Epic Beard Man, the documentary

Thomas Bruso, known on the internet as "Epic Beard Man," is the subject of a documentary which focuses on the release of a violent viral video that made him famous. Video: Part 1, Part 2.

(Thanks, Sean Bonner, via Blame it On the Voices)

Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

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3x10p8

Unlike a lot of Vets from our needless wars who have chosen suicide, Tom Bruso chose to stay alive and take it out on society in general. I salute his decision.

BTW: The memes have been mashed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTxcNzz4PMI
Anonymous

This video, all the hype around this kook, this post, and many of the comments only prove something I have long suspected: people are f’d up!
PapayaSF

The most amusing thing about the original video is that Beard Man just walked away from the confrontation, Cornrow Guy followed him and hit him first, got the crap beat out of him, and the lady with the camera says to Cornrow Guy: “You want to press charges? I got it on tape!” No, I don’t think the guy who started the fight will want to press charges….
Anonymous

http://trueslant.com/matthewnewton/2010/02/24/michael-the-man-beaten-by-thomas-bruso-aka-epic-beard-man-on-ac-transit-bus-speaks-out/
Anonymous

From the quality of the production,

I was expecting some deeper analysis on how Tommy is the way he is.

Although I guess it kind of speaks for himself.

Pretty sad though the level of attention he must be getting, musn’t be good for his mental stability.

I can’t help feeling uneasy with the freak show vibe going on with this instant celebrity.

Would have been good to have gotten more coverage from people in Oakland and how the media is being part of the story.
flatfive

EBM seems to have an interesting version of reality playing out before him, one which the rest of us don’t see. He may be a couple cards shy of a full deck.
Anonymous

forest slingblade?
Anonymous

Fifteen internet minutes of fame. Which equals how much in “real time”? Who knows. But I do know that the original video is pretty much like any other disturbingly banal internet fight video: it leaves you feeling sad after you watch it. I wanted to feel the EBM rulez!!!1!! vibe afterward, but instead I just felt sad for all parties. Sure, you can say the black guy “deserved it”, but in the end you see a poor black man who just got humiliated, and probably doesn’t have much going on for him. Not your stereotypical bully who’s asking for a wailing.

Verdict: depressing
- Jaan
  
  You and I didn’t see the same recording.
  
  I saw an old man, getting harassed by the absolute worse stereotype of a “gangsta”, getting assaulted, and then defending himself and beating up a bully who deserved it 10 fold.
  
  I just wish someone had beaten the woman who was yelling and egging him on as well.
Derek C. F. Pegritz

This guy is my new idol. I haven’t seen a person so completely *himself* in ages! I wish I lived near him–I’d hang out with this guy everyday.
Anonymous

he’s mentally ill and needs help. he’s been systemically failed by the state every time throughout his life when he needed help. he’s more proof that corrective institutions break peoples heads, especially i would suspect the time he spent in reform school and the “nut house”.
WheatConspiracy

Somebody better call the Amber Lamps…
FreakCitySF

He is my new hero and I don’t have many maybe any. I hope he’s ok in the long run with all the attention he’s getting he could get a bad crowd to mess with him. We also have found someone to take out Chuck Norris. I love Amber Lamps.
Anonymous

#11, you’re doing it wrong. Spelling, syntax, and form are all off. To properly pull off this meme, it would go something like, “I think Amber Lamps is a pretty cool guy. eh beats up strangers and doesn’t afraid of anything.”
Viceroy

It give me a lot of hope to see a man with that many issues is able to function.
joeposts

AMBER LAMPS NEW QUEEN OF /BB/
siliconsunset

Reinforcement of a common sense idea: don’t fuck with people. It’s simple, really, mind your business and don’t be obnoxious. Being polite and keeping to yourself will serve you well in life. I don’t have the slightest bit of sympathy for that man. He had a million chances to leave that situation alone and stop acting like a tough guy, instead he kept poking the bear with a stick and then was shocked that he got mauled. Had he been mauled by an actual bear, I doubt anyone would be defending him; they’d be saying he had it coming. EBM is much like a wild animal and should similarly not be provoked. Further proof that proper etiquette and a healthy does of MYOB will go miles for your health and well being. Assume that everyone is an unhinged psycho and/or carrying a gun and you’ll live much longer. Act like an ass and provoke/intimidate strangers at your own peril.
- Anonymous
  
