 

It's important to occasionally get a reminder why it's important to fight.

[gunnarthor]

Yeah, the comments are really bad.  I've actually met Deepinder a few times and he's a really nice man.  There is no way he'd make up a story like that.  

[Squirrel]

 

Goto any NFL Stadium and you will find a few thousand drunken idiot racists. None of this is shocking.

 

As far as the author being upset that nobody "stopped" the guy from saying that stuff, I can't really be too upset at that, when you see a drunk person ranting/raving the best course of action is to not confront them, of course if they are actively hurting/putting someone in danger that becomes an option, but if they are just "yelling, cursing, being an *******" I find you are better off to just find security and not confront them directly.
 

But yeah, again none of this is shocking or even a tad bit surprising, which is the truly sad part.

The article didn't indicate the man was drunk. Was he? Even so ... that NO ONE did anything, drunk or not. At the very least this man was threatening and harassing ... security should've thrown him out. Period. And yeah, I get it ... we've come to expect this of drunken idiot fans ... and that's part of the problem, too.

[Squirrel]

 

 

Yeah, the comments are really bad.  I've actually met Deepinder a few times and he's a really nice man.  There is no way he'd make up a story like that.  

I made the mistake of reading some of them ... it really stabs hope in the gut. People don't want to face their own bigotry ... yes, Levi, sorry, I'm using that inflammatory word ... they don't want to face it, or even acknowledge anything wrong here.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

The article didn't indicate the man was drunk. Was he? Even so ... that NO ONE did anything, drunk or not. At the very least this man was threatening and harassing ... security should've thrown him out. Period. And yeah, I get it ... we've come to expect this of drunken idiot fans ... and that's part of the problem, too.

Without being there, I can't fault people for not interjecting.

 

I've seen situations like this in the past and didn't interject simply because it happened so quickly. Your thoughts are elsewhere and you don't notice the situation is escalating. You hear something, turn, and it takes a few seconds to process what's happening. You spend the next few seconds shocked, still unsure whether you're interpreting the situation correctly. Then it ends just as you realize something terrible is happening.

 

Maybe that wasn't the case but I can't fault bystanders without being there to see how it unfolded.

 

But yeah, security probably should have tossed the dude out on his ass.

[Squirrel]

 

Without being there, I can't fault people for not interjecting.

 

I've seen situations like this in the past and didn't interject simply because it happened so quickly. Your thoughts are elsewhere and you don't notice the situation is escalating. You hear something, turn, and it takes a few seconds to process what's happening. You spend the next few minutes shocked, still unsure whether you're interpreting the situation correctly. Then it ends just as you realize something terrible is happening.

 

Maybe that wasn't the case but I can't fault bystanders without being there to see how it unfolded.

Yeah, I know you're right ... but it just is so dehumanizing for all of us.

[Craig Arko]

I remember my wife and I nearly getting into fistfights with other 'fans' at the Dome over some of the stuff they were saying about Al Newman (during his playing days).

 

So this certainly isn't anything new.

[Vanimal46]

 

Goto any NFL Stadium and you will find a few thousand drunken idiot racists. None of this is shocking.

 

As far as the author being upset that nobody "stopped" the guy from saying that stuff, I can't really be too upset at that, when you see a drunk person ranting/raving the best course of action is to not confront them, of course if they are actively hurting/putting someone in danger that becomes an option, but if they are just "yelling, cursing, being an *******" I find you are better off to just find security and not confront them directly.
 

But yeah, again none of this is shocking or even a tad bit surprising, which is the truly sad part.

 

Agreed. To piggy back off of your point on nobody stopping the guy from saying that stuff, I'm sure we all like to think we'd do something to defend Mr. Mayall, and maybe some of us would. If I were in that situation, I'd be just as shocked as the victim hearing those things, and I don't know if I would do anything other than monitor the situation in that moment. If it really escalated, of course security should be alerted and the rowdy fan should be thrown out of the stadium. 

The problem is you don't know who you're actually dealing with in a crowd of 50k people. We've read the stories of fans getting seriously injured in fights at the stadium, people bringing knives into stadiums, it's really scary stuff. 

[DaveW]

 

The article didn't indicate the man was drunk. Was he? Even so ... that NO ONE did anything, drunk or not. At the very least this man was threatening and harassing ... security should've thrown him out. Period. And yeah, I get it ... we've come to expect this of drunken idiot fans ... and that's part of the problem, too.

I'd like to hope the man was  drunk, again nothing excuses that type of behavior or thinking to begin with.

Security should have tossed him, but your random "citizen" shouldn't have stepped it, it only would have escalated the situation and could have led to actual violence. Just look at all the fights and such at games over the years, Brian Stow, stabbings in parking lots etc. Sometimes it's better to just "ignore" and keep an eye on things then escalate them.

 

 

[DaveW]

 

 

Agreed. To piggy back off of your point on nobody stopping the guy from saying that stuff, I'm sure we all like to think we'd do something to defend Mr. Mayall, and maybe some of us would. If I were in that situation, I'd be just as shocked as the victim hearing those things, and I don't know if I would do anything other than monitor the situation in that moment. If it really escalated, of course security should be alerted and the rowdy fan should be thrown out of the stadium. 

