“assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon (bees)”
April 4, 2024 9:10 AM Subscribe
The Bees of Wrath by James D. Walsh is the story of Rorie Woods, who released a hive of bees onto sheriff’s deputies who had arrived to evict a 79-year-old friend of hers. When informed that several deputies might be allergic, she allegedly replied: “Oh you’re allergic, good”.
That mugshot is *chefkiss*
10/10 picture
Don't miss it, please, just that is worth clicking on the link for, though the article is also pretty awesome.
posted by MiraK at 9:15 AM on April 4 [19 favorites]
10/10 picture
Don't miss it, please, just that is worth clicking on the link for, though the article is also pretty awesome.
posted by MiraK at 9:15 AM on April 4 [19 favorites]
Homer: Oh, yeah, what are you gonna do? Release the dogs? Or the bees? Or the dogs with bees in their mouth and when they bark, they shoot bees at you?
posted by Kitteh at 9:21 AM on April 4 [24 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 9:21 AM on April 4 [24 favorites]
I'm torn, because evicting people is usually wrong,
but risking killing people via allergies is almost always wrong.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:22 AM on April 4 [4 favorites]
but risking killing people via allergies is almost always wrong.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:22 AM on April 4 [4 favorites]
but risking killing people via allergies is almost always wrong.
Counterpoint: the landlord involved was trying to get a 79 year old killed via cops.
posted by mhoye at 9:28 AM on April 4 [36 favorites]
Counterpoint: the landlord involved was trying to get a 79 year old killed via cops.
posted by mhoye at 9:28 AM on April 4 [36 favorites]
As the officer led Woods to a cruiser, he told her that he and several officers were allergic to bees.
From the body count alone, it's obvious that far more people are deathly allergic to cops.
posted by AlSweigart at 9:30 AM on April 4 [40 favorites]
From the body count alone, it's obvious that far more people are deathly allergic to cops.
posted by AlSweigart at 9:30 AM on April 4 [40 favorites]
From the body count alone, it's obvious that far more people are deathly allergic to cops.
It's funny because while you can't hold either of them legally accountable for killing you, at least the honeybee suffers consequences.
posted by Garm at 9:39 AM on April 4 [36 favorites]
It's funny because while you can't hold either of them legally accountable for killing you, at least the honeybee suffers consequences.
posted by Garm at 9:39 AM on April 4 [36 favorites]
he and several officers were allergic to bees.
why do you need several officers to evict one old woman unless you intend violence
posted by tofu_crouton at 9:40 AM on April 4 [27 favorites]
why do you need several officers to evict one old woman unless you intend violence
posted by tofu_crouton at 9:40 AM on April 4 [27 favorites]
Look, I know you all think this is funny, but this is how we get Batman villains. In a couple of years, when Gotham is awash in clouds of trained bees, and “Queen” Woods in breaking into all the jewelry stores, how many of you will look back and say “well, I called that one wrong?”
At least the Joker and Two-Face are allergic to bees, so there’s that….
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:47 AM on April 4 [16 favorites]
At least the Joker and Two-Face are allergic to bees, so there’s that….
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:47 AM on April 4 [16 favorites]
I'm surprised we're not hearing that she'd secretly armed the bees with fentanyl.
posted by praemunire at 9:47 AM on April 4 [21 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 9:47 AM on April 4 [21 favorites]
Thanks for the archived version mrphancy!
Along the way, Woods linked up with the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending, a statewide coalition of organizations assisting people who have faced foreclosure.posted by spamandkimchi at 9:48 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
...
“We started to realize in our loose organization of people who are the wrongfully foreclosed, ‘Oh, we all were set up!’” Woods said. “We like to show up for each other in court and to show moral support. We often will read each other’s filings just as a second set of eyes to make sure that we haven’t misargued something or stated something twice.”
They were not the only ones in town with a great deal of foreclosure experience. The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department had spent the past year evicting people at a rate of two or three per day, according to a recent New York Times profile of Sheriff Nicholas Cocchi
You are not wrong about that mugshot, MiraK!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:50 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:50 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
But what if they were AFRICANIZED bees?!?!? They would have had to call the SWAT team!
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:52 AM on April 4 [14 favorites]
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:52 AM on April 4 [14 favorites]
he and several officers were allergic to beesACAB (All Cops Allergic to Bees)
posted by mbrubeck at 9:59 AM on April 4 [24 favorites]
why do you need several officers to evict one old woman
Man!
(well, you could say "Dennis")
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:00 AM on April 4 [8 favorites]
Man!
(well, you could say "Dennis")
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:00 AM on April 4 [8 favorites]
he and several officers were allergic to bees
ACAB (All Cops Allergic to Bees)
The more important part of that is "he told her that he and several officers were allergic to bees."