  Really!?!?! Have you watched the video? EBM baits the guy with a racist remark by asking him for a shoe shine. EBM wants the fight. I don’t understand why people think this guy is some kind of hero. Unbelievable.
obdan

Why anyone gives this five minutes of attention is way beyond me, really.
Anonymous

What is up with people thinking this guy is cool? I see him deliberately baiting someone with racist comments until the person gets angry, then (though he moved away) continuing to verbally harass him. Finally the other guy loses his cool and gives him a little shove, and then he beats the crap out of him. EBM just looks to me like a classic bully. The other guy should have been smarter than to fall for his crap, and should never have gone near him, obviously. The whole thing is just pathetic and gives me no joy whatsoever.
Anonymous

Back in ’94, a saw plenty of fights on the bus in Oakland. The person I relate to most in the original video is the girl with the headphones on, sitting in the back of the bus, attempting invisibility.

That, and, guys that age are built differently. My pops (and pops-in-law) both seem to be made of stone.
- remmelt
  
  That girl is cute! Love the color combination, too.
Anonymous

Hello, I’m half of the team that runs http://iamamotherfucker.com/
we are selling replicas of EBM’s shirt and donating the profits to him.
We are in contact with Tom and a number of his friends and do our best to be the most up to date source for news on EBM. All the videos up to this point and some other random content can be found on the site.
coldspell

Today’s lesson:
Don’t pick fights with old dudes wearing “I AM A MOTHERFUCKER” t-shirts.
Freddie Freelance

I used to drink with guys like this back in the ’80s, the kind that would’ve been Hells Angels except they couldn’t handle the structure within that group.
Cowicide

Here’s a TV news interview of him as well (on acid):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxiGwy82sjg
Cruxx

I’m glad Amber Lamps made it out safe, that guy is nuts!!
BastardNamban

This guy is awesome. I dream of meeting people this close to being insane but somehow still there everyday- he’s like a violent Hunter Thompson with Aspergers and a beard. My guess is the guy is totally benign most of the time, the kind of crazy guy who’s seen and done a lot of crazy shit and can tell the tale, but wouldn’t hurt you at all. The guy on the bus really seemed to provoke him, and threw the first punch.

I will probably be this man, sans missing couth, in 40 years. He’s one hell of a character, that’s for sure- and we need more people like him for the entertainment in life.
Anonymous

It’s like he’s Forest Gump. If Forest was crazy and very angry. He’s been everywhere.
billydelion

Here’s my country blues take on the whole affair:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwk4bsr1IDA

It struck me how similar this song is to old blues tunes and toasts like “Stagger Lee.”

Stacy Adams shoes, in fact, pop up in quite a few toasts–they seem to be code for the sportin’ life.

For instance, here’s a link to a toast that mentions Stacy Adams, from Bruce Jackson’s great book, “Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me” : http://books.google.com/books?id=E7mAGgqb9SsC&lpg=PA112&dq=toasts%20stacy%20adams&pg=PA112#v=onepage&q=&f=false
johnnyaction

Prime example of why you shouldn’t be rude, mean or sh#$@t talk to people.. Especially on a bus!

You have no idea of someone’s back-story, what they’ve been through, what they are capable of or how unsprung/crazy they are. I know some unassuming people that were special forces / paratroopers / infantry / ex-cons who have seen/done/been part of unspeakable horrors.
upso

uh mazing
hughelectronic

I believe this man has Asperger’s. A person with Asperger’s that can fight is a person you do not want to fuck with.