The problem is you don't know who you're actually dealing with in a crowd of 50k people. We've read the stories of fans getting seriously injured in fights at the stadium, people bringing knives into stadiums, it's really scary stuff. 

The author should be commended as well, he himself showed a lot of restraint, how easy (and justifiable) would it have been for him to pummel the racist? Instead he went and got security like he should have done.

[Mike Sixel]

 

The author should be commended as well, he himself showed a lot of restraint, how easy (and justifiable) would it have been for him to pummel the racist? Instead he went and got security like he should have done.

 

Waiting for someone on the right to say none of this would have happened if the author had a gun and showed it off to get the guy to stop. That's what we are supposed to do, right? Use guns to stop potential violence?

[DaveW]

I will say though the author "shaming" the others in the section for not doing anything and then comparing it to white supremacists shooting up a BLM protest is a bit of a reach and is only going to "inflame" any rational discussion on the matter.

 

I wish he would have left that part out of the op ed.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Waiting for someone on the right to say none of this would have happened if the author had a gun and showed it off to get the guy to stop. That's what we are supposed to do, right? Use guns to stop potential violence?

Don't be ridiculous, Mike.

 

The guy is brown.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I will say though the author "shaming" the others in the section for not doing anything and then comparing it to white supremacists shooting up a BLM protest is a bit of a reach and is only going to "inflame" any rational discussion on the matter.

 

I wish he would have left that part out of the op ed.

Agree, unfortunately, when I saw the author use the words "I don't feel safe" I knew a ****-storm in the comments was coming.

 

Although "I don't feel safe" is just another term for assault, if I'm not mistaken.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Also, ass-holes at football games should be made to return punts but not allowed to call for a fair catch.

[DaveW]

 

Agree, unfortunately, when I saw the author use the words "I don't feel safe" I knew a ****-storm in the comments was coming.

Although "I don't feel safe" is just another term for assault, if I'm not mistaken.

The guy is a lawyer, so him grandstanding a bit in this article isn't shocking, also didn't care for the "I lived in NYC" 9/11 reference.

 

Again if he wouldn't have included these two things, perhaps a conversation could have happened, instead its just fuel to the fire for the racist yahoos.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I made the mistake of reading some of them ... it really stabs hope in the gut. People don't want to face their own bigotry ... yes, Levi, sorry, I'm using that inflammatory word ... they don't want to face it, or even acknowledge anything wrong here.

 

This is real bigotry, it's an absolutely appropriate use for it.  We keep the word powerful when we apply it correctly and appropriately to situations like this.

 

I got a lot of grief when I voiced my displeasure with the lack of family friendly options at Target Field but the truth is, as a parent, game day experiences are becoming less and less hospitable to anyone with a conscience much less anyone with children.  It's a haven for drunken stupidity and, in this case, racist harassment.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

 

Also, *******s at football games should be made to return punts but not allowed to call for a fair catch.

Where are the dollar signs Brock? Trying to make me look bad? Twins Daily broke already??

[DaveW]

 

Where are the dollar signs Brock? Trying to make me look bad? Twins Daily broke already??

The filters are down! Time to go wild!

 

****

Piss

****

**********

Tits

****

Mother****er

Nishioka

[Vanimal46]

 

I got a lot of grief when I voiced my displeasure with the lack of family friendly options at Target Field but the truth is, as a parent, game day experiences are becoming less and less hospitable to anyone with a conscience much less anyone with children.  It's a haven for drunken stupidity and, in this case, racist harassment.

 

I would say that an NFL or college football game day experience is much more hostile to bring young children around than an MLB or NHL game. Quite frankly I don't know how parents can protect their children at an NFL game. That kind of environment is no place for kids. 

[DaveW]

 

I would say that an NFL or college football game day experience is much more hostile to bring young children around than an MLB or NHL game. Quite frankly I don't know how parents can protect their children at an NFL game. That kind of environment is no place for kids. 

NFL games suck to attend anyways, even for adults. I wouldn't dream of taking a kid unless I was in "premium" seating that guarantees you are around actual human beings. 300 level or above in the "cheap seats" pass.

[formerly33]

Do NOT read the comments, or the ones on FB. Don't do that to yourself.

I spared myself. Still, one would imagine that in a few weeks these same commenters will celebrate the story of a Middle Eastern family desperate for shelter while coming up with snarky solutions to our current "issue with Muslims."

[Mike Sixel]

My neighbors are Muslim. They posted about this on FB. I said they might want to think before condemning the crowd. This might have happened in like 45 seconds. How fast would you react? Would you definitely do something? Would you even know what was happening all that fast?

 

Let's just say I'm taking grief on FB for not standing up to hate speech. I was asking for people to really think about how fast it happened, and how fast they'd decide what to do.....

[DaveW]

 

Did you put these in the wrong thread?

Son of a bitch!

[Squirrel]

 

Son of a bitch!

Fixed it for you.