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Spotted In Greenpoint: Hipster For Bloomberg
During my knockings about north Brooklyn over the years I quickly learned there are certain things that mean nothing but trouble. First and foremost among them is anyone bearing a clip board.
Back in the early 2000’s this was a sure fire indicator of a real estate agent. I clearly recall the summer day I was standing with a few friends on Manhattan Avenue when a gaggle of suit men lead by a woman wearing her best power blazer stopped, pointed at us and— like some hitherto unknown and exotic zoological discovery— identified us to her retinue (bearing clip boards all) as:
the new artistic influx!
The men furiously took notes on their clip boards. I was aghast. Not so much at being identified as such; I probably am just that. What pissed me off was that someone— a self-appointed Jane Goodall or Dian Fosse, if you will— had the temerity to point at another human bring and commenced to give a spiel usually found on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom or in National Geographic. Simply put, it was dehumanizing.
Since things got sour, real estate wise, most of the folks I see bearing clipboards nowadays are IDT agents going about their nefarious business. And today, June 14, I can add a new animal of prey stalking our (not so) mean streets: hipsters canvassing for Bloomberg.
When I saw this young woman (bearing an XOXO handbag and a satchel reading “Bloomberg NYC”) making annotations on her clipboard at the intersection of Lorimer Street and Norman Avenue I simply had to hang around and watch her go about her business. As you can clearly see in the above photograph I was not the only one who took interest in her activities.
It amuses me to no end how hard politicians (for example: my good friend David Yassky and his sidekick Rami Metal, among others) are shilling (or as they would put it: “reaching out”) to 20-something voters. Inasmuch as I bust my born in the 1980’s compatriot’s chops (usually because they are sporting 1980’s fashion without all the horrible memories that go with it), the fact of the matter is they’re not stupid. I suspect I speak for many— be they 20-somethings, 30-somethings, 40-somethings and beyond— when I say the manner in which Mr. Bloomberg secured his run for a third term was one of the most deplorable, under-handed and revolting abuses of the democratic process I have ever seen.
And no amount of canvassing or “coolness” is going to change my opinion. Period.
Miss Heather
Comments
7 Comments on Spotted In Greenpoint: Hipster For Bloomberg
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dirtybomb on
Sun, 14th Jun 2009 8:37 pm
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missheather on
Sun, 14th Jun 2009 8:57 pm
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daveinbedstuy on
Mon, 15th Jun 2009 3:42 pm
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dirtybomb on
Mon, 15th Jun 2009 6:52 pm
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missheather on
Mon, 15th Jun 2009 7:03 pm
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bitchcakes on
Sat, 27th Jun 2009 9:36 pm
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atlas9 on
Sat, 31st Oct 2009 12:42 pm
i was at that 3rd term city council meeting… only because i lied at the door with camera in hand claiming to be the press. it was a complete put-on. it was obvious the outcome was already decided before the hearings. it was a room that held less than 100 people… many of whom were likely staff of bloomberg-friendlies with a paid day off to attend.
furthermore, many people wanting to attend/speak were turned away at the door. im also certain that many people who would have liked to attend, probably did not because it was held in the middle of the workday.
as long as we continue to have money influence politics, we will have a lack of ethics. there is no ‘crisis’ so bad that it should circumvent democratic process.
i cant remember his name — but someone from the state senate spoke at that hearing — and summed it up precisely when he ended his speech by holding up a for sale sign. i think my cam lost batt power before that… if not, ill upload it.
Although I do not agree with his politics, Edmund Burke:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke
has a number of quotes that are all too relevant to the farce of what you beheld and what we’re seeing with this Mayoral race. Here are a few:
Ambition can creep as well as soar.
Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.
The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts.
Ummmm, then just don’t vote for him. There will be plenty of other candidates.
sure.
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.” – H. L. Mencken
Nice one! I love H.L. Mencken!
I am with you, Miss Heather. And I filed a complaint with 311 for all of the political mail I have already received (6 months prior to the election!!!!) for Bloomberg. It sickens me to think of the extreme waste of paper and materials for his (illegal?) re-election bid. I can only imagine how much worse it will get as it draws closer.
I don’t understand the problem, sure bloomberg is going for a third term; but he did it by the books. Why freak out about it? He isn’t being dictatorial, and he sure hasn’t made himself chancellor of NYC, so where is the fundemental problem? The guy wants to stay in office… So that all depends on the election. And the election is democratic, so he is essentially following the democratic process. Also, I canvass for bloomberg in the downtown Brooklyn area, and I can tell you I am no hipster. Just as you were so taken aback from the real estate agents, the same applies here. Don’t be so quick to judge. I am here to engage you and others in the area on the democratic process. If that isn’t something you like then maybe you should consider living in a less important area outside of NYC. But If I were you I would appreciate the fact that bloomberg is playing fair and by the books, and that’s something you have to respect. So please, let’s all relax and try to enjoy a small slice of democracy in our increasingly un democratic world.
P.S. Don’t be rude to me when I come knocking. I don’t mind if you don’t like bloomberg and I am more than willing to listen to what you have to say.
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
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