Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
This is terrifying. I had no idea that NJ had gotten rednecks since I moved away. Making America Great Again, clearly. You need to report this to the police immediately. Just get it on record that this happened, that you were fearful for your safety (use those words), and that it happened there. It's important to not just let this go. Seriously, think of how you'll feel if those scumbags get their hands on someone else. Call the police *now*. -Dave On 4/19/23 15:37, danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
The rednecks are everywhere now, unfortunately. Some are just less obvious than others… Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 4:47 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote: This is terrifying. I had no idea that NJ had gotten rednecks since I moved away. Making America Great Again, clearly. You need to report this to the police immediately. Just get it on record that this happened, that you were fearful for your safety (use those words), and that it happened there. It's important to not just let this go. Seriously, think of how you'll feel if those scumbags get their hands on someone else. Call the police *now*. -Dave On 4/19/23 15:37, danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Agreed that the person who was assaulted and the driver who was followed should both file a police report ASAP. Glad to hear that everyone made it home safely, at least. On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 4:47 PM Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
This is terrifying. I had no idea that NJ had gotten rednecks since I moved away. Making America Great Again, clearly.
You need to report this to the police immediately. Just get it on record that this happened, that you were fearful for your safety (use those words), and that it happened there. It's important to not just let this go. Seriously, think of how you'll feel if those scumbags get their hands on someone else. Call the police *now*.
-Dave
On 4/19/23 15:37, danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Dave, I am a white, cis gendered (did I spell that right) man and I'm disgusted by the behavior of my neighbors. I have grown up in redneck country here in NJ. It is strange. Kelly ________________________________ From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> on behalf of Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2023 4:47 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Dave McGuire <mcguire@neurotica.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East This is terrifying. I had no idea that NJ had gotten rednecks since I moved away. Making America Great Again, clearly. You need to report this to the police immediately. Just get it on record that this happened, that you were fearful for your safety (use those words), and that it happened there. It's important to not just let this go. Seriously, think of how you'll feel if those scumbags get their hands on someone else. Call the police *now*. -Dave On 4/19/23 15:37, danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
I'm just not sure that the police would care. I dont have more than a general description, and I dont have plates. It's all circumstantial, no crime.If they actually _had_ done something to us, it wouldnt have gone over well. One of our party is a federal contractor, and I hear the FBI doesnt take too kindly to hate crimeing them.- DanSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone -------- Original message --------From: Dave McGuire <mcguire@neurotica.com> Date: 4/19/23 16:47 (GMT-05:00) To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: danjfitzgerald <danjfitzgerald@comcast.net> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East This is terrifying. I had no idea that NJ had gotten rednecks since I moved away. Making America Great Again, clearly. You need to report this to the police immediately. Just get it on record that this happened, that you were fearful for your safety (use those words), and that it happened there. It's important to not just let this go. Seriously, think of how you'll feel if those scumbags get their hands on someone else. Call the police *now*. -DaveOn 4/19/23 15:37, danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic wrote:> Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZNew Kensington, PA
Please take my word for this Dan, I come from a police family. They will probably say something like "I'm sorry that happened to you, but there's nothing we can do", but they WILL make a note of it. All cops have a "little black book" of people who are troublemakers and places to keep an eye on. There does not need to be a crime. Just help the cops out a bit and give them this little tip. They need to know that trash like those guys are on the hunt in that area. It may very literally save someone's life. -Dave On 4/19/23 17:00, danjfitzgerald wrote:
I'm just not sure that the police would care. I dont have more than a general description, and I dont have plates. It's all circumstantial, no crime.
If they actually _had_ done something to us, it wouldnt have gone over well. One of our party is a federal contractor, and I hear the FBI doesnt take too kindly to hate crimeing them.
- Dan
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
-------- Original message -------- From: Dave McGuire <mcguire@neurotica.com> Date: 4/19/23 16:47 (GMT-05:00) To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: danjfitzgerald <danjfitzgerald@comcast.net> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East
This is terrifying. I had no idea that NJ had gotten rednecks since I moved away. Making America Great Again, clearly.