Police have a Supreme Court ruling protecting their right to lie, and not just when undercover or during interrogation. Related: Law Enforcement Experts on Why Police Shouldn’t be Allowed to Lie to Suspects
posted by AlSweigart at 10:04 AM on April 4 [23 favorites]
ACAB (All Cops Allergic to Bees)
The more important part of that is "he told her that he and several officers were allergic to bees."
Police have a Supreme Court ruling protecting their right to lie, and not just when undercover or during interrogation. Related: Law Enforcement Experts on Why Police Shouldn’t be Allowed to Lie to Suspects
posted by AlSweigart at 10:04 AM on April 4 [23 favorites]
.
posted by AlSweigart at 10:06 AM on April 4
posted by AlSweigart at 10:06 AM on April 4
Nice.
posted by The Manwich Horror at 10:08 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
posted by The Manwich Horror at 10:08 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
A true hero.
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:15 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:15 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
That’s where she met King, who was fighting to keep the 9,563-square-foot home he built in 2002. In 2006, King, a financial adviser and entrepreneur, received a construction loan to add an indoor basketball court to the house. According to King, that loan came with a negative amortization rate that he was unaware of. . .
so in order to protect the mansion of a financial adviser who agreed to a loan for which the payments don't cover the interest, she released bees on cops who were enforcing the rights of banks.
the bees are the only heroes here.
posted by logicpunk at 10:17 AM on April 4 [22 favorites]
so in order to protect the mansion of a financial adviser who agreed to a loan for which the payments don't cover the interest, she released bees on cops who were enforcing the rights of banks.
the bees are the only heroes here.
posted by logicpunk at 10:17 AM on April 4 [22 favorites]
The cops don’t like being on the wrong end of a sting operation, eh?
(Mom would have been giddy at this. One thing she told me long ago - Don’t piss off older ladies. It will never go well for you.)
posted by azpenguin at 10:19 AM on April 4 [31 favorites]
(Mom would have been giddy at this. One thing she told me long ago - Don’t piss off older ladies. It will never go well for you.)
posted by azpenguin at 10:19 AM on April 4 [31 favorites]
Hampden County evicting at the rate of 2 to 3 people a day...
Thus guaranteeing a burgeoning homeless population!
Some people are flat out evil.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:23 AM on April 4 [11 favorites]
Thus guaranteeing a burgeoning homeless population!
Some people are flat out evil.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:23 AM on April 4 [11 favorites]
King hasn't got much of my sympathy particularly--he's greedy and shady and entitled. I'm suspicious that he knew what he was doing.
Sympathy here is reserved for those with less money who were truly unknowingly screwed over, but I imagine that class of people making $100k per year can relate more to King than to some poor schmuck making $36k.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:34 AM on April 4
Sympathy here is reserved for those with less money who were truly unknowingly screwed over, but I imagine that class of people making $100k per year can relate more to King than to some poor schmuck making $36k.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:34 AM on April 4
This is so much like a Stephen King novel. She even looks like Annie Wilkes aka The Great Bee Goddess.
posted by BibiRose at 10:46 AM on April 4 [4 favorites]
posted by BibiRose at 10:46 AM on April 4 [4 favorites]
why do you need several officers to evict one old woman unless you intend violence?
Because police swarm too.
posted by y2karl at 11:22 AM on April 4 [3 favorites]
Because police swarm too.
posted by y2karl at 11:22 AM on April 4 [3 favorites]
I like my foreclosures like I like my coffee
COVERED IN BEES!
Sorry. Had to. What a weird mess.
posted by AngelWuff at 11:54 AM on April 4 [7 favorites]
COVERED IN BEES!
Sorry. Had to. What a weird mess.
posted by AngelWuff at 11:54 AM on April 4 [7 favorites]
I wonder, did the bees get IN MY EYES THEY'RE IN MY EYES KILLING ME WON'T BRING BACK YOUR GODDAMN HONEY
posted by Saxon Kane at 1:58 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
posted by Saxon Kane at 1:58 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
"Smoke rolls and scarves in the grove.
The mind of the hive thinks this is the end of everything.
Here they come, the outriders, on their hysterical elastics.
If I stand very still, they will think I am cow-parsley,
A gullible head untouched by their animosity,
Not even nodding, a personage in a hedgerow.
The villagers open the chambers, they are hunting the queen.
Is she hiding, is she eating honey? She is very clever.
She is old, old, old, she must live another year, and she knows it."
-Sylvia Plath, The Bee Meeting
posted by clavdivs at 2:22 PM on April 4 [13 favorites]
The mind of the hive thinks this is the end of everything.
Here they come, the outriders, on their hysterical elastics.
