# The Onion Editor Badly Injured in 'Flash Mob' Explosion **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 11, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339 "2011-08-11T14:58:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/1 "2011-08-11T14:58:21Z")
You would think this would be some type of joke but sadly it is not. A Philadelphia woman who works for the satirical paper The Onion was injured along with several other people when a flash mob turned violent in Philadelphia in June. Even though it is older news, she is still recovering from the injuries sustained from the violent crowd who gathered for the purpose of mayhem. > **[Editor Assaulted In Philadelphia Mob Attack](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/onion-editor-assaulted-in_n_885139)** > > Editor Assaulted In Philadelphia Mob Attack ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/2 "2011-08-11T15:07:11Z")
Senseless violence purely for the sake of senseless violence. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/3 "2011-08-12T02:48:49Z")
I can’t believe how these mob attacks seem to have become such a problem this summer (there have been several incidents in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Milwaukee and probably more that I haven’t heard about) The mayor of Philly is trying to crack down with a curfew: [http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/philadelphia-fights-violent-flash-mobs-with-curfews/](http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/philadelphia-fights-violent-flash-mobs-with-curfews/) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/4 "2011-08-12T03:18:36Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Senseless violence purely for the sake of senseless violence. :mad: It gets me so mad, I want to punch a random stranger in the head. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/5 "2011-08-12T03:41:15Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > It gets me so mad, I want to punch a random stranger in the head. We’re gonna stamp out hate, Poke it with a stick, Rip its arms and legs off And see what makes it tick… ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/6 "2011-08-12T04:25:34Z")
The woman who was assaulted, Emily Guendelsberger, actually works for “The A.V. Club”, which is a serious, non-satirical, arts & entertainment publication. The A.V. Club is published by the Onion, but has a completely separate staff, and is a completely different publication. The print versions are bundled together in some cities, so the two are often assumed to be the same thing (and I can understand the confusion). You can read Guendelsberger’s own account of the attack here: [http://www.avclub.com/philadelphia/articles/flash-mob-fallout-a-multipleperspective-account-of,58379/](http://www.avclub.com/philadelphia/articles/flash-mob-fallout-a-multipleperspective-account-of,58379/) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/7 "2011-08-12T04:39:05Z")
Not too long ago I was wondering whatever happened to wilding. You never hear about it, and “thank goodness” I thought. So it still exists, but now it’s called “flash mob.” That’s kinda dumb. Flash mobs are supposed to be harmless fun. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/8 "2011-08-12T04:58:01Z")
Guendelsberger seems to be bending over backwards to stress that the attacks weren’t racial in character: although all the attackers were black, and _almost_ everyone in her group was white, she did have one Latino friend with them who also got a boot in the forehead. So . . . not racial. OK . . . ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/9 "2011-08-14T18:47:15Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > The A.V. Club is published by the Onion, but has a completely separate staff, and is a completely different publication. The print versions are bundled together in some cities, so the two are often assumed to be the same thing (and I can understand the confusion). Sorry, but it looks like you are the one who is confused. The two are always printed together. The AV Club is not published separately. It’s a subsection of the Onion, not a separate publication. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/10 "2011-08-14T21:44:50Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Senseless violence purely for the sake of senseless violence. :mad: I don’t find senseless violence purely for the sake of senseless violence nearly as bad a what the congress has been doing i.e. senseless politics purely for the sake of senseless politics. Sticks and stones will only break my bones, congress can literally destroy me. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/11 "2011-08-14T21:50:08Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > I don’t find senseless violence purely for the sake of senseless violence nearly as bad a what the congress has been doing i.e. senseless politics purely for the sake of senseless politics. Sticks and stones will only break my bones, congress can literally destroy me. Senseless hijack for the sake of senseless hijack, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/12 "2011-08-14T21:53:38Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > I don’t find senseless violence purely for the sake of senseless violence nearly as bad a what the congress has been doing i.e. senseless politics purely for the sake of senseless politics. Sticks and stones will only break my bones, congress can literally destroy me. Clever variations on children’s nursery rhymes aren’t really your forte are they? Sticks and stones can not only break bones but also kill you. Those are both forms of destruction. I am not sure what congress can do to ‘literally’ destroy you at the same level. Care to elaborate? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/13 "2011-08-14T22:27:28Z")
Strange how similar these phenomena are to what’s just happened in England. Is it an idea whose time has come, or did our rioters hear about your ones? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-editor-badly-injured-in-flash-mob-explosion/592339/14 "2011-08-14T23:47:45Z")
Here I go with [this site](http://violentflashmobs.com/%5B/url) again. The US mobs aren’t inspired by the British ones, we’ve had these mobs in the US for some time now. The attacks were more numerous and widespread than I thought they were when I first heard about the ones in Chicago and Milwaukee.