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News & ArtsMonday, January 14, 2013
City / The Ladies Overheard Across the Street From the Ballroom in Fremont Last Friday Night
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 1:00 PM
"There's someone puking in the bushes!"
"Hey, easy pickins', man."
(A few seconds later) "Ugh, it's a dude."
And that is why I do not drink in Fremont.
34
@26 What do you mean? It's got to be off the mark by at least 14-22 million, doesn't it? Unsubstantiated claims like "a quarter of all US adult men are rapists" cannot go unchallenged or uncorrected. It's a god damned lie.
Like I said the sexual assault rate in the US is abhorrent for a developed western country. You get no argument from me about that.
Let's at least start with actual facts.
Like I said the sexual assault rate in the US is abhorrent for a developed western country. You get no argument from me about that.
Let's at least start with actual facts.
33
@22, thank you. Surprisingly, I am aware that other restaurants exist in Fremont--in fact, I'd just taken my mom to a nice dinner at Revel. And, yeah, I'm also vaguely aware that people in the world make jokes. However, this "joke" has the same tenor of bros calling each other "faggot," i.e., the thrill of transgression combined with actual menace.
31
@22 Thank you.
@everybody As I Fremont resident I can tell you this: As much as I like any restaurant better than a Chase bank, Costas Opa was pretty terrIble.
Fremont needs a movie theatre, drugstore, another park and a playground for kids.
I don't mind the obnoxious drinkers which generally only start coming our at 10pm, but I do worry about them getting home safely and not hurting anyone else. I'm glad the #40 is now here, but we could use better nighttime service.
@everybody As I Fremont resident I can tell you this: As much as I like any restaurant better than a Chase bank, Costas Opa was pretty terrIble.
Fremont needs a movie theatre, drugstore, another park and a playground for kids.
I don't mind the obnoxious drinkers which generally only start coming our at 10pm, but I do worry about them getting home safely and not hurting anyone else. I'm glad the #40 is now here, but we could use better nighttime service.
30
On Capitol Hill, the same scenario could have taken place. Except the second comment would have been, "And, it's a dude!"
29
@26 No, it means there are roughly 22.2 million females who are victims of rape OR sexual assault. Sexual Assault doesn't neccesarily = rape. Also, it was recently brought to my attention that rapists commit on average 6 rapes. So 30 million is flat out wrong.
26
@25 On the same Wikipedia page I'm guessing you obtained those figures, it says that 15-20% of American women report being raped or sexually assaulted at least once in her lifetime. Even at the low-end, that means there are 22.5 million female rape victims in the US. So yeah, 30 million rapists is an over-estimate, but it's not that far off the mark.
25
@23 The FBI reports that sexual assaults in the US have declined nearly 60% since 1993.
A report by National Crime Victimization Survey, the per-capita rate of rape has declined from about 2.4 per 1000 people in 1980 to about 0.4 per 1000 people. A decline of nearly 85%. Though there are some questions about NCVS methodology - it's not wrong by more than a few percentage points.
The population of the US is around 314 - 320 million people. Just under half are male. If one in four adult men in the US were rapists - or quarter of ALL adult men - that would be over 30 million adult men in the US.
There are not 30 million rapists in the US.
The US shamefully has very high rates of sexual assault for a developed western nation, but sexual assault has been in steady decline for thirty years and trends indicate that the rate will continue to decline.
A report by National Crime Victimization Survey, the per-capita rate of rape has declined from about 2.4 per 1000 people in 1980 to about 0.4 per 1000 people. A decline of nearly 85%. Though there are some questions about NCVS methodology - it's not wrong by more than a few percentage points.
The population of the US is around 314 - 320 million people. Just under half are male. If one in four adult men in the US were rapists - or quarter of ALL adult men - that would be over 30 million adult men in the US.
There are not 30 million rapists in the US.
The US shamefully has very high rates of sexual assault for a developed western nation, but sexual assault has been in steady decline for thirty years and trends indicate that the rate will continue to decline.
24
@21, that's exactly what I mean. The continuity of long-established businesses anchors a community shopping area. It's especially valuable in an area that's undergoing a great flux, as Fremont is. It's also extremely valuable to have a mix of cultures and classes; Costas Opa was never going to be overflowing with hipsters or college students or web designers or software engineers, but that's a valuable thing to have. The soul of many Seattle neighborhoods is being sucked out of them, basically by a combination of alcohol and wealth. The only kinds of businesses that can thrive in wealthy white neighborhoods anymore are bars that serve as much alcohol as possible to as many people as possible, or trendy new restaurants that will be gone in a year whether they are successful or not. That's because all the cool kids buy all of their physical objects online now, so the stores have closed. And immigrants, who still have a thriving retail culture, are closed out of these neighborhoods. You have to go to Burien or Auburn to find them now.
I love watching soccer at the George early in the morning, and I love shopping for records at Jive Time (or the annex in the basement antique mall), and I love walking through the Sunday market; but Fremont is otherwise boring to me now. All the cool stores have shut. Maybe I'm just not high-end enough, or fratty enough.
I love watching soccer at the George early in the morning, and I love shopping for records at Jive Time (or the annex in the basement antique mall), and I love walking through the Sunday market; but Fremont is otherwise boring to me now. All the cool stores have shut. Maybe I'm just not high-end enough, or fratty enough.
23
just remember; one in four of these men are rapists. Someone should just start posting pics and addresses of these Fremont drinkers as a warning to the vulnerable public. The Rape culture is spreading to epidemic levels people!
