Dissent has been bubbling up more and more frequently here in the cold, snow-blown streets of New York. The other day, when it was announced that Wall Street was using its bailout funds to hand out record bonuses to its employees, I started hearing murmurs of discontent and talk of tarring and feathering stock brokers even amongst normally placid centrist liberals. There are a lot of people here in this city, and most of us are not benefiting from the economic bailouts that are lining the pockets of a few companies and their favored employees.
This afternoon, our fairly clueless mayor was having a lunch to discuss the future of New York City. The price per seat: $249. The intended guests: the elite business people of the city. You know, CEOs. Heads of major law firms. All the people that decide “the future of New York City.” The ones who decided that the present involves fat Christmas bonuses for them and theirs.
Fortunately, some of the other 99% of the city’s people with an interest in our future decided to crash the party.
You can’t hear much more on the video than “this is what democracy looks like,” but that’s precisely what the point of the disruption is. Decisions about the future of this city shouldn’t by a Trilateral Commission or a Bilderbergers forum, and we’ve already seen what happens when bankers, and bankers on the other side of the revolving door, get carte blanche to decide how to shore up the economy their banks. The protest was organized by Right to the City, a national coalition of community organizing projects. Here in New York, that includes CAAAV (Organizing Asian Communities), FIERCE, Community Voices Heard, FUREE, JFREJ, Mothers on the Move and quite a few other local grassroots projects that you should know about. I know that one group, Picture the Homeless, has been trying for months to get a meeting with Bloomberg to get him to hear the voices of homeless people who are affected by the city’s policies. He refuses to meet with them. That’s why disruption becomes necessary.
This is what democracy really should look like: grassroots movements of LGBTQ youth of color, women who’ve had to deal with welfare, mothers trying to save the communities of the South Bronx, progressive people of faith, women of color working for low-income families, Latin@ immigrant communities, Asian women against violence, the list goes on and on. I’m proud to see this kind of action bringing together so many different movements.
Now here’s the shitty part. Bloomberg said yet another oddly accurate statement that he didn’t really mean. “That is what democracy looks like,” he said to his elite crowd dining on their $250 lunches, “in most other countries they’d throw them in the slammer.” Oops. Spoke to soon, Mr. Mayor. Although the protesters left peacefully after making their point, after they got outside a few of the leaders of the action were apparently still discussing and de-escalating the situation with building security. At that point, the NYPD showed up and did something that I’ve seen them do more than once before: grab whoever they see as being in the way, or whoever’s right in front of them, and haul them off. Eight people were taken into custody and yes, “thrown in the slammer.”
Bloomberg went on to miss the point completely by whining that it’s not nice or smart to hate on rich people or profitable businesses (Profitable? Bailout?) and that there are other ways to make your voice heard. Unless, of course, the city government has been refusing to listen to or talk to you for ages.
If you are interested in helping to get the arrested protesters released — and making Mayor Bloomberg 1% less hypocritical in his jokey comments — there is another protest planned for their arraignment tomorrow at 314 West 54th Street, starting at 8 AM. If you can’t make it there, you can call City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, whose district this took place in, at 212-564-7757 and ask her office to request the release of the prisoners. Ms. Quinn has been a good ally to some members of our communities in these types of situations before, so let’s hope she comes through again.
Update: The arrested protesters have been arraigned and released from custody as of this afternoon. A court date is set for March 13, when I’m sure there will be an action to support them and pack the courtroom. Another correction thanks to gotard: it looks like the arrests may have actually happened in Dan Garodnick’s district, not Christine Quinn’s as mentioned above.
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[...] i didn’t think so either. feministe has a great writeup of the whole confrontation, including names and links to the organizations that [...]
Tarred and feathered for reals? Lol, I know it’s just an expression, but since the biggest fat cats can afford security detail, anyone getting, say, a pie thrown in their face would most likely be some guy who commutes into the city for the benefit of the 2.5 kids whose college fund just evaporated (although Bill Gates did get pied once, so in the words of Aleksey Vayner – “impossible is nothing”).
I was glad to see that this protest happened, and how on-target it was. A lot of the response to what has been happening in this country, as well as abroad, has been tone deaf. People still think that someone flashing her or his investment credentials is going to be looked upon as a guru and a god in today’s times. Not so. People are losing their homes and jobs, for God’s sake. Some never had homes and/or jobs to begin with, but were basically rendered invisible, because times were “good” – and who wants reality to spoil their fun?
The fact that Bloomberg won’t meet with the likes of Picture the Homeless is very telling. It’s almost as if, to him, the homeless are not supposed to exist in a city like New York. At best, they are viewed as a nuisance – like pigeons – but certainly not human beings. This attitude is not unique to Bloomberg, but it does shape the zeitgeist. Of course, I’m not a New Yorker, but reading about ya’ll’s Mayor over the years has given me that impression.
At the core, I think how this whole crisis thing started is fairly simple – people were borrowing sums they can’t afford, because other people thought they could make a quick buck out of their cluelessness, while the credit-obsessed culture drove the entire thing forward. And now the reverberations have taken on a life of their own. Obviously, there’s more nuance to this – I recently saw a really cool PowerPoint, dreamed up by a few disgruntled businessmen, over how bad loans were being essentially sold to investors who had no clue. Well, it was funny, but it was also pretty much heartbreaking – as to the ruthlessness of it all. It’s the most vulnerable who are being hit, after all, the PP mentioned communities of retirees who had pooled their savings together just to be screwed over by the guys on Wall Street or elsewhere.
