the smell of mayhem was in the air

[Luff]

I got to school at JMU in Virginia and every year on alumni weekend there's a big outdoor party organized by students at off-campus student townhomes. Tents set up, stages with bands/DJs performing, thousands of people from all over come to it (estimates were at 8,000 attendees this year), and just drinking like no tomorrow. Most years it goes smoothly. There are some fights but nothing too big and out of control, just everyone having a good time. This year the numbers of people coming into town kept swelling and things just started getting blown up beyond control. The party started on Friday at the first location around 1 pm, but got broken up after a few hours.

Yesterday, everyone started flocking to location two to keep the party going. It started off fine, the usual block party. Then, my friends and I hear a chant starting, "Show your tits!" and we look over and see a few girls dancing on top of a transformer in the field. Well, as the girls are about to, a beefed up, steroided out bro jumps up and rips off his shirt and starts flaunting his muscles. People were pretty outraged at being denied boobs and someone flung a beer can at the guy. Soon after someone liked the idea and threw another one. Then someone shook a beer, pierced it, and threw it so it started spraying over the crowd. Then all hell broke loose and people were just chucking empty cans along with full beer cans into the air and across the field. People up on baclonies were throwing them across. It was raining beer and cans. Then it got even more out of control and people started throwing bottles, 40 bottles, liquor handles, wine bottles, boxes, coolers, whatever was throw able.

At this point it was just out of control, hundreds of objects flying through the air, everyone soaking with beer, people getting hit in the face, head, everywhere. People getting knocked out from flying bottles. My friend next to me got hit with a can in the air and started pouring blood. My girlfriend got hit on her head. Bottles whizzing by in every direction. We started pushing to the crowd to get out of the party and back to my friends apartment but we couldn't get through the crowd, so we took up shelter behind a shed. The police tried to get order back but did nothing. People turned their focus towards the cops trying to push everyone out and break up the party and started aiming all of the flying projectiles at the cops. The police all pulled out to regroup at the newly instated "headquarters" at a hotel nearby.

By this time, riot units and the national guard had been called in and state police armored tanks were driving up. The road into the complex had been shutdown. The tanks and trucks stopped and state police in full riot gear started piling out. Masks, bullet proof vests, shields, the works. They gave one final warning for people to disperse from the area as they surrounded the perimeter and prepared to push into the crowd to move back. Some, like my friends and I, listened and started trying to make our way out. Others, refused, and started throwing more objects at the police and screaming obscenities and the works. In an attempt to regain control, the police resorted to drastic measures. The pop of a launcher was heard and a trail of white smoke arched into the air headed towards the middle of the crowd...tear gas. Mayhem. People started screaming and just scattered sprinting off in every direction. The closest people to the line of riot shields pushing the crowd back were being maced at any sign of resistance. At this point my friends and I had made it out and met up with some other friends on the outskirts of them mayhem.

People were running out, dumpsters were being lit on fire and flames flew into the air two stories tall from all over. More tear gas was being shot into the crowd and people were running covering their face the best they could as their eyes swelled and their faces bright red with tears pouring down their face. A helicopter circled over head with a spotlight as the sun went down.It was just madness. Lightpoles torn down. Street signs destoryed. Windows were broken through all over. Cars dented, windshields smashed. Fires started. People fighting all over the place. Bloody faces. Ridiculousness.

Now that I can say my friends and I suffered no serious injuries except some minor tear gas effects and no arrests, this was one of the craziest things I have ever witnessed.

Moral of the story: Show your tits or chaos will take over.

Cliffnotes: Huge outdoor party of about 8,000, girl doesn't show tits, peopel get upset start throwing things. Chaos ensues. Riot police attempt to regain control. Tear gas launched. More chaos. Things lit on fire. More things destroyed. Madness.

[Noodles]

hahahaha crazy story and great moral.

[zeus]

my friend was there, told me it was insane

[xsjado916]

http://www.youtube.com/v/uJJNTLwGLFo&hl=en_US&fs=1&

[dukiedude13]

Luff, Im so happy to say I was there and witnessed the exact same fucking thing. I visited my friends this weekend but i had to come back to school today. Fucking awesome though

[Luff]

http://www.youtube.com/v/1vqs9eql1W8&hl=en_US&fs=1&

[xsjado916]

just about to post that one...pepper balls point blank

[zeus]

i wish i was there catching full beer cans.

