Idiocy: Teenager Tries To Swede Fight Club, Forgets Camera

Oh, here it comes: more talk of impressionable youth being ideologically dominated by a strong-arm film. This time it could be Fight Club, which according to the New York Times is the inspiration for the bombing of an Upper East Side Starbucks in New York City back in May. A 17-year old kid was arrested this week, with a copy of the Fight Club DVD actually on his person (does he carry the disc like a bible?), as well as a box of sparklers and a newspaper clipping about the bombing. The kid had bragged of the bombing to his friends, which suggests that he doesn't even know his favorite movie all that well. What's the first rule, kid? Oh, right. Don't talk about Fight Club.

The teen's crime was bombing a Starbucks on May 25. He didn't hurt anyone, thankfully, nor did he even do much damage. Windows were broken in the shop and a sidewalk bench was destroyed. He had previously started his own underground fight club, and bragged to friends about setting his own Project Mayhem into motion, based on Tyler Durden's destructive organization. Guess this was his version of the explosion that broke a piece of corporate art in the David Fincher film. Fortunately he probably won't have much opportunity to raise the stakes any time soon. Couldn't he have just gone and faked his way through some support groups instead?

So remember, readers: it's not that Fight Club is particularly persuasive. It's that this kid suffered from some combination of loneliness, alienation, mental instability, or any number of other possible factors. This is a case where you've got to hate the player, not the game. One last point: according to his personal blog, the kid's middle name is actually 'Danger'.