# Do you want fries with that? (McDonald's employee beats customers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 15, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693 "2011-10-15T00:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/141 "2011-10-16T22:57:14Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Yeah, the two customers got exactly what they deserved. You hop the counter and all bets are off. > > But fear not for those who think that the employee went overboard. I expect McDonalds will be forking out large sums of money to the two ladies. > > BTW, I wonder if the $50 was forged…? Ok, but the wrongness of the two women does not mitigate the wrongness of the McDonald’s employee. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/142 "2011-10-16T23:04:12Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Yeah, the two customers got exactly what they deserved. You hop the counter and all bets are off. > > But fear not for those who think that the employee went overboard. I expect McDonalds will be forking out large sums of money to the two ladies. > > BTW, I wonder if the $50 was forged…? Ditto. Unfortunately yes. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/143 "2011-10-17T00:58:51Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > This is our society. And if you, as a man, have no way of handling two unarmed woman who are being aggressive towards you, without viciously mauling them with a deadly weapon; well you have no place in this society. They’re aggressors? I have less place in this society for them than I do for him. ---
**Author:** ![CTburns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a5b964/32.png) [@CTburns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CTburns)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/144 "2011-10-17T02:09:25Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Yeah, I agree completely with this. Everyone’s behavior in this incident seemed way over-the-top and disproportionate to what was actually going on. People shoot each-other for gold chains and sneakers. In their world this isn’t “over the top” behavior. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/145 "2011-10-17T02:11:39Z")
> [@CTburns](#): > > People shoot each-other for gold chains and sneakers. In their world this isn’t “over the top” behavior. Hey cool, a time traveler from the 1980s. Let me ask you, what was the most surprising when you got here: Legalized gay marriage in some states, or a black president? ---
**Author:** ![palacheck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e57/32.png) [@palacheck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palacheck)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/146 "2011-10-17T04:47:34Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Hey cool, a time traveler from the 1980s. Let me ask you, what was the most surprising when you got here: Legalized gay marriage in some states, or a black president? Yeah! Everyone knows that it’s all about the platinum chains these days! But you don’t shoot someone for their sneakers, that’s for sure. You blindside them with a sucker punch. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/147 "2011-10-17T06:00:52Z")
> [@CTburns](#): > > People shoot each-other for gold chains and sneakers. In their world this isn’t “over the top” behavior. Don’t forget boomboxs. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/148 "2011-10-17T06:32:19Z")
Why is everyone assuming that just because the women were on the ground that there were no longer a threat? I’d fight like a fucking banshee if someone knocked me down and god forbid you should be an ankle, kneecap or swinging nutsack in that scenario. On the ground does not mean out of commission and it was two on one. They jumped the counter because they were ignorant. Checking $50 bills is probably company policy, which is to say he would have been in shit if he didn’t do it (especially if the $50 turned out to be fake). They decide to get all outraged, get physical and jump over the counter. “Fuck the bitches up” would be the first option on my Terminator menu too. Then “would you like fries with that?” > [@Ambivalid](#): > > Don’t forget boomboxs. A boombox is not a toy. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/149 "2011-10-17T06:44:13Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Why is everyone assuming that just because the women were on the ground that there were no longer a threat? > . Why is it that the name Jerome Ersland is occurring to me right now? ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/150 "2011-10-17T12:47:14Z")
I’ll be honest, if I was on the guy’s jury and all the evidence presented to me was that video, I wouldn’t convict. Somebody being down on the ground does not mean they are no longer a threat. Who the hell knows what sort of weapon they had (why did they jump the counter in the first place, if not to attack the guy)? His past criminal record is irrelevant, to my mind. He was at work, minding his own business, when he was attacked and chased behind the counter. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/151 "2011-10-17T12:51:19Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Either act like the McDonald’s employee did and bash the living shit out of the unarmed women after they were compromised and no longer a threat OR do nothing and acquiesce simply because they are women?? They were unarmed? Says who? ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/152 "2011-10-17T15:31:24Z")
Wow, that was hard to watch. But you know what? I was all prepared to think this guy went fucking bananas, and I don’t think he did. He actually seemed to know what he was doing. This is really a lesson for all the wannabe thugs and hoodrats out there. Somebody out there is crazier and more fucked up than you. I mean, what the fuck was the first woman trying to accomplish by slapping an employee? I guess she thought he was going to cower behind the desk. Second, what the fuck is going through your mind when you leap over a metal counter? I think that would shock the shit out of me if I was the McDonalds dude, and I’d probably be carved up or poked full of holes. I suspect they weren’t going back there to waggle their fingers in his face. When you choose to get physical, I don’t think you get to say, “Hey, wait a minute, this is no longer a fight in my favor.” Dude has been in prison, and might have had people coming at him with shivs and the like. So I know why he reacted as he did. And it wasn’t like he was indiscriminately beating on them. They appeared to be getting up… when you are defeated it’s best to stay down. Kind of like how the cops will shoot you if you get up after they tell you to stay down. I feel badly for the guy behind the counter first. His life might have flashed before his eyes. He wasn’t expecting someone to come flying over the counter with God knows what to assault him. I think he was defending himself, and guess what? When you feel that level of panic and fear it is hard to turn it off. Rationally, I think we’d like to think we’d walk away once they were down, but what if either of the women had a gun or knife? I also have to say that anybody who would leap over a counter into a place where there are multiple people, hot fryers, ovens, etc. is batshit insane. McDonald’s guy likely spared his co-workers serious injuries - I doubt those specimens were going to surgically go after the guy alone. I suspect if they had gotten hold of the metal bar first they’d be using it on him (and anyone around). It is hard to watch, and yes, it does seem particularly brutal - compounded by the fact that it is a woman getting beaten by a man - but they made a dangerous, stupid gamble and lost. I’m not patting the employee on the back but I understand why he did what he did, and in fact, it’s one of those situations where the miscreants were the only ones hurt and not innocent bystanders by gunfire, or any other collateral damage. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/153 "2011-10-17T15:41:47Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Rationally, I think we’d like to think we’d walk away once they were down, but what if either of the women had a gun or knife? > > I also have to say that anybody who would leap over a counter into a place where there are multiple people, hot fryers, ovens, etc. is batshit insane. If they’re batshit insane and can reach the hot fryers, they maybe don’t even need knives. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/154 "2011-10-17T15:54:11Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > If they’re batshit insane and can reach the hot fryers, they maybe don’t even need knives. Word. I noticed this: > [@](#): > > Fellow workers can be seen on the video unsuccessfully trying to restrain McIntosh. Sources say McIntosh ordered his assailants to stay down, and belted them each time they tried to get up. The continued beating is partially hidden from the camera by the counter. That’s exactly what the police use as SOP. If you are incapacitated you are supposed to stay down, not get up. Now if he was pounding the shit out of them with blood splattering on the walls, that seems OTT - but again, someone unexpectedly came into your personal space with bad intent. I wouldn’t be clucking my teeth about it. The other thing is that we can’t see behind the counter, so it’s possible the skull fracture is the result of a fall or something not related to the rod - not saying that’s absolutely the case, but it is possible. I would suspect that the broken arm is a defensive injury. I certainly hope that no-one is permanently injured (physically) as a result of this. I don’t see how McDonald’s would be liable as the women JUMPED OVER THE COUNTER and attacked the employee. If he had stepped out into the restaurant area, absolutely, yes. But he was clearly attacked first and they were the aggressors. I maintain that the employee’s response ensured that only the potential assailants were injured and nobody else - other employees or customers. Seeing as these two didn’t appear to be the most rational, I have no doubt that they had a weapon of some kind and there’s no guarantee that nobody would have been injured. Hell, the guy was doing his job, he doesn’t deserve to be yelled at, slapped, or injured in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/155 "2011-10-17T16:19:32Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > If they’re batshit insane and can reach the hot fryers I’m not having lunch with _you_; _you’re_ having lunch with _me!_ ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/156 "2011-10-17T16:21:03Z")
On further reflection, I think I am deeply amused that we have managed to get four pages (and counting) out of discussing the extent to which it is acceptable to continue beating someone after they have slapped you in the face. Sometimes I love this message board. (I’m not being sarcastic, either.) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/157 "2011-10-17T16:23:26Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > On further reflection, I think I am deeply amused that we have managed to get four pages (and counting) out of discussing the extent to which it is acceptable to continue beating someone after they have slapped you in the face. Sometimes I love this message board. (I’m not being sarcastic, either.) I think the acceptability is strongly correlated with their apparent willingness to continue the assault after the initial slap. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/158 "2011-10-17T16:26:36Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > On further reflection, I think I am deeply amused that we have managed to get four pages (and counting) out of discussing the extent to which it is acceptable to continue beating someone after they have slapped you in the face. Sometimes I love this message board. (I’m not being sarcastic, either.) That’s pretty reductionist. He didn’t beat them after they slapped him, they **came over the counter to cause him harm.** Personally, I don’t get how his response is problematic considering their decision to come into a dangerous kitchen to cause him harm. I think we would all like to think that we’d have the ability to assess health and intent of an assailant instantly, but he didn’t know that they were unarmed. If you’ve ever been in a fight, like when you felt your life was in immediate danger, you know it’s hard to “turn it off.” That’s why cops sometimes shoot assailants 30 times. I maintain that he was exceptionally together all things considered. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/159 "2011-10-17T16:40:02Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > …don’t bring a palm to crowbar fight. Oh, this is so wrong, but I laughed. So it appears this guy went too far and I suspect he may have some anger management issues, considering according to CBS he shot someone to death in high school. On the flip side though, if I imagine that two people were attacking me physically, beyond just a light tap to my cheek, and progress to coming behind the counter to attack me, _I am beating the shit out of those people_, and I am not going to stop until they run away or stop moving. I have no idea how far a nutso who is willing to walk behind the counter to assault me is willing to take it. Edit: Holy eff, I managed to miss (once again!) that a thread has gone on for multiple pages. Feel free to ignore me. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693/160 "2011-10-17T16:42:28Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Oh, this is so wrong, but I laughed. > > \*\*So it appears this guy went too far \*\*and I suspect he may have some anger management issues, considering according to CBS he shot someone to death in high school. On the flip side though, **if I imagine that two people were attacking me physically, beyond just a light tap to my cheek, and progress to coming behind the counter to attack me, _I am beating the shit out of those people_, and I am not going to stop until they run away or stop moving**. I have no idea how far a nutso who is willing to walk behind the counter to assault me is willing to take it. > > Edit: Holy eff, I managed to miss (once again!) that a thread has gone on for multiple pages. Feel free to ignore me. Bolding mine: MOL, I gotta say, I don’t think you really think he went too far. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-fries-with-that-mcdonalds-employee-beats-customers/599693.md?page=9)