Battlefield: Eden Praire Mall Food Court

A terrifying story which could've had a horrific ending occurred at Eden Prairie Mall little more than a week ago.  A man, Daniel Skrove of Chanhassen, decided to deputize himself as the pants police.  Skrove decided to walk up to two individuals (the story implies two African American men) and ordered them to pull up their pants, using colorful language to emphasize his demand. These men were minding their own business, and Skrove approached them unprovoked.  They were not exposing themselves, as they were only wearing clothes the same way many people do, baggier and hanging loose.

Clearly the men were not going to take this guy's crap, so they stood up for themselves.  It's at this point, Skrove (once again unprovoked) said the following "Yeah, I am talking to you [racial slur you probably can figure out], pull your [swear word you probably can figure out] pants up."

Once again, Skrove's motivation to start this battle was baggy pants.  Here's where it gets ugly.

Skrove ran up to them in an aggressive manner.  One of the two, probably fearing for their safety, punched Skrove in the face, knocking the man to the ground.  Skrove jumped back up, pulled a gun (!!!) and threatened to kill both of these men.  He was threatening to gun these men down because he deemed their pants were too baggy.  WOW!

Skrove did this in front of his son (what the hell man?), who allegedly was trying to calm his dad down.  Skrove, seeing a crowd had formed around him, 'holstered' his weapon and fled the scene.  He was arrested in the mall food court, smelling of alcohol.  The gun was recovered, even though the mall is clearly posted as a gun free zone.

Multiple witnesses all reported that not only was Skrove the complete instigator of this conflict, he also could have retreated multiple times from the conflict, but apparently his hatred of baggy pants overrode his better judgment.

If this story sounds vaguely familiar, it should!  A few months ago, in November of last year, ANOTHER crazed white dude went up to some minority kids in the Eden Prairie McDonald's, accused them of trying to use food stamps to get their order when in reality they were having difficulty with the credit card reader.  After accusing the girls of being on government assistance because they were black, the girls stood up for themselves.  The white dude, Lloyd Johnson of Eden Prairie, menaced the girls to a point where they went to retrieve their friends.  At one point, Johnson was arguing intensely with the group of kids.

Eventually the McDonald's conflict became physical with some shoving going on.  It was at this point Johnson brandished his weapon, a gun he shouldn't have had in the McDonald's, a gun he didn't have a license for, and threatened to shoot the kids.

Johnson was arrested by EP police and was charged with felony terrorist threats and carrying an unlicensed gun.

When you read through both stories, the similarities are undeniable:  white guy looking to start a conflict with random minority people, white guy UNPROVOKED being the sole catalyst and instigator for the conflict, innocent minorities standing up for themselves, and white guy brandishing a gun to try to win a fight they themselves started, usually after they've gotten embarrassed by their unfettered racist ignorance, and after coming to realize the minorities are not going to take their crap.

Welcome to Battlefield: Eden Prairie.  I think this is only the beginning of this type of conflict, and I'm very concerned we'll have one of these racist temper tantrums end in a tragic death.

It doesn't surprise me these two clowns are from the exo-suburbs, where 97-99% of their community is white.  In these communities a dangerous stew is being brewed:  one part racism (we need to stop making excuses for these people and call them out for who they are), two parts of conservative ideals which demand you have to force your perceived enemies to bow to your wishes.  Mix it together with a far right media stoking the flames of hate by insisting minorities only want to take white people's things and violate America.  Whisk in an abundance of guns, easily obtained in white suburbs, and spoon in an optional few shots of booze.  Then add conservative policies which have made most people's lives harder, shaking the frustrated and delusional nut ball until they're on the verge of bursting with anger.  Congratulations, you've created a bullet looking for a target.

Why do I think Eden Prairie is going to see a lot more of these incidents?  Because deep inside, most racists are freaking cowards.  They talk about 'showing those inner city people who's the boss,' but they're terrified of being in the inner city.  These people are scared to death of the first tier suburbs as well.  They've convinced themselves going to the Eden Prairie Mall is heading into the nitty gritty city; Eden Prairie, a mostly outside of the 494 loop bedroom community where their black and African American population is still well below 10%.  It's easy for them to melt into their fake world of patrolling a seedy metro as they stroll past the Crate and Barrel and Von Maur, seeing the random minority window shopper. Let the fake bravado flow.

These stories might not have had an ending where the instigating white guy got arrested.  If not for multiple other people standing up and confronting these two jackasses, adding the needed provenance minorities have to have to achieve justice in today's America, there's a good chance the police might have believed the white harassers.  If you're in Eden Prairie, or anywhere for that matter, and you witness crap like this going on, do not shy away.  Help the people being mistreated, stand up to the bullies, or at least grab your cell phone and start recording the incident.  Then when police arrive, make sure you give a statement of what really happened.

I'm not advocating for people to get involved as a way to make white people the African American community's savior.  I feel we all need to be advocates for humanity, helping all people, especially minority groups who are still considered second class citizens in our legal system.  It's not trying to be anyone's 'savior,' rather it's doing your part to validate reality.

I guarantee the next time I'm in Eden Prairie, I'm going to be far more concerned about the white guy walking towards me.  They seem to be the real threat to peace and prosperity in suburban America.