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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  • http://arib.livejournal.com Ari B.

    Can’t say he didn’t have it coming.

    • Boundegar

      I’d like to start a legal defense fund for him.

  • Maria Pranzo

    So much for the 3 laws.

    • http://twitter.com/ocschwar ocschwar

       The 3 laws only mention human beings.

  • welcomeabored

    Remember kids:  if you’re going to be stupid enough to give a street performer a wet willie, you want to keep your guard up, or he may punch you in the nose.

  • Brainspore

    And thus began the Rise of the Machines.

  • BookGuy

    Who thinks it’s O.K. to lay hands on someone on the street without permission, regardless of what they’re doing?  (Maybe not this guy, anymore, I guess…)

    • Brainspore

      Heck, I couldn’t countenance such rude behavior even if the target had been an actual robot.

  • atlouiedog

    I’ve seen street performers and drunk/obnoxious/both people get into really heated arguments before. Don’t go to someone’s place of work and harass them. It’s like heckling at a stand-up show. Don’t do it. What this guy did, though, is just ridiculous. What is wrong with you that you go up and do these things to a stranger?

    • http://www.madziabryll.com Cefeida

      I’d just say, don’t bother innocent people in the street, period.

    • ocker3

      Looked a bit drunk, but that’s only an excuse, not a reason. He really was being a dick. 

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1287511372 Jamie DiBattista

      Unless you find something offensive, and are really earnest about it, THEN it’s apparently always ok to heckle at a stand-up show.

  • grimc

    Street (performer) justice!

  • RHK

    Now that was worthy of at least a $20 tip.

  • Navin_Johnson

    Couldn’t have happened to a more smarmy looking d-bag. I just wish it’d show the rest. Dying to know if he just slunk off or what.

    • Brainspore

      Assimilation via nanobot infection. Now HE’s a street performer.

  • theophrastvs

    robot + cowboy outfit … does the estate of Yul Brynner know about this?

  • http://twitter.com/kpkpkp Kevin Pierce

    Kathy Griffin to heckler: “You know what? I don’t go to your job and knock the dicks out of your mouth!”

    http://youtu.be/3svY_2W7JoY?t=31s

    • David B

      Great line, but it’s not Kathy Griffin’s. She took it from Chelsea Peretti. 

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=525805638 Arran McKenna

        That heckler comeback is as old as the hills. I heard Jim Rose say it waaay back in the 90s.

        • TheOven

          Yeah, he stole it from your mother.

          (Sorry, your mother’s awesome, but were just the last one in the list.)

      • Antinous / Moderator

        Yeah, but she said it on CNN.

      • King_Rocket

         Plus Vicki Lewis was way, way cooler.

    • Marko Serafinowicz

      That’s an old one of Jimmy Carr’s.

  • Mark_Frauenfelder

    We’ll find out more after the jackass gets doxed.

  • Rebecca Pahle

    What really makes this for me is that the living statue seems to be dressed up as Teddy Roosevelt. It’s perfect.

    • Scratcheee

      What would have been absolutely perfect is if he’d been dressed as Buzz Aldrin.

  • Damian Dayton

    I pretty upset. I mean the robot really should have leaned in and followed through a little more.

    • Preston Sturges

      Seemed like there was plenty of hand speed.

      • ocker3

        From the shocked look on the audience’s face, I wonder if the guy went down, he couldn’t have been very grounded while walking away like that

  • flaggday

     Sure, he was asking for it… but I was kind of expecting a more interesting response.  A street performer smacking the guy who gave him a wet willie isn’t exactly BB-worthy.

    • Diogenes

      Not BB-worthy?  Oh, I disagree.  What could be more instructive and informative, both for street performers, and for d-bags?  

      • http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki

        ‘D-bag with sleeve tats getting punched out’ should be the new Unicorn Chaser.

    • Curtrude

      I must say that I was also expecting a different response, but I do think that response was certainly BB-worthy

    • Navin_Johnson

       More than half of your 10 comments are complaints about Boing Boing content. You seem like a lot of fun…

      • http://www.gyrofrog.com/ Gyrofrog

        While you’re here and all: dude, you’re amazing.  A few days ago you mentioned Pope Formosus.  I went and looked it up… man, I thought I had heard everything.  So thanks for that.

  • PlutoniumX

    I imagine most people that annoy me on forums and comment sections are pretty much the just like this doorknob in purple.  

    • atlouiedog

      The worst is when you tell yourself that those kids will eventually grow up and out of that behavior and then they mention their children, wife, and career.

