Followers

Monday, August 25, 2008

Fuck.

There are a number of things I'd rather be blogging about right now. I've seen some very good concerts recently. Things have generally been really good for me. Unfortunately something happened tonight that really fucked things up.

My friend Teddy is in town this week to celebrate his recent marriage to Kathryn. I went to high school with Teddy, he's a good friend of mine. He currently lives in San Diego, serving in the Navy.

A group of us went out to a couple clubs. Ultimately we ended up at The Electric Cowboy. This was my first time there. I'd previously sworn it off as being exceptionally trashy, and had no interest in ever going there. As it turns out my expectations were not far off the mark. Shortly after arriving Kathryn was harassed on the dance floor. They had the perpetrator escorted out (one of the perks of having connections at the club).

Due to the ever infinite wisdom of manager, Matthew Jarvis, the guy who sexually harassed and disrespected Teddy's wife was let back into the club. Apparently Mr. Jarvis decided that the guy was harmless, despite having multiple people raise complaints about him.

Shortly after that Teddy was assaulted in the bathroom by no less then four guys, including the asshole that had been allowed to re-enter the club. He was outnumbered and didn't stand a chance. Teddy was momentarily knocked unconscious.

By the time I became aware of the situation things had moved out into the parking lot. Teddy's face was bleeding and swollen. Kathryn was hysterical. The guys responsible for this were strutting around, gloating. One of them attacked one of Kathryn's brothers. The wonderfully helpful staff of the The Electric Fucking Cowboy pulled them apart and started yelling at her brother to calm down. Meanwhile the guy who attacked him was allowed to walk free before the cops arrived.

When the cops showed up they proved to be more useless than the Electric Cowboy security. Because Teddy and Kathryn had been drinking (at a bar! What are the odds?), they didn't listen to a word they said. Both officers at the scene were unnecessarily condescending towards the victims. Multiple people stepped up to identify the attackers, but the cops basically rolled their eyes and did nothing while those people got in their cars and left. While Kathryn was frantically on the phone trying to get an ambulance to the scene the female officer told her, in a very condescending tone, to get off the phone because the ambulance was pulling into the lot.

The Electric Cowboy scans the ID of everyone who enters the club. One of the servers (and a friend to Kathryn and Teddy) said she could look through the pictures and identify the assailant. While she was trying to do this, manager Matthew Jarvis again stepped in to provide a healthy dose of douche-baggery. Trying to save face for letting someone back into the club after an altercation, Jarvis tried to claim that the guy had never caused trouble in the past. The server stated that she had in fact had trouble with that customer before on several occasions, and had a witness to prove it. Jarvis then stated, in front of the cops, that she had problems with a lot of customers because she was a bitch.

I'm sorry if I'm rambling a bit, but I've been up really late at the hospital, waiting to make sure my friend is all right. The sun is rising now, and my mind is racing. I don't have that "fuck the police" mentality usually. My few experiences with the police have been relatively routine in the past. But tonight they were completely fucking worthless.

And if you, or anyone you know, goes to the Electric Cowboy - be warned. Those motherfuckers will sell you out to save face at the drop of a hat. Fuck them.

4 comments:

Paige said...

A friend of mine named Tara (she went to FHS with us) was killed two years ago in a car accident. The bouncers weren't paying any attention to who was being let in and out and she was put in a car with an intoxicated driver who drove a car into a tree going 80 miles. Because of negligence, her life might have been saved if someone had been paying more attention that night. So I know how you feel. Hope Teddy is alright.

Paige said...

and it was at the electric cowboy...

rachel. said...

god, i hope teddy's okay. i'll be thinking about him, his wife, and her brother.

further proof that god should just wipe that place from the face of the earth.

BG said...

The owner was like that because A) he's an asshole and B) he doesn't want a lawsuit. As to the police, they aren't exactly paid well, so people with a glorified sense of bravado tend to gravitate to them. I've never seen, nor heard, of a situation like that being handled well by any of the police forces in Knoxville. Sarah and I are keeping Teddy in our thoughts, if you see him, let him know we're thinking of him.