The OFFICIAL Towns in North Jersey Discussion Thread ...

[mister d]

This is a private thread. You’re either inner circle or you’re a voyeur.

[rass]

I'm sure someone somewhere is nodding to themselves today as they learn of this story and it validates what they thought was going to happen once they let a place like Victoria's Secret into the mall.

[govmentchedda]

I just came to get a free panty. That's all.

[mister d]

I'm sure someone somewhere is nodding to themselves today as they learn of this story and it validates what they thought was going to happen once they let a place like Victoria's Secret into the mall.

Ha. Someone else said "so like King of Prussia?" and I gave them a very firm nooooooo. You think Short Hills would have a Lids?

[The Sybian]

Short Hills Mall, baby.

I googled it so now I know what was the incident you’re on about. But, how about in the future you just tell us and don’t make people go do that?

Yeah, seriously SCK, next time don't comment on something, complain you had to find the link, then make me Google it too!


ETA: I'll stop the cycle: Short Hills Mall is a very high end place, stores like Gucci, Versace, Bulgari, Jimmy Choo, Prada, Tesla...

Black woman filmed a clearly mentally ill white woman freaking out. I could only take a couple minutes, and apparently there are at least 3 additional videos. I can't blame the black woman for filming, like she said, when the police show up, "who are they going to believe, her white ass or my black ass." OTOH, her white ass was clearly on PCP or insane.

[Shirley]

Yeah, I saw those videos yesterday and similarly, could only watch a few minutes. That woman is clearly mentally ill. She may be a racist too, but mental illness is her main problem. And the video doesn't show what started it. I get why the woman kept filming, but I don't get why she didn't leave once it became clear that woman was beyond recovery. Are free panties really worth that?

[mister d]

She was waiting the whole time for security or the police to show up on their scooters. The only reason she was filming so long was because, somehow, this was the first time anyone has been more than 500 feet from security in Short Hills in years.

[The Sybian]

She was waiting the whole time for security or the police to show up on their scooters. The only reason she was filming so long was because, somehow, this was the first time anyone has been more than 500 feet from security in Short Hills in years.

Right? Most stores have their own security guards. I get a kick out of the stores with velvet ropes and a line, because they only let like 5 people in at a time. Who the fuck wants to stand in a 30 minute outside a store at the mall to buy a $500 t-shirt? People are crazy.

I went back and watched some of the follow up videos. Woman filming was in the right at first, but man did she go way over the top. First, she escalated the situation before the police got there, then immediately verbally attacked the police because she expected them to be racist. They just asked what happened, and she jumped all over them saying she knew they were going to be racist. If someone is having a mental breakdown, just walk away! When the woman would start to calm down, the video lady would make a comment loud enough for her to hear and set her off again.

The woman made some videos at a later date going to the police department and making complaints against the officers. Yeah, they were a bit dismissive, but FFS, she is screaming that they endangered her life. Then she is carrying on that she needs a lawyer. Then she is carrying on that she had no idea how much lawyers charge, so she set up a GoFundMe to ask for money for a lawyer. Who the fuck is going to waste their money so she can sue the police after all that bullshit? Fuck, I can think of a few more worthy charities...

[A_B]

She was waiting the whole time for security or the police to show up on their scooters. The only reason she was filming so long was because, somehow, this was the first time anyone has been more than 500 feet from security in Short Hills in years.

Right? Most stores have their own security guards. I get a kick out of the stores with velvet ropes and a line, because they only let like 5 people in at a time. Who the fuck wants to stand in a 30 minute outside a store at the mall to buy a $500 t-shirt? People are crazy.

I went back and watched some of the follow up videos. Woman filming was in the right at first, but man did she go way over the top. First, she escalated the situation before the police got there, then immediately verbally attacked the police because she expected them to be racist. They just asked what happened, and she jumped all over them saying she knew they were going to be racist. If someone is having a mental breakdown, just walk away! When the woman would start to calm down, the video lady would make a comment loud enough for her to hear and set her off again.

The woman made some videos at a later date going to the police department and making complaints against the officers. Yeah, they were a bit dismissive, but FFS, she is screaming that they endangered her life. Then she is carrying on that she needs a lawyer. Then she is carrying on that she had no idea how much lawyers charge, so she set up a GoFundMe to ask for money for a lawyer. Who the fuck is going to waste their money so she can sue the police after all that bullshit? Fuck, I can think of a few more worthy charities...