  • Ipo

    As I understand it, the purple performer was miming an internet tough guy while the cowbot played the part of reality. 

  • http://twitter.com/markeyre Mark Eyre

    I’m surprised that everyone thinks it’s OK to punch a guy in the face without warning.  Sure, the purple-shirted bro was being annoying, but escalating that to a punch in the face seems like a gross over escalation.  Robot man might have at least tried a non-violent option first.

    • knockwurst

      I can’t agree. He ignored the guy and kept playing with the kid. That was a non-violent response. Then he stopped what he was doing and totally ignored the guy. More non-violence. The guy shoved a spit slicked finger into one of his orifices, and than started touching his face. A punch to the nose was totally warranted. And it appears that he did not follow up the punch with a curb stomp, which shows that he was merely making this guy stop bothering him and no more. It was well-handled.

      • Christopher Houser

        You can get herpes in basically any orifice or opening in the skin. Just going to leave that out there, grossness aside, there are health implications to that sort of asshattery.

        • EvilSpirit

           No, I’m afraid that the only thing that stops a bad guy with herpes is a good guy with herpes.

          • Josh Neal

            Best thing I have ever read

      • Antinous / Moderator

        I’ll just leave this here.  Buzz Aldrin cleans Bart Sibrel’s clock

        • ocker3

          I was so happy to read that the Judge ruled that Aldrin was provoked, he tried to walk away so many times. At the end he makes it so incredibly clear to the guy that he’s reaching the end of his tether, the guy keeps pushing and then he gets punched. 

    • pocoTOTO

      Sorry, a wet willie from a stranger-that is, a saliva-covered finger shoved into one of your orifices without consent-is about as invasive as it gets.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=596144248 Sean McKibbon

         Yup definitely an assault. And self defence, while needing to be proportionate, does not have to be weighed to a nicety.

    • LintMan

      Sticking a finger full of potentially disease-bearing saliva into this guy’s ear has already escalated things.  If the douchebag directly spat on him it still would have been less offensive than that.

      • PlutoniumX

         That’s exactly what my defense would be, if taken to court over this.

    • Curtrude

      Why can someone put his saliva in someone’s ear without warning?

    • anansi133

      I’d say the video makes it clear that Han did not shoot first. The purple clown probably didn’t think it was assault at the time, but that’s the way I’d call it.

      • http://www.facebook.com/buddhaflow Sasha Shepherd

        To be fair, maybe it wasn’t assault, because he thought he guy was really a robot.

        Seems legit.

    • wysinwyg

      “Without warning”.  That phrase does not apply in this situation.  The mere act of going out of your way to harass someone is a sufficient warning that you may get punched in the face.

      • EvilSpirit

         The bystander urging “hey, leave him alone, man” might have been a tip, as well. But, no.

    • Petzl

      The first time purple douchebag touched robotman it was legally battery and he could defensibly strike purple douchebag.

      • 3ringquercus

        I don’t think that would be true here, since having idiot members of the public test one’s concentration is part of being a street performer. You don’t have a legal excuse for socking someone just because you don’t want to break character.

        I’m pretty sure a judge would say Robot Cowboy should have stopped his act and warned the citizen-scumbag verbally to stop touching him before he hit him. That said, same judge might also throw out the charges because clearly there was provocation going on. Depends if citizen-scumbag got seriously hurt or not (which, other than perhaps a broken nose or split lip, I don’t think happened, per Damian Dayton’s assessment of the hit above.)

        It would be interesting to see a follow-up story.

        • Petzl

          I agree that the dynamics of this street performer’s act involve close interaction with the public and in particular people trying to “test” him.  However, this guy went so far over the line, so many times (and would’ve kept going, if he hadn’t been socked), that it just seems like no jury would convict him, especially given the compelling video evidence.

      • http://profile.yahoo.com/65CSAR3QATRNKJW4NYNB2BESZE JohnQPublic

        Touching is battery. Assault is causing an imminent fear of unconsented touch through physical contact.

        • mccrum

          In this case it’s likely that his reaching out a hand just prior to the battery would be considered assault, much the same way that a cocked fist is.

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/65CSAR3QATRNKJW4NYNB2BESZE JohnQPublic

      Problem with today is that people think pacifism means being a doormat. What do you want cowboy to do? Ask nicely to stop doing that? That request is implicit in daily life anyway so that’s just a waste of effort. What – write a strongly worded letter? The guy did what was necessary to stop the unconsented touching. You lay hands on a man, be ready for the consequences.