You need to report this to the police immediately. Just get it on record that this happened, that you were fearful for your safety (use those words), and that it happened there. It's important to not just let this go. Seriously, think of how you'll feel if those scumbags get their hands on someone else. Call the police *now*.
-Dave
On 4/19/23 15:37, danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
What Dave said. Lack of reporting of "near miss" incidents is what kept Troy the way it was. Thanks, Jonathan ------- Original Message ------- On Wednesday, April 19th, 2023 at 17:07, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Please take my word for this Dan, I come from a police family. They will probably say something like "I'm sorry that happened to you, but there's nothing we can do", but they WILL make a note of it. All cops have a "little black book" of people who are troublemakers and places to keep an eye on. There does not need to be a crime. Just help the cops out a bit and give them this little tip. They need to know that trash like those guys are on the hunt in that area. It may very literally save someone's life.
-Dave
On 4/19/23 17:00, danjfitzgerald wrote:
I'm just not sure that the police would care. I dont have more than a general description, and I dont have plates. It's all circumstantial, no crime.
If they actually had done something to us, it wouldnt have gone over well. One of our party is a federal contractor, and I hear the FBI doesnt take too kindly to hate crimeing them.
- Dan
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
-------- Original message -------- From: Dave McGuire mcguire@neurotica.com Date: 4/19/23 16:47 (GMT-05:00) To: vcf-midatlantic vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org Cc: danjfitzgerald danjfitzgerald@comcast.net Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East
This is terrifying. I had no idea that NJ had gotten rednecks since I moved away. Making America Great Again, clearly.
You need to report this to the police immediately. Just get it on record that this happened, that you were fearful for your safety (use those words), and that it happened there. It's important to not just let this go. Seriously, think of how you'll feel if those scumbags get their hands on someone else. Call the police now.
-Dave
On 4/19/23 15:37, danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
File anyway. Imagine the scenario where someone else has another near miss but gets an ID.Now you have a shot to have a pattern documented.Rob -------- Original message --------From: danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Date: 4/19/23 5:01 PM (GMT-05:00) To: Dave McGuire <mcguire@neurotica.com>, vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: danjfitzgerald <danjfitzgerald@comcast.net> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East I'm just not sure that the police would care. I dont have more than a general description, and I dont have plates. It's all circumstantial, no crime.If they actually _had_ done something to us, it wouldnt have gone over well. One of our party is a federal contractor, and I hear the FBI doesnt take too kindly to hate crimeing them.- DanSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone-------- Original message --------From: Dave McGuire <mcguire@neurotica.com> Date: 4/19/23 16:47 (GMT-05:00) To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: danjfitzgerald <danjfitzgerald@comcast.net> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East This is terrifying. I had no idea that NJ had gotten rednecks since I moved away. Making America Great Again, clearly. You need to report this to the police immediately. Just get it on record that this happened, that you were fearful for your safety (use those words), and that it happened there. It's important to not just let this go. Seriously, think of how you'll feel if those scumbags get their hands on someone else. Call the police *now*. -DaveOn 4/19/23 15:37, danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic wrote:> Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZNew Kensington, PA
We've been to Kelly's several times before during Workshop events. I never expected that kind of behavior from people who patronize that pace. If I'm thinking of the correct restaurant, it's the one that's kind of on a rounded corner, with an odd parking layout, and has a mix of indoor and outdoor seating. If you don't want to report it to the police, report it to the restaurant. Their response to such a report should let you know if this was an isolated incident. We're all behind you on this. Jeff Salzman On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 3:37 PM danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
This is not on topic. On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:33 PM Jeff S via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We've been to Kelly's several times before during Workshop events. I never expected that kind of behavior from people who patronize that pace. If I'm thinking of the correct restaurant, it's the one that's kind of on a rounded corner, with an odd parking layout, and has a mix of indoor and outdoor seating.