Holly, may I recommend an interview with John Kay that we just did on our site? Kay’s not a leftist, so I don’t know if you would be interested personally, but maybe someone else might find it useful? John Kay has a great point about how so many academic financial models just do not work in the real world – because they are dreamed up in an environment that doesn’t account for the actual financial reality. They’re too abstract.
Anyway, sorry for the long comment. It’s lunch-time here and I’m sick in bed. :(
Natalia said it all! What a powerful protest and I hope more continue to happen across the country to get the point across that people suffering in this economy aren’t going to let those in power get away with $249 dollar a seat luncheons while people starve as they lose their jobs and homes.
Quick update: the folks who were held at the Midtown jail have been released. No word on the 2-3 people who were being held at 100 Centre St or whether the charges against them were dropped.
this actually took place in Daniel R. Garodnick’s
District 4: 212-818-0580
All folks are out. The last 3 of the “RTTC 8″ were arraigned at about 3:30pm. The whole group will be in court on March 13. Thanks for the coverage!
Everyone’s released. One of the last to be released from 100 Centre street is back to work at the cubicle next to me (who says organizers don’t work hard?).
here’s footage of what went on outside of the of the ballroom:
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Protesters-Interrupt-Mayor-Blombergs-Speech.html
The crazy looking dude with the dreds (me) constantly says feminism saved his life :)
Remember what the East Germans yelled during the Monday demonstrations in the late 80′s? “We are the people!”
Oh god, I hate to sound like a concern troll, I honestly don’t mean it, but… I don’t think that was a very good protest. It looked as though the protestors were expecting to be dragged out before getting a chance to say anything. Instead, they had the floor for a minute or two and failed to deliver a demand or an opinion of substance. Unless visibility is an agenda in itself. Is that what the demonstration was for?
On the up side, I admire anyone who disrupts business as usual, if the cause is just. That was cool.
Like I said, you can’t really hear the demand being made. They were also passing out fliers with a demand, but were not allowed to deliver a letter to the mayor. The demands were basically to create ticipation of low-income New Yorkers in decisions and this kind of “closed meeting” about the economy of the city, especially since poor people are usually the hardest hit.
But Holly! Everyone knows that poor people are dumb! Why ELSE would they be so poor, huh, huh? If anyone lets them into fancy meetings, they’ll blow their noses on the tablecloth before making off with the silverware! Not to mention all the poor people cooties they’ll spread around! Gross!
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(yes, the above was sarcasm. in case you are wondering)
Does Bloomberg not remember that it was “rich people” and “profitable businesses” who screwed up the economy in the first place? And he thinks people are wrong to be upset about city officials having $250-a-plate dinners with these “profitable” rich folk to decide the “future of New York?” Who would want these idiots running the city—I wouldn’t trust these guys to get me a soda from the store without stealing the change!
I mean, why is there any argument about this simple fact—it looks really freaking bad for corporations who begged for public dollars to be spending it on shit they neither need nor can afford. Bonuses, corporate jets, exclusive banquets? Seriously, when people are losing jobs, getting evicted and freezing to death in their homes? Even Obama had to call Wall Street out yesterday! What is it going to take for corporate America to get it?
There is a mist blowing into our society and it smells and sounds like the French revolution.
Thanks for posting this video. What else can we expect from a billionaire? He wants to overturn term limits to keep the status quo. And how can he even bring up the 1970s of NYC? His logic is so flawed – we should be happy because things have been worse? And the tried and workable 9/11 analogy. The bottom line is the ultra-wealthy are completely disconnected from most people. Unfortunately, the media and entertainment industry has been glorifying them for the past decade. But in economic downturns people wake up.
Democracy looks like interrupting a dude talking about affordable housing to chant a meaningless slogan for two minutes?
Reading comprehension, Mike. It’s so important to do more than just watch the video. I know the moving pictures are distracting.
Holly, thanks for the further exposition in #10. It does make more sense with the background you provided.
Holly, I just don’t get what could possibly be considered undemocratic about an elected public official having a public discussion with business leaders, journalists and professors at a public university. It would be nice if Bloomberg met with more advocacy groups for disadvantaged folks. I would support a polite or clever protest to that effect. But the democracy slogan was meaningless and the opposite of enlightening; and the boorish tactic of shouting over someone makes people feel embarrassed for the protestors rather than their target.
I hate when people talk about it because it is almost always steeped in some classist form against rich AND poor. “Those evil, rich businessmen should have known that the poor and upwardly-mobile-middle class couldn’t pay back those loans!” I seriously don’t think we need to be attacking them for giving out loans to those who were high risks but how they did it without proper security. They waved their hands to make the loans look better to the people buying “Get this really great interest rate with no credit check!” and never saying that in the future that great rate will skyrocket.
It is sad that whenever anyone talks about it they always talk about how they gave loans to people that they shouldn’t. I feel bad for the people who were finally able to get that loan but lost it for whatever reason and now are even worse off with no home and even less access to credit. I believe that it will be a long time until credit will be available in the lower income brackets again because of this.