01/12/2009
Seattle Gay Bars Lively, Defiant Despite Threat of Ricin Attack
No casualties from Ricin-poisoning were reported in Seattle this weekend following a terrorist letter last week that was mailed to eleven of the city's bars and to the newspaper The Stranger.
CNN reports: "Investigators have no evidence that whoever mailed the letters has the ability to make good on the threats, Seattle police said. Still, the investigation is proceeding on the assumption that the danger could be real, they said. The state crime lab is examining the letters for any evidence that could lead to a suspect, a Seattle Police Department spokesman said. Investigators are checking tips from the public and are working closely with the FBI and federal postal inspectors, according to police."
SLOG reports on a pub crawl that happened Friday night in defiance of the threats:
"The pub crawl—or at least five out of the 11 bars, which was all I was man enough to make it to last night—was mobbed. As the doorman at C.C.Attle's succinctly put it, 'Yeah, everybody's out tonight. They're like, 'FUCK YOU, RICIN MAN!'' Most crawlers did not estimate the threat to their lives to be a serious one. 'I think it's bullshit,' said C.C.Attle’s patron John Zima...Everywhere, people danced and embraced and made out with abandon. Everywhere, everyone planned to be back out at the bars tonight, in defiance of the demented, would-be ricin poisoner’s claim in his letters to the 11 bars that he would strike on a Saturday night in January. At the end of the night, Kevin York of Pizza Fusion—which gave out free pizza to bar crawlers all evening, no proof-of-gayness required—said they’d had their busiest night since they opened a few months back."
Watch CNN's report on the Ricin threats, AFTER THE JUMP...
Background
Eleven Gay Bars in Seattle Threatened with Ricin Attacks [tr]
Seattle Ricin Gay Bar Terrorist Also a Plagiarist [tr]
Seattle Pub Crawl in Defiance of Ricin Threats Tonight [tr]
Posted 10:41 AM EST by Andy Towle in Crime, Dan Savage, Gay Bar, News, Seattle | Permalink
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Pizza's a gateway drug to the heavier stuff: pasta bolognese, veal piccata and, gasp, tiramisu (did I spell any of those correctly?). Kevin York may say he's just pushing pizza, but he's a pusher none the less. Remember the first taste is free. Then you pay... with your waistline.
Posted by: Jonathan | Jan 12, 2009 10:53:32 AM
Well done, Seattle!!!!! Keep the party going, guys and girls! This will just shows Ricin-boy that the LGBT community is here to stay and we won't be cowed into submission by idle, impotent threats.
Posted by: JerzeeMike | Jan 12, 2009 12:21:14 PM
I'm so proud, because, ya know, this is what gay activism really means. It means that despite a publicized faux ricin threat (def. plausible, as no one would warn if they wanted to carry it out), we will NOT STOP drinking...and smoking...and drinking...and drinking! Taking drugs at or near said venues, either, in prep for unsafe sexual activity! The gay community's strength lies in its ability to hold together during this trying times by continuing to imbibe large quanties of alcohol and smoke many, many cigarettes. We shall persevere! Yes we can!
Posted by: TANK | Jan 12, 2009 12:58:43 PM
Actually, TANK, Washington State's bars are smoke free inside. But point taken. At the same time, the bars still act as an important social scene for many homos. And lest we forget, a Seattle gay bar, Changes, was actually firebombed about 20 years ago.
Posted by: David R. | Jan 12, 2009 1:34:15 PM
And more to the point, even if it's "just" the bars, I think it's admirable that these Seattleites are showing that they won't be intimidated.
Posted by: David R. (no-longer-bar-going Seattleite) | Jan 12, 2009 1:36:05 PM
Seattle's gay community is VERY strong and connected. Capitol Hill is DENSELY gay, and the geographical closeness helps build community. I wish my old neighbors well.
Posted by: John Bisceglia | Jan 12, 2009 2:36:31 PM
Ya, but with if it originated with a bar owner or employee in anticipation of the "support" (viz., excuse to get drunk) that would translate into a sound business decision? So long as wild shot in the dark speculation is up for grabs... Probably not, but meh-- "We won't...be...antiminimininated!"
Posted by: TANK | Jan 12, 2009 3:02:50 PM