I want to get to the video I mentioned, which this is a video that's been sending around,
I have it in multiple angles, I've looked at it very closely.
I've been analyzing this thing like the Zapruder film, to be completely honest with you, frame
by frame, let's figure out what's going on.
This is one of these NYPD whiteshirt officers which we're very familiar with at this point,
punching a woman, possibly knocking her out, I don't have confirmation that she lost consciousness,
but watch it if you're watching this on TV, and I'll narrate, I'll explain what happens
on audio as well.
[Shouting]
OK, there may even be follow-up kicking her in the face as well.
I don't know if you saw that.
Let's take a look at this from a different angle, and this is a different view.
Keep an eye on what's going on here.
I don't know what the woman's doing beforehand, but the question I have for those who say
we don't have context, is there anything she could have been doing except attempting to
shoot the officer that would warrant this type of reaction?
I don't know.
[Shouting]
OK, and actually, this angle's not that good.
Let me see if I can rewind it to the very beginning.
The first two seconds contain the actual punch.
You have to look carefully here.
[Shouting]
OK, and you know what?
Monte: Also, is that a woman or a man with a ponytail?
David: Yeah, I want to also add that...
I don't want to...
[Laughter]
Now that I'm looking at this more closely, I don't want to...
Monte: Gender stereotype?
David: Play into any kind of gender stereotyping.
I'm questioning...
Natan: I saw some facial hair.
David: I'm questioning whether that was a man or a woman.
I am questioning that.
Yeah, I'm not sure.
Monte: Let's just say a hippie and cover all boundaries.
David: Let's... because that's already what's being said, that this is all hipsters...
Monte: Right.
David: ... let's just assume it was a hipster.
What are you guys seeing there?
I don't...
I can't imagine anything other than I was about to be shot that would warrant that type
of behavior.
And also, in the U.S., there's this kind of idea that well, if the protester starts resisting
arrest, then all bets are off.
That line of reasoning doesn't work in a lot of other countries where people watch this
show, because I'm getting emails saying what's wrong with you guys in the U.S.? Because they
resisted arrest, it's OK to punch them and throw them to the ground?
So if that's what the email to me is going to be, skip the email.
What's your thought on the video?
Monte: I think that there would have to be... even if they were taunting them saying bad
things about his mother...
David: Right.
Monte: ... it certainly doesn't look like it merits that sort of violent retort.
We don't know if they were holding a weapon or, it's hard to tell from that video, but
again, it seems unlikely.
And I'd-- everything I've heard from the Occupy movement at this point is they're really trying
to be strict about how to deal with the police in a nonviolent way, and there are actually
things you can learn about nonviolent resistance that would preclude you from doing anything
threatening that would levy a punch in your face.
David: Well, we had a video last week of a guy who was clearly doing the epitome of the
nonviolent protest, which is just standing there with absolutely just no, you know, letting
the police move you wherever you need to go.
And I remember it, a red-jacketed police-- or, out-of-uniform police officer took the
guy and slammed him down, caused a concussion.
Again, I got emails saying well, you don't know what happened in the minute before that.
Fine, but at the time, the guy's standing there limp like a noodle, and he's getting...
he's getting slammed down on the ground.
So what do you think of that, Natan?
You were one of these people, actually, not random audience members, you were saying we
don't know what the context is; what do you think of that one?
Natan: Well, all I was saying is that there are many videos that we know of from other
countries and from this country where it is the case that when you find out the proper
context, somehow it's completely inversed like who the blame should go to.
There was one case in Israel and the Gaza Strip where there was a famous case of an
Israeli soldier...
David: Right.
Natan: ... and the picture showed him punching a Palestinian, and it turns out he was actually
helping him.
And so it was like the exact opposite of what people thought.
All I'm saying...
all I'm saying is...
David: It does happen...
Monte: He had a mosquito on his face.
He was punching him to get it.
David: Right, the woman...
the woman or man had a mosquito on their face, so they had to punch it off.
I don't know.
Natan: It appeared that he was punching him is the point.
Monte: Ah.
