Woodstock Concert ends with a bang.........snip WHAT BEGAN as scattered bonfires toward the end of the Red Hot Chili Peppers festival-closing set escalated into several major infernos. State police said the situation inside the venue had been stabilized by early Monday, and most of the fires had been extinguished. Police said most of the concertgoers had been herded off the grounds. John Scher, a concert promoter, said early Monday morning that there had been no deaths or serious injuries. He said he was not aware of any arrests. Its a great shame that this happened because in so many ways it was so uplifting, Scher said. It puts a permanent blemish on what happened here. The three-day concert climaxed into a frenzy about a quarter mile from the main stage when several concertgoers set fire to 12 parked tractor-trailers. Several people pulled cases of soda and merchandise from the trucks and fed the flames with debris. Others toppled light stands and speaker towers, while another group tried to destroy a radio station truck. These kids are animals. It should never have gotten this far, Ruth said Mahorn, 36, of Binghamton, as she walked quickly away from the disturbance with her friends. Theyre jerks, said Karen Thomas, 24, of Massachusetts. Its been great all weekend. People were cool, and now this is how people will remember Woodstock. Hundreds of state troopers in riot gear moved in to protect other vendors booths. County deputies and city police were deployed to protect other areas of the former Griffiss Air Force Base, now a business and technology park. Earlier in the day, many campers were already pulling up stakes and stashing gear in their cars Sunday morning in hopes of making a quick getaway once their favorite band finished up, but it didnt look promising.

-- kevin (innxxs@yahoo.com), July 26, 1999

Answers

Have to agree, Kevin.

Every once-in-a-while you hear about the "thin veneer of civilization". Its been evidenced many times how easily that veneer is removed. As you're indicating, if a party can do it --- how about a little Y2K induced chaos?

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), July 26, 1999.

These events show EXACTLY how fragile or "society" is.

A CONCERT (a "good" event) ending with LOOTING and VIOLENCE, "just for the heck of it". Does anyone else see the disconnect here? I wonder what will happen if the lights go out?

Also, does anyone have thoughts on WHY this happened? IMO, it's because looting and violence are now "accepted" practices by young people in this country. Championship sports games now often end this way, as well. Why?

Many, MANY people are going to DIE soon. It's such a waste. So unnecessary. But moral and behavioral standards will be MUCH different, after....

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), July 26, 1999.

Millennium, tension, parties, midnight, drunkeness, crowds, lights out, panic, opportunism, fires, loss of water pressure, troops spread thin, gas lines rupturing, chemical spills, sewage backup, rampaging mobs, yes riots

-- handwriting (on@wall.look), July 26, 1999.

without spiritual control, MAN is a soul=out=of=control.

-- whatisman? (dogs@zianet.com), July 26, 1999.

I say we out law sports events, concerts, county fairs, parades, and any event that will incite a crowd to riot. We all know that sporting events create violence and the destruction of private and public property. These events kill and injury innocent people, the government must stop these ruthless acts and the only way to do that is to ban all such events. Those types of people who were involved in the looting, are the types that have no respect for your life and would kill you to get what you have. They interviewed a girl who was looting too, and they asked her why she did it and she said "because everyone else was doing it." I feel sorry for you people who are living in the city, you haven't seen anything yet.

-- armed (armed&dangerous@armed.com), July 26, 1999.

We've forgotten something our ancestors knew very well, & here it is: Bonfires are FUN.

Where are you gonna go for a bonfire these days? You can't even burn leaves in your own backyard anymore, it's against the law. Anything bigger than a bbq makes everyone hysterical.

We have this need to cut loose every once in a while. Our ancestors had annual bonfires in which people went a little crazy & burned things they no longer wanted -- the "bonfire of the vanities" really did happen. It was a kind of physical & spiritual purging.

We have NOTHING to correspond with that, except possibly "Burning Man" out in the desert.

I suspect that a good bonfire every once in a while is absolutely necessary to mental health. We suppress that need, & they happen anyway, rather like forest fires.

-- just (my@two.cents), July 26, 1999.

Another reason to move out of the city and into the country, you can have as many bonfires as you want.

-- pyromaniac (pyromaniac@pyro.com), July 26, 1999.

That must have been tongue-in-cheek, to write that man needs bonfires every once in awhile, in response to this serious post. Does man then also need to loot every once in awhile? When I heard that news this morning while preparing for work, I had the same thought that this poster did: if they can do this at a musical/social event, what will they do at Y2K. I hope the bonfires aren't our homes, and the looting our belongings!

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), July 26, 1999.

Got guns? Ammo? The will do defend your family?

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), July 26, 1999.