[GnipGnop]

I think this all could have been avoided if everyone was carrying a loaded weapon.

[MDskimmerMAtt]

i was so mad that i couldnt go to this shit.

[skimiks]

holy shit

[RUM_RUNNER]

http://www.youtube.com/v/1vqs9eql1W8&hl=en_US&fs=1&

Haha sorry, kids. That hippie stuff doesnt fly these days.

*Sneak attack* "Fuck that shit"

[BART]

I think this all could have been avoided it everyone was carrying a loaded weapon.haha

[mcwhitt]

the police should have made it more interesting and went 300 and started impaling people and shit

[zeus]

i want to see pictures of said tanks

[Luff]

http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs388.snc3/23698_100756966634851_100001016435003_4251_2874213 _n.jpg

[ThatGuy]

Oh JMU. I had some friends that went there.....great place to party!

[JackSnack]

looks like a fucking blast to me...lol at the song why cant we be friends

[ThatGuy]

Dumpster Fires.....FTW!

[Luff]

This stupid thing is blowing up like wild fire, great. Thanks a lot to all of the students/people who don't even go to JMU who started this shit.

[Chev]

Im confused by your reaction to this luff? Why do you seem pissed that it got publicity? Did the media make it seem like carnage and cannibalism in the streets?

[skimfl]

The media showed drunk kids throwing bottles at cops, lighting fires, and tearing down stuff chev. Then cops doing their jobs. How do you not get how that's a bad thing?

[Luff]

Im confused by your reaction to this luff? Why do you seem pissed that it got publicity? Did the media make it seem like carnage and cannibalism in the streets?

I don't go to college to be portrayed as a student body who riots at the sight of police presence. If the police come to a party, you should leave. It doesn't matter if you think they should be there or not, if they're there, they're the authority, you listen. It's a party, not a revolution.

Most of the people causing all the problems were not even JMU students. They were people who heard about the event through Facebook and traveled into town for it, but so much of the blame is falling down on JMU. People are misinformed, especially locals.

I put a lot of blame on the police. I've been to this same event every year I've attended JMU (three), and everytime the police bulk up forces all weekend. They've got bike cops, undercover cops, normal cops, out of town cops, state police, everything. They patrol the party areas all day long starting early in the morning. If you step off of private property with an open container, if you start any trouble, you're getting pulled over by a cop. Last year I saw someone pull a knife out just to show it to someone in an obviously non-threatening way, and he still got yanked by a cop. The cop understood and just basically told him, "Don't pull out a weapon, that's stupid." No tickets, but still.

This year, the first officers didn't even show up until late afternoon. By this point things were beyond control. Normally, you walk into the street with an opened beer, instant open container ticket. If you're underage, you're off to the drunk tank. This year, people were marching through the streets chugging liquor because there was nothing to stop them.

Either way, it was a pretty fucking awesome thing to experience, but in the end, it sucks for all of us that did nothing wrong and participated in the event responsibly as we always have, but we're ultimately going to have to face any consequences this causes.

[ThatGuy]

this has happened at JMU before though....back in like 2000 or 2001. The only difference is YouTube and media coverage

[Luff]

I also noticed one of the most incredible pieces of bias in my school's newspaper. I've never been a fan of how the students report news here. The paper is terrible. Always biased, worthless news with horrible writing. But, when reading the article, anyone in support of the police or giving negative opinions on the party were only mentioned by first name. All of these speaking negatively about the actions of the police were mentioned by first AND last name, clearly identifying them. With the police using videos on Youtube as well as videos taken by officers to continue investigation, I'd be very weary to have my first and last name out there criticizing the job they did.

[RUM_RUNNER]

Can't blame the media for this one. They were just doing their job as well. Edit: minus Luff's school newspaper post

What makes me mad is that it was meaningless rioting. I'm all for standing up against oppression including using violence but when those punks were standing there, arms locked with peace symbols after they started/participated in the carnage, it just makes peaceful/necessary protests look pointless. Pepper spraying those fools would have been a treat.

