The scene is Detroit, though the atmosphere calls to mind stories of the sorts of hijinks that thrilled spectators at the Colosseum in ancient Rome.
Here the fight is not quite to the death, though it’s hard to imagine that the onlookers as two women duke it over a parking space(!) weren’t lusting after blood.
According to The Detroit News, the incident occurred Sunday evening. As evidenced by the video, recorded by one of the bystanders, the crowd was too amused by the violent exchange to step in, even after it turned potentially deadly.
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The article quotes 6th Precinct Commander Aric Tosqui as saying:
It’s unfortunate that we as a society find entertainment in these kind of things. In this case, people got hurt while everyone else stood around and filmed it instead of doing something.
One of the combatants, a 30-year-old woman, is listed in stable condition with knife wounds. Police are still attempting to identify the other fighter, who reportedly fled the scene in a black Buick.
Police have arrested two other women, ages 21 and 22, in connection with the stabbings, though their role or responsibility remains unclear.
The article quotes Tosqui as saying that it could have been worse. Obviously, he means that the altercation could have been deadly. But in view of the absurdly trivial root cause of the physicality and the unseemly reaction of those assembled, it’s hard to conceive of a more damning commentary on a community.