If I stand very still, they will think I am cow-parsley,
A gullible head untouched by their animosity,
Not even nodding, a personage in a hedgerow.
The villagers open the chambers, they are hunting the queen.
Is she hiding, is she eating honey? She is very clever.
She is old, old, old, she must live another year, and she knows it."
-Sylvia Plath, The Bee Meeting
posted by clavdivs at 2:22 PM on April 4 [13 favorites]
ACAB (All Cops Allergic to Bees)
The more important part of that is "he told her that he and several officers were allergic to bees."
All Cops Are Bullshit
I hope her defense expresses and establishes that, especially due to all the 'Fentanyl' nonsense, no reasonable person would believe those words coming from a deputy's mouth
as First Responders, wouldn't they have epi-pens anyway? or is that another job that we are told the police do, which they are funded to do, but which they militantly and publicly refuse to do?
posted by eustatic at 3:32 PM on April 4 [9 favorites]
The more important part of that is "he told her that he and several officers were allergic to bees."
All Cops Are Bullshit
I hope her defense expresses and establishes that, especially due to all the 'Fentanyl' nonsense, no reasonable person would believe those words coming from a deputy's mouth
as First Responders, wouldn't they have epi-pens anyway? or is that another job that we are told the police do, which they are funded to do, but which they militantly and publicly refuse to do?
posted by eustatic at 3:32 PM on April 4 [9 favorites]
"... a bee stung him in the face"
I'm hearing this in a Beasties rhyme.
Which one of you is gonna drop an ol' school rhyme about this and throw it up on projects?
posted by symbioid at 5:57 PM on April 4 [1 favorite]
I'm hearing this in a Beasties rhyme.
Which one of you is gonna drop an ol' school rhyme about this and throw it up on projects?
posted by symbioid at 5:57 PM on April 4 [1 favorite]
Counterpoint
Putting people you don't know in danger is perfectly fine if you don't like what they do for a living. Good to know.
posted by kjs3 at 6:23 PM on April 4 [1 favorite]
Putting people you don't know in danger is perfectly fine if you don't like what they do for a living. Good to know.
posted by kjs3 at 6:23 PM on April 4 [1 favorite]
(Klingon voice) EXPERIENCE... BEES!
posted by The otter lady at 6:24 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
posted by The otter lady at 6:24 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
kjs3
Counterpoint: Putting people you don't know in danger is perfectly fine if its an eviction. Good to know.
posted by applemeat at 6:28 PM on April 4 [5 favorites]
Counterpoint: Putting people you don't know in danger is perfectly fine if its an eviction. Good to know.
posted by applemeat at 6:28 PM on April 4 [5 favorites]
What they do? What are you on about? Do cops have qualified immunity from criticism now too?
posted by Carillon at 7:43 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
posted by Carillon at 7:43 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
Countercounterpoint: the cops lie all the fucking time, and no adult should be believing a statement like that under circumstances like that.
posted by praemunire at 8:40 PM on April 4 [11 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 8:40 PM on April 4 [11 favorites]
Putting people you don't know in danger is perfectly fine if you don't like what they do for a living. Good to know.
Counterpoint: the cops are putting themselves in danger by pursuing the eviction at an address where there are bees. She's not chasing the cops down with bees, she's giving them every choice to walk away.
posted by Dysk at 1:51 AM on April 5 [8 favorites]
Counterpoint: the cops are putting themselves in danger by pursuing the eviction at an address where there are bees. She's not chasing the cops down with bees, she's giving them every choice to walk away.
posted by Dysk at 1:51 AM on April 5 [8 favorites]
Plenty of people are allergic to dogs, but the police don't check for that before they release the police dogs.
posted by biffa at 4:13 AM on April 5 [12 favorites]
posted by biffa at 4:13 AM on April 5 [12 favorites]
Putting people you don't know in danger is perfectly fine if you don't like what they do for a living.
Shorter counterpoint: Nic Cage
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 4:16 AM on April 5 [2 favorites]
Shorter counterpoint: Nic Cage
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 4:16 AM on April 5 [2 favorites]
Cops on the job aren't people. They're an embodiment of the force of the state, which if unjust, must be resisted.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:02 AM on April 5 [10 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:02 AM on April 5 [10 favorites]
As noted above, in the U.S. more people die by police violence every year than die from bees/hornet/wasps.
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:01 AM on April 5 [10 favorites]
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:01 AM on April 5 [10 favorites]
By an order of magnitude, no less (about 70 vs over 1000)
posted by Acey at 6:15 AM on April 5 [7 favorites]
posted by Acey at 6:15 AM on April 5 [7 favorites]
[Woods] did, however, assure me that very few people experience anaphylaxis from honeybee venom: One study suggested anywhere from 0.3 percent to 8.9 percent of the population.