Last I saw she had $28,000 of $20,000 goal raised.

[mister d]

Ha ha Syb donated.

[mister d]

(Also, at the risk of looking like even more of a complete asshole in the near future, everyone seems to be very confidently diagnosing mental illness. I'm sure there's a very good chance of that, better than even, but there's still a non-zero chance she's aware enough of what she'd already done and thought "all of that" was her best/only way out.)

[The Sybian]

(Also, at the risk of looking like even more of a complete asshole in the near future, everyone seems to be very confidently diagnosing mental illness. I'm sure there's a very good chance of that, better than even, but there's still a non-zero chance she's aware enough of what she'd already done and thought "all of that" was her best/only way out.)

Yeah, I saw a few comments saying that she was faking a mental breakdown to cover for taking a swing at a woman filming you, but that's a huge stretch. If she was faking a breakdown, she sure committed to it by extending the screaming and ranting for 7 minutes. I'm not buying it, especially since she started to go after her again. Plus, I have a BS in psychology with zero work experience and 23 years separating me from my education, so I am fully qualified to make a diagnosis from a Youtube video.

[Shirley]

I'm confident in saying that anyone who throws a fit like that is not well. If that person coldly calculated that faking a fit like that for that long is the best way out of a situation, that person is not well.

And if either of them had wanted out of the situation, they could have just left. There was no security there to stop them. The crazy lady didn't leave because she lost her damn mind. The woman filming? My cynical thought is that she stayed engaged because she knew she had potential viral video content.

[mister d]

She may have thought that, and the go fund me doesn't do anything to make you think otherwise, but there's also the very real factor of her knowing what the narrative would be. Without the video, lets pretend her phone exploded and she lost it, what percentage of people would believe the incident played out exactly as it did?

[Nonlinear FC]

I'm with Shirley on that. If someone was chasing me around a store, at a minimum I would step outside. Particularly in that situation where the VS employees weren't able to intervene. I don't blame them for that, at all, but it would certainly be a smarter play to just walk out of the store and actually seek security. If she trailed you, fine, at some point that commotion would've sped up security's arrival.

[Giff]

I have a hard time putting myself in a black woman's shoes and criticizing what she did given how our country is these days. And I really don't think a bunch of well-off middle-aged white dudes should either.

[govmentchedda]

I have a hard time putting myself in a black woman's shoes and criticizing what she did given how our country is these days. And I really don't think a bunch of well-off middle-aged white dudes should either.

+1

[mister d]

The best analogy I could think of was "imagine you're in a hotel room with a woman you know is locally connected and she's says she's about to start screaming that you're attacking her". Is your best chance at self-preservation trying to flee or catching everything you can on video? Both might work, but one is a lot closer to foolproof.

[A_B]

I have a hard time putting myself in a black woman's shoes and criticizing what she did given how our country is these days. And I really don't think a bunch of well-off middle-aged white dudes should either.

+1

Yeah, my wife and I had a similar discussion last night. The best path is probably to leave, but there's also the "I have as much right to be here as the woman having a panic/anxiety attack but you bet your ass I'm gonna document this in case shit comes to a head."

[The Sybian]

I have a hard time putting myself in a black woman's shoes and criticizing what she did given how our country is these days. And I really don't think a bunch of well-off middle-aged white dudes should either.

I hear ya, and for that reason I didn't question her filming it. I wouldn't film that scene, but I do understand and appreciate her feeling the need to protect herself with evidence. What I will question is her decision to continually escalate the situation when the panic attack lady would finally calm down, the video lady would intentionally say shit to get it stirred up again. That has nothing to do with race and everything to do with her being a shit stirrer. And I agree with whoever said she was probably thinking/hoping she was creating a viral video.

I'll defer to your comment when I criticized how she spoke to the police. As a clean cut looking middle aged white guy, I get nervous when I get pulled over by the police, and I do think about how much scarier it is for a black person, or someone covered in tats, piercings or whatever. I think black people have legitimate grounds to assume they won't be treated the same by police as a white person would, but from an objective observation, she made the situation with the police confrontational while the police and security guy tried to keep things calm. My LEO father drilled into me as a young teen that the police aren't your friend and don't ever give them any reason to come after you. Give them complete deference, but never let them search you or your car, because if they want to fuck with you, they can and will, even if you aren't breaking the law. It always astounds me when I see videos of people antagonizing police officers. Yes, the police often overreact in response in these videos, and it doesn't excuse police misconduct, but you can defend your rights in a respectful way.

