> On Nov 17, 2011, at 10:46 PM, SA wrote:
>
>> Today looks like an enormous success.
> No kidding. It was exhilarating. Except for the fucking cops, who are just way too plentiful.
I've been watching the livestreams compulsively. One of the nice things I've noticed is that there seems to be less and less of that "you're one of us!" silliness.
I guess everyone has their own attitude toward the NYPD, but here's my own personal take. (FWIW, I did once spend the night in The Tombs after an unauthorized Amadou Diallo protest, where I became pals with Joel Kupferman, one of the lawyers who won Tuesday's short-lived injunction against the NYPD.)
When things are tense: Treat the cops in a manner that is cold, correct, and formal. Like a CEO to another CEO he's planning to screw, or a mobster to another mobster he's planning to whack. "Hey nothing personal, but fuck you, it's just business."
When the cops go really berserk, breaking all standard norms of cop-like behavior: This is the one time it's okay to scream at them. If you do this too much, you look naive. (What did you expect from cops?)
When everything is relaxed and a cop is being friendly: This is the one time it's okay to treat them like normal human beings. But more like a first baseman talking to a runner on the other team. "Hey, good luck out there buddy, but you guys are going down tonight." Never with the "you know we're on the same side, right?" You just embarrass them and yourself.
SA