If you don't want to report it to the police, report it to the restaurant. Their response to such a report should let you know if this was an isolated incident. We're all behind you on this.
Jeff Salzman
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 3:37 PM danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 6:43 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
This is not on topic.
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe. Thanks.
Not on topic, correct. On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:48 PM Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 6:43 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
This is not on topic.
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
It is absolutely on topic, as it's about a safety issue relating to a VCF event, at a venue which was attended by the VCF membership, and may be again in the future. Why, exactly, are you trying to quash this thread? (That's not a rhetorical question.) -Dave On 4/19/23 19:03, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Not on topic, correct.
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:48 PM Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 6:43 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
This is not on topic.
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Here Bill, I fixed it for you. Now you can filter by OT: and drop in the plonk file. This, in my opinion, should be discussed. ________________________________ From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> on behalf of Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2023 7:06 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Dave McGuire <mcguire@neurotica.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East It is absolutely on topic, as it's about a safety issue relating to a VCF event, at a venue which was attended by the VCF membership, and may be again in the future. Why, exactly, are you trying to quash this thread? (That's not a rhetorical question.) -Dave On 4/19/23 19:03, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Not on topic, correct.
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:48 PM Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 6:43 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
This is not on topic.
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
thank you. That's all I was saying. I get that everyone is sensitive, but OT is the appropriate subject header prefix, thanks for understanding my point. b On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 7:08 PM Kelly Leavitt via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Here Bill, I fixed it for you.
Now you can filter by OT: and drop in the plonk file. This, in my opinion, should be discussed. ________________________________ From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> on behalf of Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2023 7:06 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Dave McGuire <mcguire@neurotica.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East
It is absolutely on topic, as it's about a safety issue relating to a VCF event, at a venue which was attended by the VCF membership, and may be again in the future.
Why, exactly, are you trying to quash this thread?
(That's not a rhetorical question.)
-Dave
On 4/19/23 19:03, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Not on topic, correct.
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:48 PM Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 6:43 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
This is not on topic.
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
My off topic flag came out when we started taking about New Jersey etc. fearing that the discussion would get political about NJ and things beyond the actual incident.. I am On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 7:06 PM Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
It is absolutely on topic, as it's about a safety issue relating to a VCF event, at a venue which was attended by the VCF membership, and may be again in the future.
Why, exactly, are you trying to quash this thread?
(That's not a rhetorical question.)
-Dave
On 4/19/23 19:03, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Not on topic, correct.
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:48 PM Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 6:43 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
This is not on topic.
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
I think we're all above that. I'm not disparaging NJ; I was born in Trenton. It's also not political, though things like this are very much on the rise now, as I'm sure you know, and the root cause of that IS political. The discussion is about a couple of scumbags and the need for those who were targeted to report the incident. The discussion is also about supporting our friends and fellow event attendees, which I also feel is important. But, of course, some may disagree. -Dave On 4/19/23 19:23, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
My off topic flag came out when we started taking about New Jersey etc. fearing that the discussion would get political about NJ and things beyond the actual incident..
I am
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 7:06 PM Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
It is absolutely on topic, as it's about a safety issue relating to a VCF event, at a venue which was attended by the VCF membership, and may be again in the future.
Why, exactly, are you trying to quash this thread?
(That's not a rhetorical question.)
-Dave
On 4/19/23 19:03, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Not on topic, correct.
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:48 PM Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 6:43 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
This is not on topic.
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
go for it, just put OT in the subject header. thanks b On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 7:29 PM Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
I think we're all above that. I'm not disparaging NJ; I was born in Trenton. It's also not political, though things like this are very much on the rise now, as I'm sure you know, and the root cause of that IS political.
The discussion is about a couple of scumbags and the need for those who were targeted to report the incident. The discussion is also about supporting our friends and fellow event attendees, which I also feel is important. But, of course, some may disagree.
-Dave
On 4/19/23 19:23, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
My off topic flag came out when we started taking about New Jersey etc. fearing that the discussion would get political about NJ and things beyond the actual incident..
