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January 10, 2007

Has the Left Coast Gone MAD?!

I mean, they were (no pun intended) WHACK bastards already, but enough is EEEEEEnough.

Yale barbershop singers recovering after ambush

Members of a close-harmony group from Yale University are recovering after being ambushed and beaten up while on tour in California.

Members of the a cappella Baker's Dozen were performing at a party in San Francisco at the new year when their rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" apparently sparked taunts and threats from fellow partygoers.

As the group left the house, they were attacked by dozens of assailants, suffering scrapes, black eyes and concussions, said Connecticut's News Channel 8.

"Besides any bruising or scrapes to the face, the main injury I suffered was I broke my jaw in two places," one of the singers, 18-year-old Sharyar Aziz, was quoted as saying.


Yale is a liberal school!

They were singing the NATIONAL ANTHEM!!

One of the guys' name is AZIZ, for Chrissakes!!

Arnold's socialist medicine plan doesn't cover them yet!!

UPDATE: You really have to question San Francisco's 'inclusive' image after this. As I said in the comments, this group looks like they had every ethnicity covered and got pounded for...dressing conservatively...among other things.

...The trouble started at midnight after The Baker's Dozen sang "The Star Spangled Banner." Witnesses say a few local young men didn't appreciate the attention the Yale students were getting, made fun of their conservative dress and began taunting them and making threats.

Leanna Dawydiak, Hosted Party: "They had something here special that these other fellas obviously didn't have and that irritated them."

Witnesses say 19-year-old Richard Aicardi was the most aggressive.

Sharyar Aziz: "'You're not welcome here,' he called a few members of the group, whether it was fag or homo, very, I would say, juvenile taunting."

Aicardi took out his cell phone and called in reinforcements.

Reno Rapagnani: "He said, 'I'm 20 deep, my boys are coming.'"

One of the vehicles that brought the attackers was captured by surveillance camera at a church across the street. As The Baker's Dozen left the house, they were ambushed -- five, six, seven assailants attacking each member.

...What especially concerns the Aziz family -- when police arrived, they detained four of the attackers who were identified by members of The Baker's Dozen, but officers did not make an arrest. And a full week later, they still haven't made an arrest.

...Police investigators didn't even bother to photograph the injuries to The Baker's Dozen. The couple who held the party that night took pictures.

Leanna Dawydiak: "Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems as a citizen in San Francisco that something should be done a little more than has been."


Next from the chorus, a stanza of "I Left My Heart, Three Teeth, a Pair of Glasses and What's Left of My Jaw...in San Francisco".


Posted by tree hugging sister at January 10, 2007 12:11 PM

Comments

I am appalled. A little more detail here.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at January 10, 2007 12:20 PM

Wow, that's disgusting.

(Especially since anti-homosexual slurs were hurled at the singers in San-frickin-Francisco. Good grief.)

I wonder if it could be classed as a "hate crime" against people who are (apparently) being patriotic? Or a hate crime against barbershoppers? (I know a few people who hate barbershop music with a passion - and a few people who hate Dixieland Jazz - but I don't think they'd ever stoop to bodily harm).

Posted by: ricki at January 10, 2007 04:26 PM

Ya know, ricki, the picture I saw looked like the warblers had pretty much every ethnic group covered. Exactly WHO would be safe in that happy city by the sea then?

Posted by: tree hugging sister at January 10, 2007 05:16 PM

Actually, reading your update, it makes a bit more sense to me.

The attack kind of fits in with the attitude of losers everywhere: "If I'm not getting enough attention, I'm going to break something." or "If someone or something seems to be better than me, I'm going to break it, because nothing can be better than me."

Feh. Most 2 year olds have more self control than that, even.

I dunno - I know Yale would never do this, but - if I were their admissions director, I'd be seriously tempted to deny any student, no matter how promising, from SF, and send them (and their parents) a copy of the article about the barbershoppers as way of explanation.

Posted by: ricki at January 10, 2007 06:10 PM

This is exactly why Concealed Carry Laws are necessary everywhere.

"You brought 20 boys, I brought 30 rounds. Let's party!"

Posted by: Gunslinger at January 10, 2007 06:53 PM

Yup. The SFPD is seriously f'd up.

Posted by: mojo at January 11, 2007 01:33 PM