Dolores Park Street Fight

From reader Amy Y.:

[O]n Sunday afternoon I witnessed this guy getting the crap beaten out of him in Dolores Park. I am still a little disturbed about it, although the ass kicking was totally justified.

Anyway, the park was pretty packed given that it was sunny and all and I started to notice this guy sitting next to a group of women near the restrooms. He seemed really out of place, like he didn’t belong with their group and they didn’t want him around but were doing their best to ignore him. At point the guy, we’re guessing meth addict, had his pants down and was trying to show them these nasty tattoos on his legs.

Before long, there was a commotion. I learned later that he’d stolen someone in that group’s shoes. When one of the women went to confront him, he either slapped or punched her in the face. Seeing this, a guy sitting nearby jumps up and proceeds to kick the crap out of him, quite impressively I might say, Jean Claude Van Damme style. (I’m guessing he had some sort of martial arts training).

The guy who hit the woman was losing from the get go, though at one point he pulled off his belt to try to use it to fight. Roughly about then, a friend of his was able to convince him to leave the park before the cops arrived.

Oh and in the midst of getting pummeled and kicked, the guy tried to steal yet another pair of shoes belonging to someone in my group.

35 Responses to “Dolores Park Street Fight”

  1. james says:

    Aw, no pics or video?

  2. zinzin says:

    meth, not so good for you. or crack neither.

    that’s just my opinion, of course.

  3. TJ says:

    The age old question:

    What is the more powerful addiction, meth or women’s shoes?

  4. mstr says:

    And the funniest part of this story? the following automatically generated link!

    Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
    Learn the Tricks to Picking Up Any Woman in Your Life

  5. captain says:

    You know, the one thing that I dislike about all of this is the guy who did the beating up. Certainly the man deserved the beating, but was the beating itself the only solution? Just because someone deserves something, it doesn’t necessarily means that is the correct course of action.

    The worst thing is that I’m biased myself and I would have done the exact same thing. But a part of me wonders whether several years of army/martial arts/generic combat training should not leave you with a sense of when it is best to use your discretion. Maybe there were kids around or some such – it’s always best to leave violence for the last resort.

    *shrugs* Life is complicated, isn’t it? :)

  6. [...] Fun at SF Fav Dwell [Metropolis Magazine] &#183 Prefab Is Over and Done [BUILDblog &#183 Steal Shoes, See What Happens [Mission Mission] &#183 Protect Your Business From Zombies [Continuity Insights] &#183 [...]

  7. [...] Dolores Park Street Fight From reader Amy Y.: [O]n Sunday afternoon I witnessed this guy getting the crap beaten out of him in Dolores Park. I am [...] [...]

  8. Ryan says:

    “filed under Sports” haha

  9. chalkman says:

    with all the new dealers in the park walking around with serious cash, the first shooting in ages in DP is bound to happen soon…

    • zinzin says:

      is that really true? lot’s of “new” dealers? more than usual…dudes on the footbridge? i dont generally go to DP except early in the AM….

      very interested. can you elaborate?

      • ooeygooey says:

        Late response — yes, more and new dealers. I remember 10+ years ago seeing the dealers on the tracks, and they are back — especially on the less crowded days. I have also noticed solo people, men usually, and quite a bit more skeevy than hipster, leaving the park in the early evening. A friend left the park a few weeks back after a fight broke out by the tennis courts involving glass beer bottles being broken over heads. The park seems to be slipping away. I have also predicted the fist shooting in that many years will happen this summer.

        Take care of what you love, people!

  10. seakittens says:

    There have always been lots of fights and trouble in the park, people are just paying more attention to it than ever before. While it’s true that it’s been more blown up since the raids on Golden Gate Park, that’s not a very recent developement. I though we were all interested in economic diversity? If you don’t like drugs, don’t do them, and keep some pepper spray. A little danger in the park is much better than the alternative.

    • zinzin says:

      what is “the alternative”?

      • wc says:

        yeah seriously wtf?

      • mcas says:

        I’m gonna bet seakittnes (PETA reference, FYI) means the big ‘ol scary G-word…

        But, overall– for me is all the extra weed treats + mushroom dealers that are basically 40+ hippie dudes that, are either 1) cops 2) bunk 3) crusiers or 4) just annoying as all hell since you get asked ever 12 minutes to buy drugs.

  11. seakittens says:

    mcas, i agree that hippies are annoying, but dolores park is, in all seriousness a functional autonomous zone and should be treated as such. the thing that really does irk me about this whole argument. no one is free when others are opressed. btw, thanks for recognizing the PETA reference, but please note that it’s tounge-in-cheek, to say the least.

  12. 26th Street says:

    seakittens, I second that. Before the hipsters took over, dp was full of tweakers and crazy Latino guys selling bammer weed. We may have infringed on their territory a bit. When tweakers and drug dealers infringe on the yuppie contingent, all of a sudden there are weird “quality of life crime” designations and community courthouses start popping up.
    Yuppies, squares, upper classers, superhipsters, and many many other types might forget that just because someone is doing something that they deem unsavory doesn’t mean that they can run them out of their homes. That’s the cops’ job. The popo- they live for the thrill of keeping poor people away from support and jobs and housing.
    If you want to live in a bubble go live in Denver or Saratoga Springs NY or Providence or something.

