Huge fight at birthday party

Illustration from William Hazlitt's "The Fight and Other Writings" (Penguin Classics)

A fight involving 75 people broke out at a Fraternal Order of Eagle's Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio yesterday... during a 3-year-old's birthday party. From WCPO.com:

Police said beer bottles were the primary weapons used in the melee and that four people were detained. All four likely face charges, but police have not released their names or those charges.
"Anywhere you could think of there was blood and broken glass," said Peskin. "We were told there was one gentleman who stood in the back of the room throwing bottles until he didn't have any more in front of him."
A total of 20 officers responded to the scene and police believe a majority of those involved were heavily intoxicated...
"They seemed like they were nice people. I talked one or two of them. They were asking me to help them move in stuff for the party, microwaves and things. They seemed like nice normal people," said Jesse Ficke of Eagles Lodge.

"75 people brawl at birthday party" (Thanks, Charles Pescovitz!)

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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bodoni

There’s an interesting detail in Wednesday’s Cincinnati Enquirer that is missing from the above information:

“About 30 children witnessed the 1 a.m. brawl among 75 people at Elmwood Eagles Hall, 5633 Vine St.”

A birthday party. For a 3-year old. At 1 a.m. On a Tuesday night. With 30 kids.
Neon Tooth

My grandfather who was probably about 84 at the time, got in a knock down, roll around on the floor fight with another old timer (but younger than him) at his small town Oregon Eagles Hall once. My younger cousin who told me the story said she was horrified. I’m glad I wasn’t there. Do you even get involved with that? Every time I’ve gone it’s been a bit creepy, old WWII vets getting lit with some younger creepy folk there who don’t seem to be related to any of the old timers at all.
oldjack

It is interesting , just game.
snorpheus

A few more things to add to Cincinnati’s resume:

Zaha Hadid’s first U.S. building

A John A. Roebling bridge that predates the Brooklyn bridge (alright, ALL of his bridges predate the Brooklyn)

OK, I’m thinking here, don’t rush me…
arikol

beer at a 3 year old’s party?
In the middle of the night?

Wow

just..wow
pencilbox

It’s always The Eagles. First, Don Henley’s solo career. Then, they sign Michael Vick. Now this.
knoxblox

I’ll bet there will be some awesome birthday photos for the family album.

“Is that the pinata, with the stuff spilling out?”
“No, that’s my dad’s head.”
Duffong

Well, someone wuz a very very naughty little party pooper. I think some time out is in order.
Anonymous

While Penguin used it on the cover of Hazlitt’s book, the illustration is actually a detail from a painting called “Description of a Boxing Match” (1812) by Thomas Rowlandson, as identified on the back cover of the Penguin edition of Hazlitt.
IronEdithKidd

1) That’s too many people for a 3 y.o.’s b-day party.
2) All the parents were drinking?
3) Again Cinci? Why?
- David Pescovitz
  
  3. Because I grew up there and my family who still lives there kindly sends me interesting bits of local news.
dolo54

I lived in east Harlem for 10 years. This is basically your average Saturday night. Why are there 3 year olds playing in the street at 3am while their parents get drunk and fight? I don’t know, but that’s just normal in some parts. I blame society.
fungstyle

Hey David, could you maybe try to highlight one of the city’s positive aspects one of these days? Maybe our burgeoning DIY art scene, or the great music we get, or the great food here. Hell, anything else. Pretty please.
- OriGuy
  
  The Underground Railroad Freedom Center is pretty cool.
- David Pescovitz
  
  I do!
  
  Such as:
  
  Motorized shoes
  
  Cincinnati's Secret Subway
  
  Inspiration for Super Friends' Hall of Justice
  
  Antique vehicle auction in Cincinnati
  
  Pioneering hillbilly/soul label King Records celebrated
  
  New tunes from former Afghan Whigs bassist
  - fungstyle
    
    Alright, alright. Thanks for those :) You should come by the DIY space I help run next time you’re in town and see what the cool kids are doing in your hometown these days.
    
    Also, check out our sweet, sweet website. I think you’ll especially enjoy the “sculpture garden” (scroll to bottom for it)
    
    http://www.cs13.org
Neon Tooth

Texas doesn’t like being shown up.

Texan parents brawl at little kids pee wee football game
Anonymous

Sounds like Dwarf Fortress!
- Jonathan Badger
  
  Perhaps that’s the explanation. Much like the computing devices implemented in Dwarf Fortress and Minecraft, this brawl was really a computational mechanism. Perhaps the Fibonacci sequence was calculated through a system of gashes inflicted by broken bottles.
Halloween Jack

I’m glad that so many people find it the height of hilarity that people were throwing glass bottles around (and doing quite a bit of damage, if all the blood that had to be cleaned up later is any evidence) at a toddler’s party. Check your heads, people.
morpheuse

*CUE 1…2…3…*

“And the man at the back said

Everyone attack and it turned into a ballroom blitz

And the girl in the corner said

Boy, I wanna warn ya, it’ll turn into a ballroom blitz

Ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz…Ballroom blitz!”

*face melting guitar solo ensues*
dmceleven

The news story’s not online — small town, local paper and all — but the same thing happened in my south-central PA neighborhood, about a month ago.

Saturday afternoon, I’m sitting at my desk, suddenly I hear what sounds very much like a riot. Look out the 2nd floor window, and in the backyard of the house directly across the street I see what appears to be, indeed, a riot. 40-50 folks, screaming, yelling, something going on at the center of the crowd. 2 or 3 at a time, they’d run out to the street, phone pressed to ear, and pace while relating details of the melee to whomever — then they’d pocket the phone and run back into the crowd.

I observed this for about 15 minutes, until the cops appeared and it instantly quieted down. Showed up in the weekly police blotter as “Fight Breaks Out at Toddler Party.”

Interestingly, while listening closely for those 15 minutes, I could not make out one word of what anyone was yelling or saying — it was like the entire group, en masse, burst into a uniformly high level of excitement, and maintained it until police intervention. Weirdly, it almost seemed staged.
Guesstimate Jones

The footage I saw of this, showed the witness, Jesse Ficke, who you must see, in order to fully appreciate the hilarity of his remark: “They seemed like nice, normal people…”
MrJM

“there was one gentleman who stood in the back of the room throwing bottles until he didn’t have any more in front of him.”

Grandpa’s here!