I am
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 7:06 PM Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
It is absolutely on topic, as it's about a safety issue relating to
a
VCF event, at a venue which was attended by the VCF membership, and may be again in the future.
Why, exactly, are you trying to quash this thread?
(That's not a rhetorical question.)
-Dave
On 4/19/23 19:03, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Not on topic, correct.
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:48 PM Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 6:43 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
This is not on topic.
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
I'm sorry for not having done so in my first reply. -Dave On 4/19/23 19:43, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
go for it, just put OT in the subject header.
thanks b
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 7:29 PM Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
I think we're all above that. I'm not disparaging NJ; I was born in Trenton. It's also not political, though things like this are very much on the rise now, as I'm sure you know, and the root cause of that IS political.
The discussion is about a couple of scumbags and the need for those who were targeted to report the incident. The discussion is also about supporting our friends and fellow event attendees, which I also feel is important. But, of course, some may disagree.
-Dave
On 4/19/23 19:23, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
My off topic flag came out when we started taking about New Jersey etc. fearing that the discussion would get political about NJ and things beyond the actual incident..
I am
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 7:06 PM Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
It is absolutely on topic, as it's about a safety issue relating to
a
VCF event, at a venue which was attended by the VCF membership, and may be again in the future.
Why, exactly, are you trying to quash this thread?
(That's not a rhetorical question.)
-Dave
On 4/19/23 19:03, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Not on topic, correct.
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:48 PM Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 6:43 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
> This is not on topic. > > It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
First off, Bill Degnan isn’t a representative of VCF, and neither am I. Secondly what assault? I didn’t read anywhere that someone was assaulted. Let’s not start putting words into anyone’s mouth. No one representing VCF said anything or even hinted at an official position and no one including the original author of this thread reported an assault. Additionally this didn’t happen at vcf and The fact that the place the group of people were at before they went to a bar at the Jersey shore was VCF doesn’t make this a matter related to vcf East. Facts matter. I’m glad no one was involved in an actual assault and everyone arrived at their destination safe and sound. Informing the local police and the establishment where any type of events are witnessed is always a good idea. Problems can’t be solved if people don’t know they exist. Tony Bogan
I agree -- facts matter. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. No physical injury is required, but the actor must have intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the victim and the victim must have thereby been put in immediate apprehension of such a contact. So the person who attempted to body check the VCF attendee assaulted that person. Best, Mark On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 7:05 PM Tony Bogan <thebogans@mac.com> wrote:
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
First off, Bill Degnan isn’t a representative of VCF, and neither am I. Secondly what assault? I didn’t read anywhere that someone was assaulted. Let’s not start putting words into anyone’s mouth. No one representing VCF said anything or even hinted at an official position and no one including the original author of this thread reported an assault. Additionally this didn’t happen at vcf and The fact that the place the group of people were at before they went to a bar at the Jersey shore was VCF doesn’t make this a matter related to vcf East.
Facts matter.
I’m glad no one was involved in an actual assault and everyone arrived at their destination safe and sound. Informing the local police and the establishment where any type of events are witnessed is always a good idea. Problems can’t be solved if people don’t know they exist.
Tony Bogan
And I agree with Tony that this is not a VCF matter. There was no connection to VCF other than the fact that the people involved in the incident had attended VCF earlier in the day. VCF has no involvement here. However, this is about personal safety. Based on the description of the incident, I believe the targeted person/persons were very close to personal injury, or worse. For that, ANY venue, ANY mailing list, ANYWHERE, is an appropriate place to warn people about what happened. If it decreases the chance of it happening again, even by a miniscule amount, it is surely worth a few presses of the delete key from those who are not interested. Does anyone here disagree? That's also not a rhetorical question. -Dave On 4/19/23 19:08, Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I agree -- facts matter.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault
Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. No physical injury is required, but the actor must have intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the victim and the victim must have thereby been put in immediate apprehension of such a contact.