[as a side note: I dressed up as a dude-bro for halloween last year; bro-face is the final frontier.]
[as a side note: I dressed up as a dude-bro for halloween last year; bro-face is the final frontier.]
22
Hmmm. First of all, you do know there is more in Fremont besides Ballroom (a horrible pit of despair) and Costas Opa/Chase Bank? Top of my head:
Hunger
Showa
Revel
Quoin
Agrodolce (new Maria Hines joint)
Roxy's Back Door
George & Dragon (OK, kind of awful on Fri/Sat)
Dubliner (ditto)
El Camino (ditto, but it's actually a pretty mixed crowd anytime)
Tzar (dumplings!)
PCC (best one in the city)
Chiso sushi
Flying Apron bakery
Silence Heart-Nest
Pie
Yeah there are a lot of frat bars around, but they're mostly empty except on the weekends. Friday and Saturday in Cap Hill is no picnic either...all sorts of assholes show up there, and lots of other places around town. Weekends are when the assholes emerge, like cicadas do every 17 years east of the Plains.
And before anybody accuses me of saying Fremont is on a par with Cap Hill, no, that's not what I'm saying. Cap Hill is way better. But that's not a fair comparison. Fremont is a freaky little bump of a neighborhood, while Cap Hill is way denser...it's practically an extension of downtown, and has been the center of hipsterism for decades.
As for these idiots you overheard, and I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here: Isn't it possible they were, you know, joking? Like the idea of having sex with a girl or a boy who is vomiting in the bushes being so ridiculous as to be comedic when put forth as an option? This is potentially just poorly executed sarcasm. Brodudes do a lot of poorly executed sarcasm.
But whatever. Y'all stay away and I'll keep enjoying the place.
Hunger
Showa
Revel
Quoin
Agrodolce (new Maria Hines joint)
Roxy's Back Door
George & Dragon (OK, kind of awful on Fri/Sat)
Dubliner (ditto)
El Camino (ditto, but it's actually a pretty mixed crowd anytime)
Tzar (dumplings!)
PCC (best one in the city)
Chiso sushi
Flying Apron bakery
Silence Heart-Nest
Pie
Yeah there are a lot of frat bars around, but they're mostly empty except on the weekends. Friday and Saturday in Cap Hill is no picnic either...all sorts of assholes show up there, and lots of other places around town. Weekends are when the assholes emerge, like cicadas do every 17 years east of the Plains.
And before anybody accuses me of saying Fremont is on a par with Cap Hill, no, that's not what I'm saying. Cap Hill is way better. But that's not a fair comparison. Fremont is a freaky little bump of a neighborhood, while Cap Hill is way denser...it's practically an extension of downtown, and has been the center of hipsterism for decades.
As for these idiots you overheard, and I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here: Isn't it possible they were, you know, joking? Like the idea of having sex with a girl or a boy who is vomiting in the bushes being so ridiculous as to be comedic when put forth as an option? This is potentially just poorly executed sarcasm. Brodudes do a lot of poorly executed sarcasm.
But whatever. Y'all stay away and I'll keep enjoying the place.
21
A Chase branch is a terrible waste of the location but I don't know how much anchoring Costas did. Unless by anchor you just mean it was a landmark everybody recognized.
20
Been feeling like I need to get off the Hill a bit more, and had this vision of Fremont being full of fun yuppie babes in their upper 20's and 30's.
Is this not the case?! Where, then? Where are the yuppie babes??
Is this not the case?! Where, then? Where are the yuppie babes??
17
@15, aye. The owner retired, and there's no one to take over. I guess a restaurant like that isn't something you can really sell to someone else. A Chase Bank, though -- soul killer.
14
The proper response to the "easy pickins" comment is a swift kick to the crotch of the person uttering such nonsense and then checking to make sure the drunk isn't about to die.
12
I'm gonna go waaaaaaayyyyyy out on a limb and say one of the reasons the fratties go to Fremont is because there are a lot of bars that cater specifically to them.
11
Fremont's pretty horrible on any night, not just weekends, though weekends are worse. I try to get out of there by eight when I have to go; the public urination has already begun by that time (I saw a guy pissing on a car door right in front of a restaurant window once, at 7:30 PM on a Thursday).
It's only going to get worse now that Costas Opa is gone, replaced by a Chase Bank -- which will never serve the same anchoring function of a restaurant. Banks aren't even open most of the time. If I lived in Fremont I'd be worried. This kind of activity will crush your neighborhood, and it will have trouble recovering even if the frat boys move on.
It's only going to get worse now that Costas Opa is gone, replaced by a Chase Bank -- which will never serve the same anchoring function of a restaurant. Banks aren't even open most of the time. If I lived in Fremont I'd be worried. This kind of activity will crush your neighborhood, and it will have trouble recovering even if the frat boys move on.
10
Hmmm...I would think drinking enough to puke in the bushes would be best be avoided in any neighborhood but each their own.
8
Fremont sucks on Fridays and Saturdays. I wish the bros and hos would go someplace else--like the u-dist.
4
I think danewood meant to say something like Why do the frats and ex-frats party there?
That's half a block from my house. Friday and Saturdays are like that.
That's half a block from my house. Friday and Saturdays are like that.
2
Fremont is awesome most of the time. But Friday and Saturday nights are intolerable. Why did you the ex-frat crowds party there?
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