"Dorothy! Who's Dorothy?" the alarmed citizens
of Emerald City cried when seeing the witch's ominous message in the sky. I was
reminded of that scene this week after watching the disturbing video of
the notorious Dustin
Mitchell lying in a Downtown St. Louis intersection, battered and bloodied,
demanding bystanders contact Ryan or possibly Brian Murphy.
The following morning Mitchell posted he was mugged, but, perhaps because the video showing him antagonizing the driver who assaulted him went viral, replaced the post with an unusually introspective update: "Whoever decided to serve alcohol in pitchers is responsible for most of my life's problems."
Many St. Louisans who've long followed Mitchell's antics suspect this whole thing was staged. As someone who's studied and written the book on our city's colorful characters, I feel certain that's not the case.
A staged scene would involve a sober, innocent, and well-dressed Mitchell rescuing someone from an attack, and he'd be attempting to sell the story the way he did when claiming he defended a Trans woman from a knife-wielding cab driver. He certainly wouldn't go to all this trouble to create the unflattering scene in that cringeworthy video.
According to my source, who first brought the video to my attention, Mitchell was at a Washington Avenue bar doing shots of Jameson when he "got sassy and argumentative" with a group of patrons including a regular named Miguel, and was asked to leave. He then went to nearby Rosalitas, where I had my fateful dinner with him back in April. When the bars closed he was seen in the street surrounded by bystanders.
I've asked Mitchell about Ryan or Brian Murphy, and will update this blog if he responds.
Meanwhile, some have been inspired to create memes based on Mitchell's standoff with the truck, including this one from Anthony Leon Reed Jr:
And this one from the "Maestro of Memes" Josh Jordan:
**UPDATE: RESPONSE FROM MITCHELL**
"I was very drunk. No idea where I even was. I most likely deserved it. Everyone needs to find a new topic to discuss."
On the million dollar question about who Ryan or Brian Murphy is, Mitchell replied, "It's nobody's business."
The brutality of the beating was horrific even though the victim was clearly antagonizing the driver. Both were out of control. I thought it shameful that the guy who videotaped the whole thing was glad that he caught it all on his phone because it was "proof" that he didn't do it. I am behind the police force 100% but honestly, what do you think would have happened if a police car came up on three black men standing over a white man lying beaten bloody? Thank God the three young men were willing to risk it to help an out of control drunk.
ReplyDelete