SantaCon - I don't get it

[bcla]

I guess it's an excuse for people in various Santa and Christmas related costumes to go around and pub crawl. Only it leaves a trail of public drunkenness and even vandalism.

Here's video showing a guy who is wasted hanging with others between parked cars, and then he falls from the street to the sidewalk, and ends up tripping an innocent pedestrian who then goes down face first into the pavement. It looks like she's holding a bloody nose. Hope the idiot has a good lawyer.

https://twitter.com/One_Sweet_Ross/status/1071438655582072832

A couple of revelers trashed an Indo-Pak restaurant in San Francisco after they were asked to leave. Apparently the deal was that they were taking up space without buying anything. I've been to this place before, and table space is at a premium.

https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/shalimar-santa-con-break-window-damage-drunk-polk-13455938.php

A few more. Like punching a woman in the face. This article also has video of people brawling in the street where they're coming close to throwing each other in front of moving cars.

https://patch.com/new-york/midhudsonvalley/hudson-valley-man-arrested-nyc-santacon

 

[BadPinkTink]

in Ireland, there is something similar called 12 Pubs of Christmas. It was started about 10 years ago during the financial crash. The idea was to spread out the money, instead of people staying in one pub, that they would move from pub to pub, having one drink in each one. People wore cheap funny Christmas jumpers, also to help save money, instead of wearing expensive clothes. It made sense at the time, helping to keep pubs in business who may have been struggling.

But now its got out of hand and many central Dublin pubs now wont allow large groups of people who are wearing Christmas jumpers who are obviously doing 12 pubs of Christmas.

 

[bcla]

But now its got out of hand and many central Dublin pubs now wont allow large groups of people who are wearing Christmas jumpers who are obviously doing 12 pubs of Christmas.

This particular thing called "SantaCon" apparently started in 1994 in San Francisco and has branched out around the United States. They tried to get an official event sanctioned in San Francisco this year right at Union Square, but the parks department turned them down. They still converged on it unofficially.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/despite-no-permit-thousands-gather-for-sf-santacon

I'd stay away from that. And barring that I'd probably arm myself with pepper spray although I'm not sure how it would affect someone really plastered. The real irony was that I was picking up my parents from the airport Saturday and had no idea. I'm not sure what would have happened had we just stopped for lunch on the way to their home. At the very least there seemed to be a lot of tipsy revelers spilling onto the roads.

 

[bcla]

Better video of the restaurant getting trashed in San Francisco. The claim was that it was a dispute over whether or not they ordered and/or paid. And I guess the solution was to throw a glass sugar dispenser at the cook and break the window door with a chair.

 

[mjkacmom]

I don’t get the appeal, but dd22 participated this weekend in NYC wearing a short red velvet last dress trimmed in white fluff. She was very hungover on sunday, but dd17 dragged her to the mall anyway, she hates shopping alone.

 

[amberpi]

It’s called Santa rampage in Nashville. It was fun 15 years ago when it was smaller, but now it’s awful and so very many people...or I’m old now.

 

[OhMari]

No different than St. Paddy’s day, or Halloween.
To me it is just an excuse for people to go out and drink in the pubs and bars.

 

[RedAngie]

No different than St. Paddy’s day, or Halloween.
To me it is just an excuse for people to go out and drink in the pubs and bars.

Or Mardi Gras or Cinco de Mayo.

Another excuse for some to drink excessively and cause trouble. (I'm sure most of the revelers don't create problems, but there's always the minority who do.)

 

[kdonnel]

Any excuse to drink to excess is a great excuse to drink to excess.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

We had a Harry Potter pub crawl recently.

Seems like the same thing. Only with more violence I guess

 

[katie01]

I’d never heard of this before, until a Facebook friend recently mentioned it. Not the violence, but the nudity. She said she’s not a prude by any means, but she was there with her 13 year old daughter and there were naked men walking next to them (full rear and frontal nudity) with just Santa hats on. She didn’t understand why indecent exposure laws didn’t apply

 

[amberpi]

We had a Harry Potter pub crawl recently.

Seems like the same thing. Only with more violence I guess

Hell, I might get my old butt out for a Harry Potter pub crawl!

 

[amberpi]

I’d never heard of this before, until a Facebook friend recently mentioned it. Not the violence, but the nudity. She said she’s not a prude by any means, but she was there with her 13 year old daughter and there were naked men walking next to them (full rear and frontal nudity) with just Santa hats on. She didn’t understand why indecent exposure laws didn’t apply

Did your friend understand it was a pub crawl? Because I can’t imagine taking kids to Santa con. It’s very much an adult event...

 

[katie01]

Did your friend understand it was a pub crawl? Because I can’t imagine taking kids to Santa con. It’s very much an adult event...

Lol she wasn’t taking them to Santa con, they had other business in the city

 

[Klayfish]

Different strokes for different folks. I don't see the joy in drinking to excess....

Man, I definitely am old. Decades ago I would have had a very different answer....

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Different strokes for different folks. I don't see the joy in drinking to excess....

Man, I definitely am old. Decades ago I would have had a very different answer....

I'm all for different strokes for different folks. But given the behavior of some, those particular folks should have been tossed in the slammer to do their different strokes until they dry out.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

https://patch.com/new-york/east-village/photos-santacon-transformed-nyc-drunk-mess

Seems New York had some troubles too.

 

[amberpi]

Lol she wasn’t taking them to Santa con, they had other business in the city

I gotcha, it was just a weird communication. All good. Folks, don’t take your kids to Santa con!

 

[bcla]

Lol she wasn’t taking them to Santa con, they had other business in the city

Yeah. I've certainly been places with my kid where I wasn't aware of any events going on until I got there. I mean - once I took my kid to San Francisco to visit a science museum where we were members. Then on the way home we stopped for pizza and then came across people leaving from the Folsom Street Fair. I figured it was best if I didn't explain why there was an overweight man wearing only a leather thong and his partner wearing chaps. I guess legally they were considered clothed.

 

[bcla]

Better video of the restaurant getting trashed in San Francisco. The claim was that it was a dispute over whether or not they ordered and/or paid. And I guess the solution was to throw a glass sugar dispenser at the cook and break the window door with a chair.

These perps turned themselves in. Vandalism for both, and battery for the one who punched an employee and threw a glass sugar dispenser at him.

https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Two-women-caught-on-video-trashing-SF-restaurant-13459228.php