Those who protested the 2004 Republican Convention found out the hard way. The New York City Police Department doesn’t particularly care for protesters messing up their city. They had no intention then of seeing New York become Chicago in 1968. And they have no intention of seeing it become Cairo in the spring of this year.
I mentioned that the Occupy Wall Street movement got off to a rocky start with lots of arrests the other day. Yesterday there were 700 more. Waiting to hear today’s count.
It all comes to this: If you want to make trouble in New York … Fughetaboutit.
The only problem, in this case, is that there seems to be an inexhaustible supply of upset kids who don’t mind being arrested. Well, they might mind it, but (like the recent London riots) they don’t see how things can get much worse.
I graduated college during a recession and let me tell you. It sucks. When there are no jobs, it puts a real damper on your new life in the big city. Today rents are much higher, we’ve run out of trashy and cheap Bohemian neighborhoods. If I had to deal with that, plus high student loans … and seeing all the Federal money going to people who are already rediculously wealthy? Damn right I’d be marching, with a permit or without one.
I hope the alternate name for the group sticks. You’re giving tax breaks to the richest 1 percent? Well we’re the Other 99 percent, and we don’t like the idea too well.
I don’t necessarily see a conspiracy in the NYPD’s reaction. I don’t think they were unleashed by the wealthy to bust the heads of the liberals. It that were the case, they really created a boomerang effect as there are 99 Percent protests cropping up all over the U.S.
I just think they want the city back.
We’ll see.