Back in the day, when people wanted to explore public opinion, they did a "Man on the Street" interview. Now we just go to Craigslist, specifically the "Rants and Raves" section. There, people can -- and do -- post weird, outrageous, bizarre and often obscene comments about whatever happens to strike their fancy. We decided visit the Rants and Raves for three big cities; San Francisco, Chicago and New York; to look at whatever posts happened to be at the top and see what we could learn. Unfortunately, what we learned is that people who post Craigslist rants are freaking nuts.Our first stop was San Francisco. There, someone had posted a news story with this very long, and very badly typed, headline.
to to Crgaijsts Responsible Gun Owner accidently shoots husband then kills self (GUNS SHOULD BE BANNED)Wait. What now? So, did or didn't she think he was an trespasser? And how come she shot herself out of grief when the husband she accidentally shot didn't die? We're not sure if this story is an argument for gun control, but it definitely sounds like a case for CSI.
Reply to: pers-rxtwh-1059326999@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-03-03, 6:16PM PST
Husband Shot By Wife; She Thought He Was Ex
MCCORDSVILLE, Ind.
An Indiana woman went on an alcohol-fueled rampage, opening fire on her new husband in a case of mistaken identity before killing herself, police said. Police said the couple was together and had been drinking before the shootings early Saturday morning at an upscale Geist, Ind., home. Charles Vogt, 44, told a dispatcher that his wife, Shanna Jones-Vogt, 28, mistook him for an ex-husband or ex-boyfriend, shot him and then killed herself…
Charles Vogt's initial information provided to police suggested that Shanna thought her husband was an intruder and shot him, but that theory was discounted after investigators determined that alcohol was a factor.
The next post dealt with the Bible. Kind of.
"Barak" is a Biblical Name (look it up!)True. "Barak" was a general in the Book of Judges; commander of the army of the prophetess Deborah. However, our current president's name -- and we think that's somewhere near this poster's point -- is spelled "Barack." "Beezelbub," by which the guy apparently means "Beelzebub," was a Bible-era deity worshiped in the Philistine city of Ekron whose name became a general term for the devil. We are going to go way out on a limb here, and suggest that whoever wrote this post is not a big Obama supporter.
Reply to: pers-h3dhx-1059324862@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-03-03, 6:14PM PST
It is in the Old Testament. I was reading the Bible the other day and came across the name Barak and he was mentioned several times. Perhaps in Leviticus, not sure. So you Catholics out there, who have to name your children from someone in the Bible or a Saint or whatever, might want to choose Barak. Or maybe Beezelbub?!?
Johannes Mehserle BLEW ITYeah. This is pretty ugly stuff, right here. Oscar Grant is the guy who got shot by BART cops over New Year's. His family is suing the city for $50 million. There is a lot -- a lot -- of very angry, racist stuff on CL about this story. Frankly, there is a lot of very angry, racist stuff on Rants and Raves in general. It's more than a little sad and creepy.
Reply to: pers-zdrsn-1059323223@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-03-03, 6:14PM PST
Right through that scumbag Oscar Grant. GOOD JOB Johannes Mehserle Thank you for removing that thug from the streets. To obad our justice system is so screwed that it mightr cost the taxpayers $50,000,000.00. Sorry but the Grant attorney is a scumbag as well and only in it for the money. They all are. Think of the 50 mil as a stimuls package for the rap and 22" rim industry
Not incidentally, Johannes Mehserle didn't think he was "removing a thug from the streets." There's a gag order on now, but apparently Mehserle told acquaintances he was trying to reach for his TASER and accidentally grabbed his gun. Oops.
Let's move on to Chicago, shall we?
Big Doody!!!!! ???? !!!!! (west burbs)Excellent. We've got no clue what this means. But we still support you, Big Doody, wherever in the West 'Burbs you may be.
Reply to: pers-ftc6t-1059359348@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-03-03, 8:42PM CST
Well ..... I guess you're right, every day or two in the crapper.
get a thumb drive, everyoneOkay, that's just wrong. We are sorry this person got their stuff stolen and we also heartily encourage the use of flash drives and other forms of data back-up. But it's simply not right to say Chicago is "being taken over by thieves." Chicago -- and Illinois in general -- was taken over by thieves a long, long time ago, basically under Al Capone, and has never really recovered.
Reply to: pers-bfssg-1059366685@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-03-03, 8:48PM CST
and back up your shit .
plus make sure you carry that flash drive, thumb drive, memory stick, whatever you call it, in a separate place. you gotta be thief proof in chicago, unfortunately, because it's being taken over by a bunch of unemployed thieves.
so back up your stuff and be safe.
Finally, we finish in New York City. There, someone has a dream about racial equality, and reincarnation. And, like, aliens.
I think if there are aliens and UFOS...Perhaps we are reading too much into this, but when this fellow writes "I hope you dumb ass haters enjoy this life," we're not sure he means it.
Reply to: pers-muhca-1059327946@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-03-03, 9:16PM EST
they must look at the various inbred shrunken brains racists and xenophobes and other people who are prejudiced and they laugh uproariously over the doufuses who hate Jews, Catholics, Atheists, Whites, Blacks, Asians, Indians, on and on. They must think humans are the dumbest forms of life. They probably think we all resemble each other as far as having eyes, noses, mouths, bodies etc ( and yeah we sure do resemble each other, there are just little variations in eye, skin, hair colors, but it's not like Jews have 3 eyes and Blacks have 4 sets of eyes and Whites have 19 eyes on and on). But if aliens from a far more advanced planet exist and they see humans here they have to wonder how we can HATE each other over appearances and/or religious beliefs or non beliefs. My god this planet truly has assholes populating it! And I hope you dumb ass haters enjoy this life because you morons will just keep coming back to this lowly planet and having your unfulfilled life again and again and again until you finally get a clue.
