8.06.2007

Who's Got a Big Machine Gun?

Today, on Lexington Ave between 53rd and 54th a small band of NYC Police Officers were armed with machine guns, handguns, and helmets. The band of 4 or 5 were stationed at the strategic "Starbucks-Duane Read Pass".

When asked by a passerby, "What is going on?"

One officer responded, (shrug).

After a little persistence by the passerby the officer curtly offered, "part of police plan" or something similarly meaningless.

It occurs to me that this is a silly exercise. I have seen it a couple of times before, but this was the most pathetic display. The officers involved were chatting with delivery guys and other cops. The protection they offered didn't seem to extend past the proximity of their guns to my face. They weren't happy with questions. Ostensibly, they protect our lives but they belittle our questions/emotions/fear/anger, etc. Their considerable presence would have been a wonderful defense against a band of 4 or 5 lesser armed coffee thieves or crazed prescription drug addicts looking for their fix. What those officers really gave today was not a sense of security but another step on the continuum that ends with our willing acceptance of police state style homeland security. Happy Monday.

2 comments:

EG said...

bring back spiderman.

said...

as a messenger, i once saw huge squads of police in vehicles (cars, motorcylces, sportscars) deploying in rigid and suprisingly rubber-burning precision from the north side of bryant park. Sirens ablarin'.
so i approached one of the cars and asked what was going on, and some stupid cop-kid leaned out of the car window and said in some dumb action-movie hero tone "ANTI TERROR!"
just then his partner at the wheel peeled out and they joined the march.
i was left laughing at the curb, unable to believe what i had just heard. i could hardly stand how free and safe i felt, as well.