[Luff]

this has happened at JMU before though....back in like 2000 or 2001. The only difference is YouTube and media coverage

Yup, no one knew about that event. Now everyone is like "OMG THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE NOW!"

[Luff]

Can't blame the media for this one. They were just doing their job as well.

What makes me mad is that it was meaningless rioting. I'm all for standing up against oppression including using violence but when those punks were standing there, arms locked with peace symbols after they started/participated in the carnage, it just makes peaceful/necessary protests look pointless. Pepper spraying those fools would have been a treat.

Oh, I completely support all of the police action. There was plenty of warning to leave the area, but so many people just refused, thinking they're standing up for some just cause. So many people ate saying if the police had not tried to break up the party, people wouldn't have thrown any bottles, which is complete BS. I was there when the bottle throwing began and the police were in no sight. People were throwing bottles at idiots who were standing up on an electrical box as targets.

I just don't like how the media is portraying it.

[ThatGuy]

yah i was reminiscing about that last riot last night with some boys that were OX back then.

[RUM_RUNNER]

Oh, I completely support all of the police action. There was plenty of warning to leave the area, but so many people just refused, thinking they're standing up for some just cause. So many people ate saying if the police had not tried to break up the party, people wouldn't have thrown any bottles, which is complete BS. I was there when the bottle throwing began and the police were in no sight. People were throwing bottles at idiots who were standing up on an electrical box as targets.

I just don't like how the media is portraying it.

Glad they were able to deploy a riot team so fast. Well written story by the way. I was on the edge of my seat

[Luff]

Glad they were able to deploy a riot team so fast. Well written story by the way. I was on the edge of my seat

Hahaha thanks, I probably could have done better without the burning throat from breathing in all that crap all day and a massive hangover :cool:

[carbonisyourfriend]

hahahahah the kid goes infront of the cops to protect them from a flying can and BOOM half nelson "FUCK THAT SHIT"

[CaboWabo]

Any thing involving pepper spray would have me running in the opposite direction like a fucking cheeta. Yeah..."Fuck that shit". Worst feeling in the world.

[skimiks]

hahahahah the kid goes infront of the cops to protect them from a flying can and BOOM half nelson "FUCK THAT SHIT"

haha ya that was one of my favs

[Luff]

Any thing involving pepper spray would have me running in the opposite direction like a fucking cheeta. Yeah..."Fuck that shit". Worst feeling in the world.

Hahaha yea people are so stupid. Kids were going right up to these cops long after it was known they were macing no questions asked, THEN would complain about police brutality after they got maced. Fucking morons. One guy has a picture of a cop spraying him. It's hilarious. He's like, "I'M SENDING THIS IN COMPLAINT!" Idiot. Police aren't standing in full riot gear for your entertainment. Too bad the whole area was considered an unlawful assembly long before he took that picture so just by standing there he was in violation of the law, being peaceful or not. Maybe macing a person taking a picture is a little extreme, but at this point they wanted the area clear and if people were not obeying, they were forcing them to.

"oh hey lemme get a pic of these riot cops...it'll be cool, they've only been telling us to leave for a few hours"

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs452.snc3/25899_513894086170_119900134_30546401_2186401_n.jp g

"OH SHIT MACE FUCK THE POLICE! POLICE BRUTALITY! I WAS BEING A PEACEFUL STUDENT!"

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs452.snc3/25899_513889380600_119900134_30546271_7906784_n.jp g

[xsjado916]

Well written story by the way. I was on the edge of my seat

thought the same..

People thinking there are standing up for something makes me cringe, but then I realize that we need people to make license plates...

[ZapBulletRider]

Yeah I'm w/ Luff on this one, this can only mean bad things for his college experience. Much more locked down on parties, etc. When I was at school the frats had to have "dry rush", so no kegs or anything like that for rush. People always talked about how bad it sucked compared to the way it used to be. There was still alcohol floating around, but it was hard to get to as a freshman unless you showed interest in pledging (which I faked). I'm sure JMU will take some sort of action to minimize the possibility of this happening again, and that's just gonna mean bad things for block parties.

