Brooklyn Heights Man, Others, Protest #OWS Portrayal on Law and Order

By on December 9, 2011 9:26 pm in News

Friday morning, around midnight, reports say 100 Occupy Wall Street protesters “stormed” the set of an OWS themed episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in Lower Manhattan. The demonstrators were outraged that the show was allowed to set up in Zuccotti Park to re-enact the protests.

Brooklyn Heights resident Drew Hornbein tells the NY Daily News, “This is not us. We are not part of corporate TV America.” He added, “It’s hysterical. Two weeks ago they kicked us out of Zuccotti Park. Now they have this set trying to pretend it’s us. It’s odd.”

Shortly after the protest began, the NYPD announced that the production company’s film permit had been rescinded.

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  • Knight

    If OWS had an honest message that they wanted to get get out to America, what better way to do so than through a popular television series? The publicity that they would get through an episode of “Law & Order: SVU” has to be better than what they got by occupying Zuccotti Park on their own. [I think they’ve already disproven the theorem that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity.”]

    From what I understand, OWS protestors are mainly against the fact that 1% of the country holds the majority of its wealth. Do they think that the people whose jobs they disrupted today — the production staff — many of whom get paid by the hour — are part of that 1%? I hope not for future actions’ sake. The only people who were hurt by this disruption are people who live paycheck to paycheck. I’m all for a better distribution of profits, but PLEASE think before you start interfering with hard working people’s livelihood.

  • JM

    @Knight…where does one begin to pick apart your fallacious comment? “If OWS had an honest message” -OK so we know you are opposed to and/or buy into the Fox News meme of a pointless protest. Got it. “what better way to do so than through a popular television series?” How do you know in what light the series was going to depict the protest (not that that was even what OWS was against here)? But lets play along with you…You think OWS should welcome this without knowing the story line yet you then say snidely “I think they’ve already disproven the theorem that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity.”] Hmmm…
    Also I gather the OWS outrage was that weeks after mass arrests of law abiding, peaceful protestors and 26 MEMBERS OF THE PRESS! (which may have been illegal), Bloomy allowed the delicate Wall Street area to be disrupted by the film shoot re-enactment ON THE VERY SAME SPOT (are you one of those on this blog that complains about film shoots disrupting the Heights?) Last but not least, if you knew anything about the film making process, you’d know that the crew living paycheck to paycheck got a Holiday bonus from OWS as the delay would add extra days to the shoot to re-scout, art direct, clear parking etc for a new location, while the Network took the hit for the extra days. Well played OWS!

  • AEB

    Art copying life? But in this glorious land of ours, everything is grist for the mill of commerce. So, in a sense, the would-be filming underlines the OWS-ers point, whatever the actual content of the show might turn out to be.

  • Gerry

    @ Knight – I agree with your point. The OWS group has no message what may have begun as a noble attempt to make a point has gone astray no one knows what the heck they want or mean?

    I know so many people who watch L&O and the program will run through decades as reruns OWS had a chance to be recorded in a slot of media history via a L&O episode and they blew it.

  • AEB

    OWS has made its point: its 99% message has passed through the media and become common knowledge. It has the power of the slogan, the meme, to use that much overused word.

    People will agree or not, but many have become aware of something–huge US income inequalities–which they were formerly blind to.

  • EHinBH

    Nobody was blind to inequality. It’s part of a capitalist society. Love it or leave it… OWS is an absurd waste of time and policing it is wasting countless tax dollars. No kidding Wall Street makes more than Main Street. Most people dont even understand that w/o Wall Street there would not even be a Main Street anymore. Whatever, not worth arguing.

  • AEB

    How cavalier you are, EH in BH! But of course your point of view is the very one the OWS protesters decry.

    People not blind to inequality in America? In our candy-colored, plugged-in, zoned-out world of instant grat? One in which the really important thing is to have the latest electronic doodad? Where it’s Kardashian World 24-7? Where even the most economically disadvantaged vote Republican? Where the poorest believe themselves to be middle class?

    Please!

  • Livingston

    Must be a slow news day if this is worthy of BHB. OWS is just itching for a way to get back in the news now that their 15 minutes of fames is over.

    And EHinBH, I concur.

  • Master Of Middagh

    It’s strange that some folks will say that OWS doesn’t have a point or a message and then go on to argue against the OWS position about inequality of opportunity in America. Clearly, they have a very strong message that has gotten through even to their detractors; but this nonsensical insistence on denying that OWS has a message is perplexing…

  • David on Middagh

    I disagree that income inequality is a built-in facet of capitalism. When the inequality reaches multiples that aren’t merely arithmetic, but geometric (take-home pay differing by factors of 10, 100, 1000, and more), you are talking about the law of the jungle, might makes right, and so on. You are letting some cut corners, employ loopholes, change laws, and break laws in competition with others who are doing the very same: a sick system.

  • AEB

    Yes, thanks, David. NB: the point is to ameliorate….

  • Gerry

    @ everyone here Knight said it first, then Gerry (me) said it again, and then EHin BH said it one more time – this OWS thing has gone way off point no message no focus.

