# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![DeskMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DeskMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeskMonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/21 "2003-09-04T17:09:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bruce\_Daddy \* > \*\*And what the fuck are Amish kids doing with paintball guns? \*\* That struck me as kind of odd, too. I recently watched a documentary called [“Devil’s Playground”](http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/may/amish/) that was so weird. It’s about a rite of passage Amish teens go through when they’re 16. Practically every kid in this documentary was smoking like a chimney, there were girls in bonnets and sack dresses swilling beer from big plastic cups! The non-Amish kids claim that the Amish kids have the wildest parties in town, so they always try to attend. One Amish kid hopes to return to the community to follow in his father’s footsteps as a minister, but first must clear up the nasty addiction to crystal meth he acquired during his time in the Devil’s Playground. Before I saw this documentary, I had no idea, but it seems like there are lots of wild kids in the Amish community, some of them with paintball guns. Weird. That said, the guy who shot the tomatoers needs to be caught, that dude is a loose cannon! ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/22 "2003-09-04T17:11:55Z")
Look on the bright side: 1), there is a cautionary tale about the dangers of road rage and its consequences. 1. There are fewer really stupid people in the world. Its nature’s way. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/23 "2003-09-04T17:16:09Z")
I’m glad this reaction isn’t common in Thailand during [Songkran](http://www.sriwittayapaknam.ac.th/songkran.html), or Nepal and India during [Holi](http://il.essortment.com/whatishinduho_rksm.htm)… ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/24 "2003-09-04T17:17:12Z")
> [@](#): > > …meaning it seems like I’m always hearing about the unfortunate results you get when assholes and guns combine. Depends on which end of the gun you combine with the asshole. Guns make great asshole elimination devices. Not sure a 23-year-old Amish guy whose sole crime was tossing tomatoes at a car qualifies, though. And forget the paintball. What kind of 23-year-old thinks a wild time involves tossing tomatoes at cars? I mean, this is the kind of stunt most of us outgrew about the time we discovered girls, no? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/25 "2003-09-04T17:39:04Z")
Just two things: 1. There is no excuse for the sort of retaliation that this driver took, and i hope they catch him and put him away for a long time. 2. Anyone who thinks that throwing tomatoes at moving cars is just harmless fun is an absolute moron. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/26 "2003-09-04T18:11:13Z")
The acid in tomatoes can eat into a car’s paint job if not washed off jolly quick… (But gunfire is still unacceptable!) Trinopus (when I was a lad we threw eggplant at passing cars…) ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/27 "2003-09-04T18:49:43Z")
…and in the Northeast it was snowballs. Still, you call the cops. A cell phone and not a gun was what was required. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/28 "2003-09-04T19:15:38Z")
Wouldn’t the paintball guns ruin the paint on a car and cost a lot to repair? What a stupid tradition. ---
**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, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/29 "2003-09-04T19:28:06Z")
Paintball guns are some serious shit, forget about the tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/30 "2003-09-04T20:24:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*Just two things: > > 1. There is no excuse for the sort of retaliation that this driver took, and i hope they catch him and put him away for a long time. > > 2. Anyone who thinks that throwing tomatoes at moving cars is just harmless fun is an absolute moron. \*\* succinct. my only other comment is a general ‘wtf’ to community for apparently tolerating this little ritual. It surely couldn’t be that difficult to figure out who, where etc. (johann and his friends are just stopping by to pick up some produce, 3 squash, 2 cucumbers, 5 green peppers, 4 bushels of rotten tomatoes…). yes, it can indeed cause damage, startling the driver of a vehicle in motion is **never** a good plan, I’ve seen dents in cars from merely placing a laundry basket on top, so I don’t have any problem believing that any object, yes, even a squishy tomato, _thrown_ at a moving vehicle could leave a dent, the acid in the tomato juice can damage paint, and hell, just the fact that you’ve caused work for some one else… assholes. (but, in case anyone doesn’t figure this out, shooting them was way way way over the line) ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/31 "2003-09-04T20:47:17Z")