[Mapdash]

for the record i wasnt trying to show people my muscles i was just trying to party.

[ZapBulletRider]

for what it's worth, your tits were probably better than theirs

[Luff]

hahahaha

[DJ-NJ]

/thread.

[DJ-NJ]

nice story luff you faggot. +1 whoever said it was well writen, i think so too haha. i reaqd a few posts after luff's to see the general response...needless to say.. i kept reading

[Luff]

there are just so many stupid kids who are making it worse and worse. like videos of kids yelling "fuck the government, fuck paying taxes, i hate them, and i wanna FUCK THEM UP (pointing to the police)." All these pople chanting JMU as they just vandalize the shit out of private property when I bet 95% of them don't even attend the school.

Shit, I remember when I had my first beer.

[MDskimmerMAtt]

haha i know a lot of my friends were up there this weekend but they got out before they were gassed

[Luff]

Def not. I was standing back drinking and laughing.

[Luff]

I'm not down with going to jail

[socalsurfer]

There were a few kids in my classes who went and said it was pretty crazy, none complaining about the police though.

[LAXitives288]

You fail at shenanigans.

You fail at recognizing whats going on in this situation.

[ZapBulletRider]

There were a few kids in my classes who went and said it was pretty crazy, none complaining about the police though.

they are probably cops

[Luff]

Oh, I forgot to mention that this weekend was also CHOICES, which is JMU's annual orientation visit for all the people who got accepted into the university and want to take one last tour. So, it's basically JMU's final attempt to sell the school to future students.

So, Monday, all the parents picked up copies of the student newspaper with a picture much like this:

http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2010/04/12/PH2010041204293.jpg

and WARZONE inscribed in giant bold letters over the top.

EDIT: hahaha

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/object2/1644/0/n113087485380166_429.jpg

[TheSeaCowww]

it sucks for those that actually go to JMU, like you said 95% of the people doing stupid shit didnt go there. I know a bunch of high schoolers went which I think is ridiculous. They need to learn to grow up a little before consuming more alcohol than they think they can handle. and a bunch of immature fucks from odu went. There's a video on facebook of some people ripping down a sappling (like 20ft tall). wtf? forreal?

[Luff]

it sucks for those that actually go to JMU, like you said 95% of the people doing stupid shit didnt go there. I know a bunch of high schoolers went which I think is ridiculous. They need to learn to grow up a little before consuming more alcohol than they think they can handle. and a bunch of immature fucks from odu went. There's a video on facebook of some people ripping down a sappling (like 20ft tall). wtf? forreal?

Oh yea, people went nuts. Ripping down stop signs, light poles, trees. whatever and throwing them in dumpster fires. It sucks. JMU sent out a text to all students long before things got way otu of hand saying leave the area for your own safety. Most of us by that point were long gone because all the belligerent assholes had ruined block party long before this. Then all the heat from that falls on JMU students. Plus, it sucks, because I will be VERY surprised if there is another block party next year. It'll probably be a few years before the tradition can be started again. And block parties are awesome, it's what JMU is known for, well, one thing,

It all just shouldn't have happened. Property owners, JMU admin, and the police just tried to stamp out the event. That was completely the wrong way to handle it. It had been planned for about a month already, and they tried to stop it just a couple days before? Impossible. Cooperation was needed.

Police should have been on the scene in bulked up patrols like in years past keeping people in control. Every year but this (besides back ten years ago) nothing even close to this happened. No bottles were thrown. The biggest thing were some small fights. It was a good atmosphere. Bands playing. Red bull and other companies tents set up sponsoring the event. Just a good time.

This year, there was NO police presence. Without the threat of police on the borders at all times, people just went out of control. And because there were efforts to close down the event, no sponsors were there, no real bands, it was just drinking in a field. People got bored. With no police presence keeping things responsible, people started throwing shit. Then calls were made saying people were throwing bottles and it was chaos. Police showed up onto the scene in full riot gear. All that did was further incite this crowd of angry drunk young people and instilled a mob mentality, which just resulted in pure chaos.