# Throw tomatoes and get shot **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 4, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532 "2003-09-04T15:06:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/1 "2003-09-04T15:06:38Z")
It seems that in an area of Ohio where a large number of Amish live, boys (acutally men if you look at the age) entertain themselves by throwing tomatoes at passing motorists. They get themselves a bucket of toms, hide in the cornfields and pelt cars as they go by. The [article](http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Midwest/09/04/cornfield.killing.ap/index.html) says, > [@](#): > > “The prank has gone on for years and years,” said Marty Yoder, who owns Marty’s Shoes in this town about 60 miles south of Cleveland. “All over the county it’s been happening every year.” This year the prank turned deadly. A motorist who was tired of his car being hit decided to do something about it. Your average person might call the police, or throw tomatoes back at the people. Hell, I could even understand going into the fields and kicking a little ass. This guy though, so far unidentified, took things too far. > [@](#): > > A motorist who had been pelted several times on Labor Day got out of his car and fired three to five rounds into the 7-foot-high corn, killing 23-year-old Steven L. Keim. I can really understand being upset by getting hit. I can understand wanting to take matters into your own hands. I cannot fathom though, what made this guy think that the appropriate response to tomatoes was bullets. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/2 "2003-09-04T15:18:06Z")
I read this earlier, what a fucked up situation. Supposedly he was hit _four_ times, which in my book would equal a mild ass kicking, not blasting someone with a shotgun. Pretty stupid tradition too if you ask me, hopefully they’ll stop it now. Hopefully they’ll catch this extremely short tempered nut as well. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/3 "2003-09-04T15:21:26Z")
1 gun toting asshole + 1 minor annoyance = 1 person who’s mother won’t see him anymore. America in a nutshell. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/4 "2003-09-04T15:23:27Z")
Oh yeah, not only is it disproportionate but this guy turned around and drove back and forth in front of the Amish guys several times before stopping and firing. The proper thing to do is get out of harm’s way, roll down the window, yell “You assholes!” at the corn, and then burn rubber in case the assholes decide to come out and react disproportionately too. Poor kid. Although it could endanger lives if somebody was scared enough to jerk the wheel or something, but I get the impression it was not a dangerous stretch of road. Still, poor kid. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/5 "2003-09-04T15:23:34Z")
It’s about time somebody put those delinquent Amish hellraisers in their place. Seriously, though, the reaction was disproportionate. At most, he should’ve fired the shotgun into the air just to show he meant business, but the better bet would have been to call the cops or meet with a community elder. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/6 "2003-09-04T15:25:58Z")
Or just smeared them with ice cream, _Witness_-style, it occurs to me. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/7 "2003-09-04T15:28:06Z")
Tomatoes don’t even damage a car, do they? ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/8 "2003-09-04T15:31:55Z")
I know we’re not allowed to wish death on anyone… > [@](#): > > The group told the sheriff’s office they had been throwing tomatoes and firing paintball guns at passing vehicles. (From the same article) My natural reaction is “These people outta be dragged out and shot.” They’re no different from the kids that throw rocks from overpasses onto passing cars. [Cite](http://www.wral.com/news/1937868/detail.html). But I’ll go with what **World Eater** said. This turd provoked it by his repeated drive-bys, when he should have gotten on the called the police, or just gone on with his life. Hopefully these punks will find another way to amuse themselves, and the driver will spend the rest of his life in jail as yet another cautionary tale about road rage. ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/9 "2003-09-04T15:34:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*Tomatoes don’t even damage a car, do they? \*\* They do if they’re in tins… Seriously though, how fucked up do you have to be to react like that?! Wonder if there was more to this than meets the eye? ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/10 "2003-09-04T15:35:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by An Arky \* > \*\*. . . America in a nutshell. \*\* 😕 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/11 "2003-09-04T15:42:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bruce\_Daddy \* > \*\*😕 \*\* …meaning it seems like I’m always hearing about the unfortunate results you get when you assholes and guns combine. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/12 "2003-09-04T15:42:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bruce\_Daddy \* > \*\*😕 \*\* …meaning it seems like I’m always hearing about the unfortunate results you get when assholes and guns combine. ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Frank\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_2)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/13 "2003-09-04T15:44:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*Tomatoes don’t even damage a car, do they? \*\* No, but if a tomato lands on the windshield it can scare and disorient the driver. This could lead them to slam on the brakes and cause a pile-up or they may jerk the wheel, lose control, and drive off the road into a hazard (ditch, pole, debris, etc.) It doesn’t matter how harmless the object is, throwing things at moving cars is never a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/14 "2003-09-04T15:46:09Z")
:smack: sorry for the double post. I was trying to take the “you” in front of “assholes” out. It was an editing mistake, not calling you an asshole. Don’t shoot me, please. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/15 "2003-09-04T15:53:26Z")
Throwing objects, even soft squishy objects, at moving vehicles is stupid and potentially dangerous. People should be actively discouraged from doing so. Shooting them, however, is going too far in the “active discouragement” line. Just shows that a nitwit with a gun can do more damage than a nitwit with a tomato. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/16 "2003-09-04T16:12:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > \*\*Just shows that a nitwit with a gun can do more damage than a nitwit with a tomato. \*\* I don’t know about that. Remove the tomato _or_ the gun from equation and he would still be alive. There are some short tempered people out in the world, and it seems there are a lot of idiots who are good at exposing that flaw. ---
**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/17 "2003-09-04T16:12:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rysler \* > \*\*I know we’re not allowed to wish death on anyone… > > My natural reaction is “These people outta be dragged out and shot.” They’re no different from the kids that throw rocks from overpasses onto passing cars. [Cite](http://www.wral.com/news/1937868/detail.html). > \*\* I don’t know if I’d go quite as far as being equal to throwing rocks, but it is definitely a dangerous thing. Like others have said, what if it were to hit your windshield, or even go through an open window and hit someone. On second thought, maybe it is just as dangerous as rocks from overpasses. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/18 "2003-09-04T16:17:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by An Arky \* > \*\*…meaning it seems like I’m always hearing about the unfortunate results you get when assholes and guns combine. \*\* Because the media doesn’t report people saving puppies. Here’s what gets me. _Obviously_, this guy is evil and this is by no means a defense of him. But wtf is up with these kids/“men”: > [@](#): > > driver of a Lincoln or Cadillac stopped, got out and **threatened to shoot whoever threw the tomatoes Monday night.** > > The vehicle turned around and drove past the cornfield again. The car was struck with tomatoes a second time. Um, hello? Wouldn’t you err on the side of safety and _quit throwing the damn tomatos?_ And what the fuck are Amish kids doing with paintball guns? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/19 "2003-09-04T16:30:53Z")
Yeah, I’m more concerned about the paintball guns. You shoot a car and someone has the window down, that could be really bad. I would have bought the guy a drink if he just beat the guy (unless the "guy was under 21) up a bit, but he obviously crossed the line. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/20 "2003-09-04T16:57:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bruce\_Daddy \* > \*\*And what the fuck are Amish kids doing with paintball guns? \*\* They’re inspired by Second Kings 9:30: And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she paintballed her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532.md?page=2)