So the person who attempted to body check the VCF attendee assaulted that person.
Best,
Mark
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 7:05 PM Tony Bogan <thebogans@mac.com> wrote:
It's not on-topic to discuss the assault of a VCF attendee and the apparent attempted assault or worse of a group of VCF attendees? Sounds like a relevant safety discussion to me. If it is the official position of VCF that this is in fact off-topic, please let me know so that I can unsubscribe.
Thanks.
First off, Bill Degnan isn’t a representative of VCF, and neither am I. Secondly what assault? I didn’t read anywhere that someone was assaulted. Let’s not start putting words into anyone’s mouth. No one representing VCF said anything or even hinted at an official position and no one including the original author of this thread reported an assault. Additionally this didn’t happen at vcf and The fact that the place the group of people were at before they went to a bar at the Jersey shore was VCF doesn’t make this a matter related to vcf East.
Facts matter.
I’m glad no one was involved in an actual assault and everyone arrived at their destination safe and sound. Informing the local police and the establishment where any type of events are witnessed is always a good idea. Problems can’t be solved if people don’t know they exist.
Tony Bogan
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
It is very much on topic. -Dave On 4/19/23 18:42, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
This is not on topic.
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 6:33 PM Jeff S via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We've been to Kelly's several times before during Workshop events. I never expected that kind of behavior from people who patronize that pace. If I'm thinking of the correct restaurant, it's the one that's kind of on a rounded corner, with an odd parking layout, and has a mix of indoor and outdoor seating.
If you don't want to report it to the police, report it to the restaurant. Their response to such a report should let you know if this was an isolated incident. We're all behind you on this.
Jeff Salzman
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 3:37 PM danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Jeff, I'm talking to my party to have them report it to the Neptune PD in the morning. I'll also call the Neptune PD and ask for their LGBTQ liaison officer, and forward them the email I sent to the mailing list (hopefully with the HTML preserved). Also: I fail to see how this is off-topic. The only reason I even took my party to that restaurant was because I was previously brought there for a group dinner during a VCF Mid-Atlantic repair workshop. I want to put a stake in the ground to make sure that we don't do a group dinner there again. On Wed, 2023-04-19 at 18:33 -0400, Jeff S via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
We've been to Kelly's several times before during Workshop events. I neverexpected that kind of behavior from people who patronize that pace. If I'mthinking of the correct restaurant, it's the one that's kind of on arounded corner, with an odd parking layout, and has a mix of indoor andoutdoor seating. If you don't want to report it to the police, report it to the restaurant.Their response to such a report should let you know if this was an isolatedincident. We're all behind you on this. Jeff Salzman On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 3:37 PM danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionarytale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCFMid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almosthappened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dontknow what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, andwent out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless"since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I findThe Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locallyowned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one ofthe places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-todinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and thefull details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchangedstories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when theydid, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger whitegentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbolson it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least onemember of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single- file; whenhe encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slamher against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" asshe walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was theonly one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of ourgroup.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while weate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us.Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea thatcorned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At leastthey knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co- presenter is aninfosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational securityvery seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever,they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. Theyleft the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodiesstanding behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When themore obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed thetwo men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into theirtruck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPSwhile noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out,they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and thetruck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew throughthe yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get betweenus and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person inmy party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chosenot to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticutthat this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "bodycheck man" matched the description the other person gave of one of thepickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened tous on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlanticcommunity know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yoursalways,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5GEvolution capable smartphone Regards,