      • Antinous / Moderator

        Problem with today is that people think pacifism means being a doormat.

        Turn the other cheek.  Toughen up.  Lighten up.  Smile while the bully bullies you.  Somebody always defends the instigator.

    • http://www.facebook.com/roytruax Roy Edward Truax

       Where d-bags with tat-sleeves are concerned, his (robot-cowboy) response WAS nonviolent. Even if dum-dum were a kid of mine I’d have to tell him he had it coming. You just don’t do that.

    • http://www.facebook.com/buddhaflow Sasha Shepherd

      He violated his personal space. He crossed the line with the wet willy. He had it coming, a punch in the face wasn’t a huge escalation.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dale-Jack/698328731 Dale Jack

       Why should he have to break character and disappoint his audience? And I seriously doubt buddy was going to listen to anything other than a clear and direct response.

    • falnfenix

       i’m surprised you think it’s OK to violate someone’s orifices with a saliva-soaked item. 

  • orwell

     the time has come for anti-wet willie legislation.

    • 3Jane Tessier-Ashpool

      when wet willie’s are outlawed, only the outlaws will give wet willies

      • knockwurst

        The only solution to wet willies is more wet willies.

        • atlouiedog

          Or you could pull the out nuclear option of the dreaded rear admiral.

        • Daneel

          I say we take off and wet willie the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.

        • rtresco

          Wet willie for a wet willie leaves the whole world…slimey.

  • http://twitter.com/zhasu Zhasu

    Enjoyed it, it was perfect. And quite educational. I’ll bet you that all those kids watching this walked away with a valuable lesson: behave like a douchebag and you get publicly humiliated… and possibly end up with a broken nose and lose central and lateral incisors.

  • http://www.fieldsovgravity.com/ Garymon

    I only recall ever hitting someone once. When I was in middle school a kid was harassing me in the locker room after practice. I ignored him for quite some time. I can’t recall what he finally said but I punched him once in the stomach and he crumpled to the ground. Just then a priest peaked around from the next row of lockers, looked down at the kid, and said something to the effect that he hoped the kid had learned a valuable lesson and then walked out of the locker room.

    • L_Mariachi

      It didn’t seem strange to you that there was a priest lurking in a middle school locker room?

      • chgoliz

         Doesn’t seem strange to me.  Unfortunately.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1208962828 Eric Legg

    That’s no robot controlled by the preserved brain of Teddy Roosevelt, it’s some dude painted and dressed to look like him/it. The real Robo Teddy would have struck a pose blowing on the barrel of his gun, which he’d just used to bring down a prized trophy worthy douchbaggus caucasius americanus. The other members of the Mortus Operandi Android hunting lodge would have unanimously voted it catch of the year. 

  • https://twitter.com/misterjayem MrJM

    Tip: A robot cowboy street performer is still a robot cowboy!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8834925 Chauncey Scott

    The only downside is that he didn’t punch him in a robotic fashion. And he could’ve thrown in the obligatory robot arm swing dance move. And THEN I would’ve been satisfied.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Doing a robot dance around him and then pulling his pants down would have been satisfying.

    • ocker3

      Blowing on his knuckles and then doing the robot arm swing would have been cool, but the guy was probably incredibly pissed off at that point. The D-bag was trampling all over his efforts to entertain those people and make an honest living, probably wrecked his takings for a while. 

  • ackpht

    And people say violence doesn’t solve anything…

  • wolfman_al2

    I´m okay with that.
    Douchebag had it coming.
    If somebody would put his, possibly unwashed, fingers in my face, I´d do worse than only punching him. Its disgusting and I´m very antsy about such an invasion of my personal space.

  • http://www.gyrofrog.com/ Gyrofrog
    • Antinous / Moderator

      Where’s Part II, where the crowd draws all over his face with a sharpie?

  • Mr. Winka

    The A-2′s always were a bit twitchy.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      I’m shocked.

      • Mr. Winka

        That could never happen now with their behavioral inhibitors.

  • http://www.facebook.com/buddhaflow Sasha Shepherd

    Technically, he is a ‘douchebag,’ not a ‘jackass.’

    These details matter.

  • rtresco

    Is that a robot Ron Swanson?

  • http://blog.headsign.de/ mat

    Obviously a junkie

  • http://artdonovan.typepad.com Art

    Bam!  Good for him.

  • Dan Gordon

    I’m ashamed to say it, but I’ll bet you anything that idiot is Australian.