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Saturday, January 10, 2009

Ricin: The Pub Crawl

Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 12:48 PM

The pub crawl—or at least five out of the 11 bars, which was all I was man enough to make it to last night—was mobbed. As the doorman at C.C.Attle's succinctly put it, "Yeah, everybody's out tonight. They're like, 'FUCK YOU, RICIN MAN!'" Most crawlers did not estimate the threat to their lives to be a serious one. "I think it's bullshit," said C.C.Attle’s patron John Zima ("like the drink—they discontinued it, so hopefully people will forget soon").

The defense of the lifestyle was adamant: "Nothing scares us," said a gentleman named Francisco at the Madison Pub. "We're gonna go out and spend our money and get drunk!"

The doorperson at the Wild Rose, asked for thoughts on the threat, said curtly, “It’s a full moon and a lot of people. That’s what I think.” (There was no line at the time.) A patron named Megan (beautiful in her eyeglasses) was more forthcoming, expressing serious concern about homophobia in general but, again, assessing the actual risk to personal safety as minimal. “I think you’re more at risk from your drunk friends”—one of whom was play-punching her—“than you are from any situation at the bar.”

Purr and the Cuff both had many signs posted about not leaving drinks unattended. Purr's read "For your safety, we will pull all drinks that are left alone." (A left-alone drink sounds so sad. Don’t do it, people!) At the Cuff, a handsome older fellow in leather chaps said thoughtfully, “I think it’s good to be safe, but I don’t think he’d send an invitation [like this]. It seems silly for him to try it when everyone’s expecting it.” The Cuff’s signage urged you to have a friend watch your drink or to just finish it (sound advice). Another, more permanent sign warned of “CHICKEN X-ING.”

Everywhere, people danced and embraced and made out with abandon. Everywhere, everyone planned to be back out at the bars tonight, in defiance of the demented, would-be ricin poisoner’s claim in his letters to the 11 bars that he would strike on a Saturday night in January.

At the end of the night, Kevin York of Pizza Fusion—which gave out free pizza to bar crawlers all evening, no proof-of-gayness required—said they’d had their busiest night since they opened a few months back.

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Comments (17) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
He's gunna strike SATURDAY Night with the Ricin. Can't you GAY folk get ANY thing Straight!
Posted by Sargon Bighorn on January 10, 2009 at 1:05 PM
2
YOU GAYS GOT RICK-TROLLED

SUCKERS!
Posted by i named my sea cat 'fishsticks' on January 10, 2009 at 1:22 PM
3
If the country responded to 9/11 like this we probably wouldn't be In a depression right now.
Posted by Wisepunk on January 10, 2009 at 1:29 PM
4
Was this whole thing based on the plot of "Vulgar Favors", the Andrew Cunanan story?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articl…
Posted by Versace! on January 10, 2009 at 1:33 PM
5
@3, something actually happened on 9/11/01
Posted by Just Sayin' on January 10, 2009 at 2:04 PM
6
"If the country responded to 9/11 like this we probably wouldn't be In a depression right now."

Yeah we all should have BOUGHT MORE FORDS and spent more non-disposable income, right? Fucking retards, I don't see how spending wads on credit and trillions of dollars of toxic default swaps, let alone the current trillions of dollars of Fed bailouts going on behind out backs would not have happened.
Posted by "never forget!" how stupid you are on January 10, 2009 at 2:10 PM
7
SGN has posted a great story on the ricin scare - sgn.org - there a second bar based story as well.
Posted by Tom F. on January 10, 2009 at 2:36 PM
8
#3 - if you were in New York on 9/11 you would know this is EXACTLY how we responded. I could have gotten my mail at the bar I was there so much instead of being at home. I will fondly remember those fellow drinking souls I spent weeks and months with after that day. I guess its good to know a good unifier during terror will always be liquor!
Posted by unred on January 10, 2009 at 2:53 PM
9
I LIKE GAY PEOPLE. THEY ARE SO NICE COMPARED TO STRAIGHT PEOPLE.
Posted by MaRYANNE on January 10, 2009 at 3:12 PM
10
"SGN has posted a great story..."

Somehow, I doubt that...
Posted by grumpersons on January 10, 2009 at 3:38 PM
11
@8

I should have said rural America. sorry, I knew how many NYC'ers bonded around
booze. I respect the way those people handled it.

@5 yup, and much of this country acted like a bunch of scared little pussies after it happened. Little old ladies in eastern washington were sending out emails on being careful because "terrorists could strike here next!" Yes this country, and esp NYC and DC got a pop in the mouth, but the places that actually got attacked handled better than the people that were never threatened.

@6 not sure what combination of meds (or lack thereof) made you make the jump from a community joining together to say "fuck off" to ignorance to buying a ford. So go take a bath and get back in your hole. I can smell your anon hippie B.O. through the tubes.

Posted by wisepunk on January 10, 2009 at 4:03 PM
12
Why do I suspect we're on the verge of a new term:

RICIN-ROLLED
Posted by Andy Niable on January 10, 2009 at 5:13 PM
13
#10

you can count the number of teeth in a horses mouth by prying it open and looking

read it, grumpy butt
Posted by Tom F. on January 10, 2009 at 7:24 PM
14
Hmmm, perhaps a struggling club owner decided to 'bring the community together'!
Posted by dickins on January 10, 2009 at 9:18 PM
15
@11

"@6 not sure what combination of meds (or lack thereof) made you make the jump from a community joining together to say "fuck off" to ignorance to buying a ford. So go take a bath and get back in your hole. I can smell your anon hippie B.O. through the tubes."

Hardly a hippie, a die-hard cynic that says that no amount of community strength would have prevented lenders, investment firms, the SEC, any and all oversight agencies in government, congress, and the like from fucking us over.
Posted by you're the one suggesting kumbaya, mannnn on January 11, 2009 at 4:34 PM
16
@3: um, isn't that what Bush said to do after the attacks?

what do you think of him now?

seriously.
Posted by hey hey on January 11, 2009 at 11:25 PM
17
It was pretty fun but way too crowded.

But great attitude!
Posted by Will in Seattle on January 12, 2009 at 1:31 AM

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