A far smaller minority than the minorities harmed at the hands of cops.
posted by bendy at 8:15 AM on April 5 [2 favorites]
A far smaller minority than the minorities harmed at the hands of cops.
posted by bendy at 8:15 AM on April 5 [2 favorites]
There's something inherently comical about the bee attack. It's a prank nasty eight year olds play on each other. It's not nonviolent, though.
But if King could actually afford the 10,000 square foot house and the indoor basketball court and he somehow came to the attention on the blue there'd be a lot of willingness to judge his wealth. If he couldn't afford it but avoided eviction, it'd be an example of rich people once again evading consequences. A financial adviser who wants to keep living on their estate because they didn't read (or pretended not to read) loan documents seems to me about as sympathetic as the banks in this particular case.
There does seem to be some confusion here as to what's going on. The person being evicted is not an "old woman." There's a middle aged women with the bees, but she's not being evicted. The former "financial advisor and entrepeneur" is 79, but his landlord is not trying to get someone killed via cop. Because there is no landlord.
Counterpoint: the cops are putting themselves in danger by pursuing the eviction at an address where there are bees. She's not chasing the cops down with bees, she's giving them every choice to walk away.
She is chasing the cops down with bees. There were not bees at the address the cops went to; she literally drove the bees to the place the cops were.
posted by mark k at 8:43 AM on April 5 [1 favorite]
But if King could actually afford the 10,000 square foot house and the indoor basketball court and he somehow came to the attention on the blue there'd be a lot of willingness to judge his wealth. If he couldn't afford it but avoided eviction, it'd be an example of rich people once again evading consequences. A financial adviser who wants to keep living on their estate because they didn't read (or pretended not to read) loan documents seems to me about as sympathetic as the banks in this particular case.
There does seem to be some confusion here as to what's going on. The person being evicted is not an "old woman." There's a middle aged women with the bees, but she's not being evicted. The former "financial advisor and entrepeneur" is 79, but his landlord is not trying to get someone killed via cop. Because there is no landlord.
Counterpoint: the cops are putting themselves in danger by pursuing the eviction at an address where there are bees. She's not chasing the cops down with bees, she's giving them every choice to walk away.
She is chasing the cops down with bees. There were not bees at the address the cops went to; she literally drove the bees to the place the cops were.
posted by mark k at 8:43 AM on April 5 [1 favorite]
Yes, she took the bees to the address, where she left them. That is not "chasing" - the cops leave, the bees don't follow.
posted by Dysk at 9:12 AM on April 5 [7 favorites]
posted by Dysk at 9:12 AM on April 5 [7 favorites]
I had an interesting debate about cops in a radical healthcare worker chat the other day. Some (including me) said they would provide emergency healthcare services for cops, others thought this idea was really offensive as cops are the enforcers of our murderous, racist, carceral society. I discovered my own moral compass about this is sort of arbitrary perhaps but it goes like this:
- Releasing bees against cops who are doing harm: Cool, funny. The cops can simply walk away at any point! An eviction is not an emergency, there is no urgency. If you don't like bees, leave!
- Cop choking on a waffle in a restaurant: I would personally do the Heimlich. I feel I have a duty to help prevent death for most people especially when they are doing no harm.
- Cop gets hit with a flying object in the midst of a riot: Not my problem - riot reflects profound social problems where cops have taken the side of the oppressor. Ignore and move on.
- Someone more powerful than a cop who has the power to enact policies of mass death - say - Dick Cheney circa 2008 - choking in a restaurant: Let that piece of shit die
posted by latkes at 9:57 AM on April 5 [6 favorites]
- Releasing bees against cops who are doing harm: Cool, funny. The cops can simply walk away at any point! An eviction is not an emergency, there is no urgency. If you don't like bees, leave!
- Cop choking on a waffle in a restaurant: I would personally do the Heimlich. I feel I have a duty to help prevent death for most people especially when they are doing no harm.
- Cop gets hit with a flying object in the midst of a riot: Not my problem - riot reflects profound social problems where cops have taken the side of the oppressor. Ignore and move on.
- Someone more powerful than a cop who has the power to enact policies of mass death - say - Dick Cheney circa 2008 - choking in a restaurant: Let that piece of shit die
posted by latkes at 9:57 AM on April 5 [6 favorites]
Eh, Cheney would have enough of his sycophants and guards around him that you'd never get near him, so not to worry.
posted by BlueHorse at 7:58 PM on April 5 [1 favorite]
posted by BlueHorse at 7:58 PM on April 5 [1 favorite]
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People with a connection to Hampshire College will absolutely not be surprised to find out that she’s a graduate.
posted by Kattullus at 9:13 AM on April 4 [14 favorites]