iPod muggings: Apple PR dream or nightmare?

Ok, you've heard all the rumors and mumblings about iPod crime waves in New York (and abroad)—and no, we're not talking about the Hipster iPod or music piracy, we're talking about people getting their little white jukeboxes swiped. So the NY Times laid it down: yes, the NYPD has that report linking the iPod to a rise in subway crime in New York, but it gets a little more bleak when they call in Beckerman PR vice-prez David Brooks, who claims, "Half of you is cringing, but half is bursting with pride" over the news. And then it gets downright scary when he goes on the record saying, "The first time somebody gets shoved onto a subway track in a scuffle over an iPod, all bets are off." Oh, is that all it'll take? What can we say? At the end of the day, maybe statistically you'll be safer not wearing the signature white headphones, but we're more likely to encourage you to to use something else just to keep the PR vultures from beaming about other peoples' gadgety misfortune.