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Comment by fleitz | Hacker News Reader

DC marches to the beat of NYCs drum. Anon is just doing root cause analysis. Anon isn't a group so they aren't going to have consistent messages with spokespeople sticking to the talking points.

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Nah. Unfortunately this seems like people are... well, stupid. People do understand that 'Wall St' is just metonymy, right? Wall St, literally the street, is somewhat meaningless. People can occupy the street but that's not actual going to stop financial trade because 'Wall St.' is just a figure of speech.

If it were a meaningless place, there wouldn't be such a strong police response. From the linked Huffington Post article, trial run activists were arrested without cause and released without charges. Contrast that with another reported protest where folks camped outside City Hall for three weeks with minimal response.

I imagine any mass protest in the Manhattan business district wouldn't be taken to kindly. Remember that the right to organize and petition for a redress of grievances is directed towards the government. You actually have no right to protest and impede traffic in private areas.

Wall St. is a public street. Built by, maintained by and policed by NYC.

If they're actually confining themselves to the sidewalk, maybe, but if they're impeding traffic that's cause for arrest.

It's not a meaningless place. It's heavily secured, because it's perceived to be a target for violence. But he's right; staging a protest there won't slow down trading.

This has nothing to do with Wall St, and everything to do with NYC cops being out of control. The NYPD uses similar tactics against innocent bikers and anyone else they don't like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUkiyBVytRQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IORuR5iRuxs

I've heard that the NYPD is even going after people practicing parkour now, though I haven't seen it on youtube yet.

(Full disclosure: I got picked up during one of these incidents. The judge dismissed all charges after the cop lied and I showed videotape proving it.)

Critical Mass is a bunch of thugs conspiring to break laws, obstruct traffic, and threaten and enrage the same people every legitimate bicyclist was hoping to coexist with. I'm no fan of violence but "corkers" should be arrested.

If that's the case, how come the cops find the need to lie about critical mass activities on a regular basis? Shouldn't the video tapes recorded by critical mass participants be evidence enough of their guilt?

It's quite strange how these "thugs" make every attempt to record themselves when they "break laws" and the cops try to stop them from recording.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aT9p36fgHU

I wonder - would the police also attempt to prevent the mafia from wiretapping their own phones?

Just curious, how did you get a videotape?

I wish I had an "Oh boy, here comes a police officer" button, which records the entire event. But obviously there is no such device.

I'm terrified at the idea of pulling out a cameraphone during any police interaction, due to the possibility of being prosecuted / imprisoned for violating their expectation of privacy. I'm relatively poor, and no one really cares what happens to me, so I wouldn't be able to fight the courts.

Another participant recorded the incident with a handlebar cam. She gave me the recording and offered me advice on how to fight the charges.

(Different topic, out of curiosity.) Why bother protesting anything at all?

I mean, we're both smart people. Surely we agree that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aT9p36fgHU#t=3m35s indicates the police can do whatever they want, and nobody really cares except the victim.

And there's really nothing to do about it, or any way to change it. Nobody cares about protests except the protesters.

I wish it weren't that way, but, given that things are that way, then why bother fighting?

Why go on living? You'll just end up dead.

Thought about it.

It's symbolic, like all protests.

Whatever the intelligence of the protesters, I seriously doubt any of them actually believe being a PITA in the street is going to inconvenience traders significantly.

Unless it's a diversion. Damn, I've been watching too many heist movies...

You don't have to go into the buildings to wind the traders up... www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6YB53wp5dA

How? What are they actually protesting? The existence of the banking industry? It seems like poorly informed reactionary tactics to me.

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