Look, we get it, there is literally nothing more important in the world than getting a new iPhone the second it comes out. Buying the iPhone 5 (or hundreds of them!) now, not a couple days from now, but today, this very minute, is so urgent that you have to expect a little collateral damage, like the dehumanization and exploitation of poor people. At the Pasadena Apple Store today "police had to escort a man out of the area for his own safety after his plan to purchase iPhones en masse fell apart." His plan was to bus 70 or 80 homeless Skid Row residents to Pasadena so they could wait in line, in some cases for days, and buy "numerous iPhones," according to the Pasadena Star-News (Apple limits the number they'll sell to one buyer). The LA Times reports one man was promised $40. He "was bragging to others" and the store caught wise to the plan and stopped selling phones to the people he'd hired. And in case you're still not sure if this guy is an asshole, he then refused to pay the people he'd hired, and abandoned them without a ride back Downtown.

ABC7 talked to one hired buyer, who explained "It's my husband's birthday so it's money." Another, who as a reminder lives on Skid Row, complained that "You can't sleep because people just talk all night [in the iPhone line]. It's a lot of drama, almost fighting. So, it's an unpleasant experience."



· Homeless used to buy iPhones in Pasadena left stranded, unpaid [LAT]