Natan: But the point that I'm making is that, you know, we don't know what the context is.
I agree that the police is probably, like Monte said, there's probably a little of both.
There's probably some context that explains some of these cases, and in other cases, the
police is probably going overboard.
Monte: Arbitrarily macing different people that are part of the Occupy movement seems
to never be a good idea.
David: Like people that are already sitting on the ground doing nothing.
Monte: Yeah.
David: The other interesting thing that's going on is a bunch of people were arrested
at Citibank for going in together to close their accounts.
And this is... it's reminiscent of...
I know it's so cliche to say it's reminiscent of "1984", and I hate even saying it, so I'm
not going to.
I'm going to only indicate I'm not talking about that.
But it's a very weird video that...
Natan: Don't think of an elephant.
David: That I find to be compelling.
This is a woman in a business suit trying to close a bank account being carried out
by police.
It makes no sense.
Woman: ... there's the number.
I called them, they know that this is happening.
Give her all of your names.
[Shouting]
Man: You were inside.
You were inside with everybody else.
Citibank Customer: I'm a customer.
I'm a customer.
Man: You were inside.
Yes, but you were inside...
no.
No.
Man: What are you doing?
[Shouting]
Citibank Customer: What are you doing?
What are you doing?
I am... this is all being documented right now.
David: OK, and then what happens is a huge crowd of people, actually, picks her up and
carries her who knows where, multiple police officers.
So according to reports, what happened here is that the question was whether or not she
was part of the protest of closing...
this bulk account closing that led to the arrest.
And even though she was, she had a right to be in there, is the idea, and she holds up
her checkbook.
She's a customer of the bank.
She was one of 24 that was arrested at a Citibank branch.
So I know that we could look into this and say well, the manager asked them to leave
and they insisted on closing their accounts.
So they were arrested because at that point, they were technically trespassing.
I just have a hard time saying that if you go to a bank to close your account and you're
told we can't do it right now, you have to leave, all of a sudden you're trespassing
and it warrants an arrest.
Even if it meets the letter of the law, I have trouble with it.
Monte: I'm going to go and take the opposite end of the spectrum here and say yes, she
went in there and tried to close the account, but it was lunch, and they asked her to come
back and do it later and she didn't maybe and she stayed in that branch and she wouldn't
move, so they had her removed.
David: At my bank, there's never anyone available when I go in and want to do something.
It's kind of one of the main things at big banks like the one that I have but hopefully
soon will no longer be a client of.
So when there's nobody there to help me, they say just sit and wait for that person to show
up.
It just seems like they didn't like all these people coming in at once to close accounts.
There were cameras around, it was becoming a stunt, so they said you all have to leave.
Does that immediately make them criminals?
I don't know, I just have trouble with that.
Monte: It seems like they were on private property, so if they ask them to leave and
they don't leave, that there would be justification to arrest them.
That being said, if the big corporate banks want to make life easier for themselves and
the police, knowing that there are a lot of people trying to mass-close accounts right
now, they may want to put a feature on their ATMs outside their building so that people
can drive through, hit "Cancel Account", and then be done, really quickly.
David: A drive-through...
No, you know what they should do?
They should charge a $50 account closing fee.
That's really...
Monte: They probably already do.
David: That's the way to... well, I know that if you have a negative balance with some bank
accounts, you actually can't close the account and you continue to accrue overdraft fees
even though you've attempted to close that account.
You know, we don't need to get into the logistics of bank policy here, but I think that you're
right, there...
maybe there would be some way to expedite this account closing that would preclude groups
of people coming in to very boisterously close accounts.
Monte: That being said, part of the point is to get arrested at these banks, because
they're trying to prove a point.
We're now talking about this on television because they proved their point, which is
they're closing banks and that people are going to arrest them for that.
David: Right.
Yeah.
You're right.
Natan: I just love in these videos when immediately when a person gets touched by a security guard
or a cop, they start screaming wildly as if they're being raped.
Monte: Yeah.
Never helpful.
David: No.
Monte: Don't scream.
Cooler heads prevail.
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