    • zinzin says:

      “the popo- they live for the thrill of keeping poor people away from support and jobs and housing”

      really? does that sound right?

      not to me.

      • 26th Street says:

        Not to you, but it does seem that way to people who don’t have much but are actually trying to make something of themselves and then they get arrested and it hinders that come-up they were going for. FUCK, I mean, someone who grew up with nothing turns to hoeing, gets a prostitution arrest, and suddenly she can never get another job because her potential employer doesn’t want a prostitute around. You can’t call that fair. You just can’t.

  13. Francis says:

    zinzin, it is GLARINGLY obvious that you have no clue what you are talking about. Ever. If you didn’t create so much extra traffic for this site with your nonsense, I would suggest that you refrain from posting comments.

  14. 26th Street says:

    I forgot to say one thing: Although I’m very annoyed at the state of (most of) the neighborhood these days, I don’t think crime against innocent young girls is a good way to go. There are plenty of other tweakers to fuck with. Maybe their shoes are too ugly.

  15. Francis says:

    Mel,

    I’m sorry to come off very harshly, but I have been reading for quite awhile and pretty soft spoken and don’t even usually comment, never been so moved to comment but by such ignorance.

    • zinzin says:

      what part is nonsense? the part that meth is bad for you? as i said, it’s just my opinion.

      i guess i should say…it’s bad for me.

    • Mel says:

      No problem Francis. My reply was mostly a silly reference to the movie Stripes (I’m old-ish…). But also made partly in zinzin’s defense, as I usually find something of interest from commenters who are raising young kids in the Mission.

      • zinzin says:

        that i am raising young kids in the hood no doubt makes me the enemy of poor and working people everywhere.

    • johnny0 says:

      Francis, so you’re “moved to comment” yet you don’t actually say anything.

      If zinzin’s as glaringly ignorant as you claim — unlikely, in my opinion, but hey, opinions are like, well, you know — it should be pretty easy to come up with a rebuttal.

  16. Francis says:

    johnny0,

    a rebuttal is unnecessary, as an argument has not been made.

  17. Francis says:

    ‘zinzin:
    “the popo- they live for the thrill of keeping poor people away from support and jobs and housing”

    really? does that sound right?

    not to me.’

    That is because you are so far on the senseless side of age and class that you have no connection to reality. How much further do you insinst on embarrasing yourself by insisting to keep posting ignorant comments on a mission centric blog?

    • zinzin says:

      @ 26th – that’s an excellent point. and i dont call it fair. that’s why i am talking about legitimization, regulation, and legalization for sex work. as long as the pimps run the show, and as long as women are walking the streets (even in the absence of pimps), this will be the case.

      no one wants prostitutes walking up & down their blocks (or i should say, very few people…apparently kevmo does). personally, i’m not speaking from a moral point of view. simply from a safety point of view. the women may be perfectly nice (in my hood i wouldnt call them that), but the pimps & johns pose a danger.

      so, if the sex trade – the street level sex trade – were organized… i think these women would have a better shake at the biz, at managing their own lives, their own safety, and a road out should they desire it.

      fact is, incall prostitutes are (much more) rarely touched by the legal system, as they are generally more in control, often can run their biz without a pimp…and they’re not walking the fucking streets making a nuisance of themselves and creating unsafe situations in front of people’s homes. same goes for better organized outcall.

      of course, women walking our blocks dont have the options to “set up their own business”. i get that.

      but if the whole street sex work scene were legitimized WITH A PLAN (not like buillshit Prop K), i think true activism could emerge…activism from within the sex work community that could organize and help along even the most needy sex worker to provide either a safe road forward, or a safe road out.

      of course, sf would have to get past its provincial attitude toward pretty much everything (particularly rules & regulations),

      and “progressive” politicians would actually have to find a real world solution to an actual problem, not just a bullshit smokescreen that appeals to white liberals who dont live anywhere near these type of issues and panders to the ineffective & corrupt industrial “Advocacy” complex that currently exists.

      • zinzin says:

        hi francis – i’m sorry i’ve irked you so. perhaps you’d like to try and string a cogent sentence or 2 together, and maybe i can understand your points. i don’t care if you call me names – really – i dont – but all you’re doing is saying “you’re a dick”…so i cant really respond with anything.

  18. zinzin says:

    jeez i’ve really munged up the proper comment / reply structure there. sorry…

    i’m up early oppressing the poor & working people on my block – mostly by volunteering at neighborhood and community organizations, but i’m also helping my neighbor open a business (authentic street food style from el df – watch for it!), oh and there’s the copper mine in my back yard on capp street, and my manufacturing business for nike in the garage – so i wasn’t paying much attention to that imperialist structure telling me what to do.