Dan FitzGerald
Before punishing the restaurant, maybe reach out and see what they can do to assist. (Do they have video that helps ID the person for example.)Your email seemed to say the restaurant was attentive to your party.On the other hand if they routinely allow in people like who assaulted your acquaintance, that's a black mark. -------- Original message --------From: Dan FitzGerald via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Date: 4/19/23 10:05 PM (GMT-05:00) To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Dan FitzGerald <danjfitzgerald@comcast.net> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT Almost hate crimed at Kelly's after VCF East Jeff,I'm talking to my party to have them report it to the Neptune PD in themorning. I'll also call the Neptune PD and ask for their LGBTQ liaisonofficer, and forward them the email I sent to the mailing list(hopefully with the HTML preserved).Also: I fail to see how this is off-topic. The only reason I even tookmy party to that restaurant was because I was previously brought therefor a group dinner during a VCF Mid-Atlantic repair workshop. I wantto put a stake in the ground to make sure that we don't do a groupdinner there again.On Wed, 2023-04-19 at 18:33 -0400, Jeff S via vcf-midatlantic wrote:> We've been to Kelly's several times before during Workshop events. I> neverexpected that kind of behavior from people who patronize that> pace. If I'mthinking of the correct restaurant, it's the one that's> kind of on arounded corner, with an odd parking layout, and has a mix> of indoor andoutdoor seating.> If you don't want to report it to the police, report it to the> restaurant.Their response to such a report should let you know if> this was an isolatedincident. We're all behind you on this.> Jeff Salzman> On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 3:37 PM danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic <> vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:> > Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a> > cautionarytale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at> > VCF East and VCFMid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That> > being said, this almosthappened to my co-exhibitors and myself> > after we left the event and I dontknow what I can do about it other> > than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my2.5 co-exhibitors and myself> > were some of the last to leave InfoAge, andwent out for a> > celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless"since the> > traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I> > findThe Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to> > locallyowned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as> > that was one ofthe places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when> > looking for a new go-todinner place last year.I didnt notice much> > of anything at the time, and thefull details didnt come to light> > until two of my co-exhibitors exchangedstories after we had safely> > returned home to Connecticut. But when theydid, a disturbing> > picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger whitegentleman> > wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbolson> > it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least> > onemember of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-> > file; whenhe encountered the last person in our line he made an> > attempt to body slamher against the wall. She dodged him and said> > "Hi, how are you doing?" asshe walked past him. Since we were> > walking in single file, she was theonly one that saw this, and she> > didn't say anything to the rest of ourgroup.During the meal, at> > least one couple at the bar glared at us while weate, while the> > manager made a harried attempt to check in on us.Everything was> > uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea thatcorned> > beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At> > leastthey knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-> > presenter is aninfosec specialist and has trained themself to take> > operational securityvery seriously; whenever they enter a room or a> > parking lot or whatever,they scan for possible threats. They were> > also our driver that night. Theyleft the restaraunt first and> > noticed two large men with black hoodiesstanding behind a pickup> > truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When themore obviously> > transgender members of our party came out, they noticed thetwo men> > nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into> > theirtruck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess> > with the GPSwhile noting that the truck just sat idling. When we> > started to back out,they noticed the truck turn its brake lights> > on. We pulled out and thetruck followed us. We drove to 35 and> > Belmar Avenue and then blew throughthe yield, allowing for a car> > coming out of the QuickCheck to get betweenus and the truck. Then> > we were able to lose the tail.Because the person inmy party who> > almost got body checked and the person driving our car chosenot to> > talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in> > Connecticutthat this had happened. Also, the description that one> > person gave of "bodycheck man" matched the description the other> > person gave of one of thepickup truck men.The purpose of this story> > is to document what happened tous on Sunday night following VCF> > East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlanticcommunity know of the> > kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yoursalways,Dan> > FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T> > 5GEvolution capable smartphoneRegards,Dan FitzGerald