H.
- Anonymous
  
  Yeah, I don’t think so. If you watched the Documentary, you would understand that he had quite the fucked up childhood, a tour in Vietnam, along with a history of drug use. Sounds more like a crazy bad ass Rambo mother fucker than Rain Man.
Antinous / Moderator

If he knocks you out, at least you won’t have to listen to him talking incessantly.
ill lich

More like “Epic Ego Man”, really. . . he’s and “expert in karate, and expert in boxing (etc. etc. etc.)… can play the banjo, play the guitar, (etc. etc. etc.)…?”

It was a clash of egos — hence the guy “leaking” blood goes and taunts EBM some more after he gets his ass kicked, a ridiculous attempt at saving face. Where is the logic in that? IF EBM had come back to dish out some more what would that guy have done?
apoxia

He seems to be getting a lot of support for his behaviour from the people he knows – at least the ones in the room with him. He’s definitely an interesting man, but I think I’d need from evidence for some of his claims of being expert in various martial arts etc. I’m wondering how much of what he says is the truth and how much is exaggerated machismo.
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive

What a great character! I wouldn’t want to be a roommate with him, but I’m glad people like this exist just to shake up and terrify normal folks. Epic Beard Man is an 11 out of 10.
Anonymous

Guy certainly seems to be trying too hard… I wonder why he’s got so much to prove?
Sean Bonner

I leik EBM. He’s a pretty cool guy and doesn’t afraid of anything.
Quiche de Resistance

The is a random confrontation between two assholes. I will not pick sides between two assholes. I will side with Amber Lamps, however.
Another Aaron

Is it just me, or is there a subtext of racism running through this thread?

EBM said to his “friend” something along the lines of “going to get my boy to shine my shoes.”

The black man misheard him as he passed and thought EBM asked HIM to shine his shoes. When the black man reacts to what he thought was a racist, baiting comment, EBM makes it worse by dishing out insults.

The whole thing was a horrible mistake.

And what do we get? A bunch of probably white, Internet tough guys thinking, “Yeah! That’s right! Those n****** need to learn to mind their own business!”

EBM did NOT stand up for every person who’s ever been hassled on a bus. He’s a crazy man who made a racially tense situation explode.
- failix
  
  Definitely not just you… and look at the youtube comments…it’s so depressing… takes all the fun out of it.
Anonymous

EBM should be on the radio.

He has a radio voice and can talk a lot.
hershmire

Did no one notice his earnest description of his mad mother and abusive father? This man has serious emotional problems and has only gotten through life because he’s very smart and very violent. All of the positive reinforcement like what is seen in this thread has allowed him to make it this far.

What is wrong with you cheerleaders? Both men were wrong. A one-sided beating does not make this right.
johnny payphone

Don’t fight an old man. They don’t have time to dance. If you win, you just beat up an old man. If you lose, you just got the shit kicked out of you by an old man.

I’m glad this didn’t turn into a race thing. Everybody seems to see the guy walking away.

Y’see, this is why we need more friendly ass-kicking by loved ones. The gentle whuppins that your friends give you teach you not to fuck with random people in bars or in a bus. Your friends might give you some lumps, but a stranger/crackhead/veteran will stab you in the neck with a broken bottle.
Anonymous

The Tazmanian Devil plushie in the background is quite symbolic of EBM
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive

Those aren’t “emotional problems”… that’s PERSONALITY PLUS! I aspire to be as entertaining a character on the bus when i get to be his age. I doubt abusive parents had anything to do with it. That guy is just plain golden.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  You’ve never really spent time in an enclosed space with a crazy person, have you?
  - dculberson
    
    I’ve spent time with crazy people, including one with a sword. I would prefer not to, given the choice. Eccentric, sure, but ragin’ crazy, no.
    
    @Aaron, you may have a point. I don’t think so, but it’s possible. To me it seems more like a “brash bully” versus “crazy old guy” thing, but I’m white so I know my perspective is quite different.
    
    I do know that crazy old white guys are the victim as often as they are the perp. Talk to the guys that live in the city parks – they get beat up, pissed on, drawn on, and harassed constantly. Living with that they get mean, and some times take it out on the wrong people.