[Shirley]

The best analogy I could think of was "imagine you're in a hotel room with a woman you know is locally connected and she's says she's about to start screaming that you're attacking her". Is your best chance at self-preservation trying to flee or catching everything you can on video? Both might work, but one is a lot closer to foolproof.

That's the best analogy to this situation you can think of?

I have no problem with the woman filming as long as she was there and the situation was going on. I totally get that and it's probably the right thing to do. But she could also have walked away once that crazy lady just flopped on the floor and started wailing. There was no security there, nobody was going to stop her. Just walk away from trouble, even if it's not your fault. By waiting, it was inevitable that security would eventually show up, and that seems like a riskier proposition to me (a white guy).

[mister d]

Yes. As a white dude I very rarely find myself in a situation of societal disadvantage and have to stretch to think one up.

[The Sybian]

Yes. As a white dude I very rarely find myself in a situation of societal disadvantage and have to stretch to think one up.

I don't know man, when I talk to some of my Conservative white dude friends, you'd think we were on the verge of extinction what with all the ways society wants to hold back or destroy white men.

[Reaper]

New Jersey is renaming its rest stops.

Among the list:

Montvale — James Gandolfini
Brookdale North — Larry Doby
Brookdale South — Connie Chung
Vauxhall — Whitney Houston
Cheesequake — Jon Bon Jovi
Monmouth — Judy Blume
Forked River — Celia Cruz
Atlantic — Frank Sinatra
Ocean View — Toni Morrison

[rass]

*GSP rest stops, I'm pretty sure the turnpike stops are all already named.

I'm OK living within shouting distance of the Whitney Houston rest stop, though Bon Jovi would have been funnier.

Not sure if JBJ (and especially 74 year old) Connie Chung should be honored or worried.

[govmentchedda]

Really feel like Titus Andronicus should have a GSP stop named after them just for the shoutout in their best song.

[mister d]

They left off Springsteen just to create buzz.

[DSafetyGuy]

They left off Springsteen just to create buzz.

Just gonna re-name the BBWAA after him.

[Giff]

Why would you ever rename something called Cheesequake?

[Johnny Carwash]

They left off Springsteen just to create buzz.

Just gonna re-name the BBWAA after him.

I'm not sure if I fully get this or not, but this is awesome.

[govmentchedda]

They left off Springsteen just to create buzz.

Just gonna re-name the BBWAA after him.

I'm not sure if I fully get this or not, but this is awesome.

Longstanding joke that all baseball writers are infatuated with Springsteen. Jason Isbell is the heir apparent.

[rass]

Why would you ever rename something called Cheesequake?

Fair point. I laugh most times I drive past it.

[mister d]

Tried to convince the kids it was named for a long ago tragedy but got nowhere.

[brian]

New Jersey is renaming its rest stops.

Among the list:

Montvale — James Gandolfini
Brookdale North — Larry Doby
Brookdale South — Connie Chung
Vauxhall — Whitney Houston
Cheesequake — Jon Bon Jovi
Monmouth — Judy Blume
Forked River — Celia Cruz
Atlantic — Frank Sinatra
Ocean View — Toni Morrison

[Giff]

Prince changed it to Housequake after finding out he was lactose intolerant.

[The Sybian]

Peter Genovese with a 5 part series on the best thing in every town in NJ. Some interesting parks to hike around that I didn't know about, some cool unusual eateries (of course), and some really stupid shit like the oil refinery in Linden. I know Linden sucks, but man, that is insulting. I'm guessing Rass disagrees with the selection for his town.

[rass]

Every time I run through downtown SO on a Sunday morning there is a line outside of Sonny’s Bagels. Worth it?

[bfj]

Every time I run through downtown SO on a Sunday morning there is a line outside of Sonny’s Bagels. Worth it?

In my many years of being a bfj, I’ve concluded that no bagel is that good that it’s worth standing in line for.

[mister d]

Oh man I disagree. Sonny’s and most lines aren’t worth it (it’s the standard “can be really good if they’re hot and otherwise meh), but I’ll line up happily at my favorite places.

[mister d]

I just learned via band profile that Kevin Whelan of The Wrens lives in Berkeley Heights and now I need to creepily see where.