This dangerous looking Bonnie and Clyde couple has finally been nabbed by the police in New York City. Caroline Stern, a dentist, and George Hess, a movie prop master, were returning from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night’s Swing when they decided to cut loose at the Columbus Circle station. They danced. That’s right. Right in front of drug dealers, purse snatchers, and assorted felons, they danced. Thankfully, they were promptly arrested and the New York subway system was able to return to its joyless natural state.
The arrest occurred last year when they began dancing the Charleston as a musician played the steel drums. Police immediately demanded to know what they were doing. While they appear to have missed the greatest straight line and say “the Charleston,” the couple explained that they were dancing. The shocked New York officers informed them that the Burgermeister Meisterburger had prohibited dancing at the station. After all, how can a person be expected to score a coke deal with a middle-aged couple doing the Charleston on the platform?
Now here is the interesting part, when Hess pulled out his camera to record the bizarre incident, the officers reportedly got aggressive and called for backup. (Too bad he did not have the new ACLU App). The couple claims that Hess, 54, was tackled by officers.
They were both charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct for ‘impeding the flow of traffic.” (It is a good thing that they were not doing the Fox-Trot or they would have been charged with cruelty to animals).
It is an all too familiar pattern that we have seen with citizens who film police. The charges were later dropped — another common aspect of these cases. Another common element is the total lack of discipline for the officers in bringing such charges or investigation into whether the confrontation was triggered by a citizen exercising his first amendment right to film police.
Source: Daily Mail
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Whoa! This blog looks exactly like my old one!
It’s on a completely different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Wonderful choice of colors!
Was it a juvenile? They’re the worst kind, I’ve heard.
Whenna the police gonna do sumpn?
Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RORbBculj_0
At columbus Circle.
But…toward the end you see a crime being committed.
Somebody is holding a drink larger than 16 ounces!!!
Occupy Wall St.
TONIGHT, 11:30 @ Columbus Circle: Dance Dance Revolution!
DANCE FOR THE RIGHT TO DANCE.
DANCE FOR COPWATCH.
DANCE TO DECOLONIZE COLUMBUS CIRCLE.
DANCE FOR RAD STREET MUSICIANS.
DANCE AGAINST NYPD BRUTALITY.
DANCE AGAINST STOP N FRISK.
DANCE AGAINST LEGAL DEBT & REPRESSION.
DANCE SO NYC DOESN’T BECOME 1984 Footloose
OCCUPY THE DANCE FLOOR TOGETHER
Gawker recently reported that the NYPD ARRESTED a couple in their mid-50s FOR DANCING to a steel drummer’s music while on an almost empty Columbus Circle subway platform. One of them was wrestled to the ground after trying to record the encounter.
VIDEO: “Tonight I got to cut loose! FOOTLOOSE.”
SPREAD THE WORD: Dance tonight at Columbus Circle. http://www.facebook.com/events/497744176919051/
Occupy Movement will dance tonight! How many will get arrested?
Bettykath, I love getting honks, for OWPhilly, fitzpatrick, heck any demo I have been to when someone honked, even if giving us the finger at the same time, we would yell (at least I would) Thank you for your support!! Helped make the numbers look a little better
Mike S youre right it doesnt work anymore, the news only goes after the weird the crazy, (and the ‘celebrities” no matter how big the demo.
The twitter thing where you bombard it with your message is one good way to go but seems hard to get people to do.
PS Apologies to the OWS folks. I referred to you implying deficiencies of which I have in fact no knowledge.
I put up something to criticize so as to get approval of my proposal—which for all I know has already been considered by your group. But having an empty head has never hindered a loud mouth.
The fallacy of logic would certainly be condemned by GeneH. And properly so. But hoped the end justified the means, when coupled to this apology.
Is it agreed that getting a clear concept out and a joint concept for the moment (other later) has been a problem? And a direct action for all to participate under the same slogan/meme. A new meme for re-charging the movement and the people.
150,000,000 passive sitting persons can not be ignored.
Just as was demonstrated at the campus sitdown which provoked the police to pepparspray the participants.
Nothing incites police frunstration as passive joined arms sitting on the ground—particularly if several cameras are around. How dare they???
Good stuff. All of it. And I’m not high on anything.
MikeS,
I suggested to BattyKath that you could offer us guidance. For whatever reason you are here, and agree wiht you that we are not tuned in as age participants with the young. Be that as it may, I feel your contribution will be worth considering IMHO.
(Personally, I would ask you as presumably one of the “ignore ID707” group, mentioned by OS on the Afghan thread, to read my reply and appeal to him there.)
BettyKath,
Thanks for the report from the varying scene at front lines. I particularly got excited at your suggestion of silent vigils. They will influence I hope. They are noticed. They do attract people in the general population more than demonstrations. But that is opinion. Can you say more?
Mallsha,
Your assessment is correct within its bounds.
Here is one new tactic in America.
We say we are the 99 percent. Now our task is to show them how they are part of the 99 percent.
Then we need to convince them that things can be effected. that each of them has a stake and a chance to have their voice heard in a NEW way.
One can simply ask: “If we all stopped work at the same time, say 4PM EDT, all over the country would we get ourselves noticed.”
Well, in contrast to the OWS we must have spokespersons, issues, desires, injusiices to point at which are wide-ranging, effect many, encite support by their commonness and clarity. All that before we have the one-hour strike. And we must have “stars” with media value to force the press attention as well as to get that of the 99percent.
MikeS can advise on local/regional leadership versus a national rallying figure, perhaps both. What good did that kind of figure do before, other than offering a target to the police and Hoover?
Let me give my perception of MLKs work: Persistent, hopeful, and forgiving while implacable as to goals.
Nuf said. It’s my take but your ball. Play it.
Starving the beast is a good tactic. We should stop buying anything from multinationals whenever possible. Move our money to local banks. Boycotts, shaming, blockaids, targeted protests at oligarchs lairs, etc.
these cops were lucky it was not this guy dancing on that platform, the first song is a tribute to George Zimmerman:
Mike S, I’m not sure there are “new tactics.” The thing has turned so much on power now that even the power to report what is happening has become part of the big franchises. In the old days we had to try to get someone to report on the problems, so they told us to bring lots of people somewhere and have signs and so forth so there would be a “photo op” and then we could get coverage. Now that there’s an Internet and there need not be a “photo op” any more, nothing that is said seems to matter. Eventually we got mems, they got memes, all god’s children got mems, and when we get to heaven we can take out our mems and we can…
oh well, to quote one of the greatest comediennes, nevermind.
OWS worked because of the meme 99%, not the demonstrations. That there was now a strong, surprising meme from the Left shocked the media into reporting on it, but you see as soon as the media could it turned the narrative into a few of the crazies that took part. After that it then turned away as the police crackdowns began.
We must face the fact that demonstrations no longer work simply because they are either ignored, under counted and/ or ridiculed because of a few weird people taking part. We have to forget the 60’s and get creative in new ways. Unfortunately, an old fart Hippie radical like myself has no idea what new tactics to use.
Well I think the defenses offered above are good, but the BEST defense is a good OFFENSE.
Pete, thanks for the video. I can’t sit down, gotta dance. If I play that 3 times a day I’ll 15 minutes of good aerobic exercise.