Ironically I just posted about road rage causing more problems than it’s worth and not provoking these drivers with guns. But the paintball gun makes me undecided. If the guy got out and someone fired a paintball gun at him, it’s considered a firearm (in Canada) and it certainly can kill you (at least, mine could). If I was being shot at with a paintball gun outside of a proper game, I might consider than an attack with a deadly weapon. Without knowing how the paintball gun was used in the story, I hesitate to bash the shooter outright. On the other hand driving through the same place 3 or 4 times means the guy was just looking to get provoked. The stupid kids should have realized that and stopped. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/32 "2003-09-04T20:50:33Z")
Sorry, just reread what I wrote, I in no way condone the shooter. Just pointing out that it was stupid on the kids part, but absolutely crazy on the driver’s part and should be punished to the full extent of the law. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/33 "2003-09-04T21:27:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by badmana \* > \*\*someone fired a paintball gun at him, it’s considered a firearm (in Canada) and it certainly can kill you (at least, mine could). If I was being shot at with a paintball gun outside of a proper game, I might consider than an attack with a deadly weapon. \*\* Your paintball gun could kill? What is the velocity of the ball coming out of the muzzle? I would imagine that a person would have to be pretty close to the muzzle to sustain a serious injury, let alone death. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/34 "2003-09-04T21:40:22Z")
Meh, I’m with bandit. Thin the herd. Once they find the shooter, they oughta wax his ass too. Thinning the herd again. The fewer idiots there are in the world, the happier I am. Amish or not. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/35 "2003-09-04T21:43:07Z")
It wasn’t me. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/36 "2003-09-04T22:03:18Z")
These were Amish, not Almish, **Scylla**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muldoon_s_Squishiness)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/37 "2003-09-05T00:12:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > \*\*Throwing objects, even soft squishy objects, at moving vehicles is stupid and potentially dangerous. People should be actively discouraged from doing so. > Just shows that a nitwit with a gun can do more damage than a nitwit with a tomato. \*\* _Potentially dangerous?!?!_ That’s like saying you are _a little bit pregnant_ In this case someone **was** actively discouraged from doing so. And I can imagine a scenario involving two 18 wheelers, one hauling gasoline, the other hauling a loaded car trailer on a busy highway and a nitwit with a tomato that would result in much more damage then a nitwit with a gun. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/38 "2003-09-05T00:26:26Z")
I blame Amishness for this. Seriously, do you have any idea how monumentally fucking bored you’d have to be to consider tossing tomatos at passing cars a rollicking good time? When you’re _twenty-three years old_? If this guy had had access to even basic cable, he’d be alive today. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/39 "2003-09-05T00:50:18Z")
The guy who was shot was actually Mennonite, not Amish. From the CNN link in the OP: > [@](#): > > Keim was born into an Amish family, but his family left the Amish church and became Mennonites, said Yoder. > > Mennonites share similar beliefs with the Amish, but drive cars and use more modern conveniences. Which apparently include paintguns. While 23 sounds a bit old to be engaging in such shenanigans, I must say that I’ve seen similar silly stuff from some fraternity brothers, who, like this kid, are old enough to know better. What I don’t get is the driver going by _five_ times (if I’m counting this correctly–the story says he got hit the first time, and drove back a second time; then 25 minutes later he drove past twice, and on a third pass got out of the car with his gun). He knew that they’d throw tomatoes at him each time. It’s as though he wanted them to wind him up enough so he could feel justified in shooting them. It’s scary that people like him live in our society. ---
**Author:** ![Trjckster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Trjckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trjckster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532/40 "2003-09-05T11:09:36Z")
The guy should have been fecking grateful they were just throwing tomatoes, in Northern Ireland [the kids drop breeze blocks on cars from overhanging foot bridges](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1814217.stm). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throw-tomatoes-and-get-shot/199532.md?page=3)