  • JM

    OK, one last time…The ironic thing is that we liberals will fight the battles, and any win is a win for all and even Knight, Gerry , EHinBH et al are better off for it. Study your American economic history, the smaller the gap in income disparity, the better the market, GDP and job growth. Some of the best growth has been when the richest 10% (which is now concentrated into 1%) paid substantially higher taxes. In Citizens United the Republican Supreme Court judges gave Corporation “personhood”. All the rights guaranteed “We The People” without any of the liabilities. Your vote is now worthless. Politicians of any or no party must serve at the whim of unnamed and unregulated Corp. campaign contributions due t that ruling. What was bad in our system was made exponentially worse. The Wall Street practices that put the economy in the toilet and cost ALL of us out of our savings, retirements and jobs, have not been regulated properly or outlawed and not one bank has been prosecuted for the very real crimes they committed, only rewarded with YOUR and our tax dollars. Those are some of the pointless, nameless reforms that OWS has stood for.

  • Knight

    Fine, JM. Now tell us: what is the action plan? You piss moan & groan about the situation but offer no REALISTIC plan to change it.

  • Master Of Middagh

    @Knight- Why are you criticizing JM? Are you saying that those problems are ok if JM doesn’t have a comprehensive plan at hand to fix it? That’s just being pointlessly rude if you actually agree that these are real problems, which you DID indicate.

    But, since you asked so rudely, I’ll take your invitation to be the bigger man- the REALISTIC plan is for OWS and all concerned citizens to compel government officials, whether elected or otherwise, to represent the best interests of their constituents rather than satisfying their personal greed and vanity- got it? Good. Glad to have you on board. :)

  • JM

    Well, if you actually listen to the protests, here’s some of what is being fought for:
    1. Make Credit Swap Derivative trading illegal.
    2. Re-separate the banks so that savings banks can’t also be investment banks (they get to use our money as speculative capital in very risky unregulated trading), the way the banks were after he Depression (In other words re-institute the Glass Steagall Act)
    3. Break up the huge mega banks so we don’t face this “too big to fail” scenario repeatedly in the future as an excuse to use our tax dollars to bail out banks that have tanked the economy and
    bankrupted themselves with illegal/unregulated trading.
    4. Overturn Citizen’s United ruling, with a constitutional Amendment if need be (Chuck Schumer & 6 other Senators and Sen Sanders have already introduced bills to this affect, but it will take a huge public outcry, you know as in protest, to get other pols behind the bills.)
    5. Make corporations, like Exxon Mobile & GE who made record profits but paid NO Federal tax and in fact received BILLIONS in tax credits, pay their fair share. So they’re people now regarding free speech & campaign donations, but not regarding their tax obligations, get it?
    6. Last but not least…Make the richest 1% PAY A
    PROPORTIONALLY FARE SHARE IN TAXES
    All of these things are possible and have been proposed, but because the politicians have to exist in an environment where any corp they try and regulate can fight back with unregulated campaign financing of an opponent, they back down and/or are bought out (doesn’t matter what party).
    PA. @Master, thanks!

  • Buggs Bunny

    Thanks, JM. It can’t be clearer than this.

    If someone still can’t understand the OWS issues, they are big Morrons.

  • Gerry

    @ JM Your list of refrorms will never happen.

  • Willow St. Neighbor

    Buggs,
    Before you call anyone a moron you should learn how to spell the word first.

  • AEB

    And bah-humbug to you too Gerry. Your rejection of JM’s list isn’t a criticism of its validity, you know?

    Saying “it will never happen” to the possibility of change isn’t exactly a way to make the world move forward.

  • fulton ferry res

    Damn. I’m glad I don’t live in Brooklyn Heights. Too many Republicans on this thread.

  • Buggs Bunny

    Willow St.Neighbor. I guess you aren’t of the age to have seen Looney Tunes Cartoons. If so, you can be forgiven for being a morron or moroun. But, JM is right. And you are wrong. Suck it up.

  • BH’er

    @EHinBH – you think we should all be grateful to Wall St? For all the good they have done?

    Sure, Wall St enables capital to create the things we enjoy, but if they did so ethically, we would not be in the mess we are in, not to mention the cyclical (and ever growing) nature of the cataclysms

    Besides, we all know what OWS wants – we all want it – fairness and equality. Decades ago, women wanted equal rights (to vote!), minorities want equal rights, everyone wants equal pay…

    Do these guys really need to come out and say it?

    @JM – I’d encourage you to run for President, but even He couldn’t get this done… we’re too far gone. Big money controls everything and there’s no way to reverse that.

    The system has to change – The Deficit SuperCommittee was doomed to failure and never even had a chance – not because the people weren’t smart enough to find $1T in cuts but because the system would punish them if they did (no re-election).

    So, until the system changes, the results won’t either. Remember, Obama campaigned on “Change.” I bet that won’t be his mantra in ’12 – even he can’t change the system.

    OWS may be the best shot there is. I can’t say I support them, but we all want what they want – equality and fairness in the system.