Thanks so much Dan, for letting us know. I am so glad that nothing worse happened to you and your friends. To be clear, this is definitely on-topic for a list that discusses activities at large group events, and is definitely a worth-while notice, to make sure that anyone knows to be aware when traveling around the area. Sadly, this sort of thing has been happening in many places, and it's definitely important to be vigilant. All, please think before you respond, and consider the effects that your words may have on others. If any (intentional, or otherwise) disparaging content is posted, action will be quickly taken. Please contact myself, or other members of the VCF management team with any questions. Thanks! - Alex Jacocks On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 3:37 PM danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
I am glad everyone is safe, thanks for the information. Bobby On Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 04:59:59 PM EDT, Alexander Jacocks via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote: Thanks so much Dan, for letting us know. I am so glad that nothing worse happened to you and your friends. To be clear, this is definitely on-topic for a list that discusses activities at large group events, and is definitely a worth-while notice, to make sure that anyone knows to be aware when traveling around the area. Sadly, this sort of thing has been happening in many places, and it's definitely important to be vigilant. All, please think before you respond, and consider the effects that your words may have on others. If any (intentional, or otherwise) disparaging content is posted, action will be quickly taken. Please contact myself, or other members of the VCF management team with any questions. Thanks! - Alex Jacocks On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 3:37 PM danjfitzgerald via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Forward: I am sending this out not as an accusation, but as a cautionary tale. VCF East was amazing and the wonderful folks at VCF East and VCF Mid-Atlantic had nothing to do with this. That being said, this almost happened to my co-exhibitors and myself after we left the event and I dont know what I can do about it other than warn everybody else.On Sunday, my 2.5 co-exhibitors and myself were some of the last to leave InfoAge, and went out for a celebratory dinner. We've all been a little "homeless" since the traditional VCF Mid-Atlantic haunt closed this winter, and I find The Brickhouse too TV intensive for dinner, and try to stick to locally owned places if I can. I suggested Kelly's in Neptune as that was one of the places that VCF Mid-Atlantic tried out when looking for a new go-to dinner place last year.I didnt notice much of anything at the time, and the full details didnt come to light until two of my co-exhibitors exchanged stories after we had safely returned home to Connecticut. But when they did, a disturbing picture emerged. On the way in, we passed a larger white gentleman wearing a black hoodie with white American flag and other symbols on it. I didnt register this, but he seemed to clock that at least one member of my group was Transgender. We were entering in single-file; when he encountered the last person in our line he made an attempt to body slam her against the wall. She dodged him and said "Hi, how are you doing?" as she walked past him. Since we were walking in single file, she was the only one that saw this, and she didn't say anything to the rest of our group.During the meal, at least one couple at the bar glared at us while we ate, while the manager made a harried attempt to check in on us. Everything was uneventful otherwise, excepting the chef having no idea that corned beef and cabbage is supposed to be serverd brisket style. At least they knew how to clean their taps.Our unofficial third co-presenter is an infosec specialist and has trained themself to take operational security very seriously; whenever they enter a room or a parking lot or whatever, they scan for possible threats. They were also our driver that night. They left the restaraunt first and noticed two large men with black hoodies standing behind a pickup truck, talking and smoking cigarettes. When the more obviously transgender members of our party came out, they noticed the two men nod at each other, throw away their cigarettes and get into their truck. We made it into our car and they pretended to mess with the GPS while noting that the truck just sat idling. When we started to back out, they noticed the truck turn its brake lights on. We pulled out and the truck followed us. We drove to 35 and Belmar Avenue and then blew through the yield, allowing for a car coming out of the QuickCheck to get between us and the truck. Then we were able to lose the tail.Because the person in my party who almost got body checked and the person driving our car chose not to talk about it, we didnt realize until dinner back in Connecticut that this had happened. Also, the description that one person gave of "body check man" matched the description the other person gave of one of the pickup truck men.The purpose of this story is to document what happened to us on Sunday night following VCF East, and to also let the VCF Mid-Atlantic community know of the kind of people who patron Kelly's in Neptune.Yours always,Dan FitzGeraldSent via the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone
participants (13)
-
Alexander Jacocks -
Bill Degnan -
Bob Aviles -
Dan FitzGerald -
danjfitzgerald
-
Dave McGuire -
Jeff S -
Jonathan Chapman -
Kelly Leavitt -
laurakid -
Mark Whittington -
rstaab -
Tony Bogan