Man vs. Mickey Mouse Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Above -- Crime photographer Randy Credico (photo courtesy Elizabeth Broad) Below --some of his action shots (photos courtesy Credico Crime Museum)
My old friend, the legendary political impressionist and human rights activist Randy Credico, got arrested in a drug bust last week. What's interesting is he got arrested in someone else's drug bust. Credico stood up for a poor devil getting rousted by an undercover NYPD goon squad that specializes in Mickey Mouse marijuana busts that are just part of the legalized shakedown that funds the police/prison industrial complex.
This may explain why NYPD-Not-In-Blue gets very upset with Randy when he takes photos of narcs as they apprehend treacherous marijuana suspects. They also get emotional with Credico because he warns anyone he sees smoking marijuana or openly being a person of color to beware of intensely vigilant officers hiding in plain clothes.
These warnings aggravate the courageous crime-fighters to no end. They have enough trouble fighting the pot plague without Credico hampering their efforts. Imagine how Greenwich Village would deteriorate if the scourge of marijuana isn't nipped in the, uh, bud. You just can't risk letting libertines loose in such a staid community.
But seriously, for over a decade Credico has been fighting the system as a crusader against New York's draconian Rockefeller drug laws. He has served as the director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice since it was founded in memory of the late radical lawyer who was Randy's dear friend and mentor. As Kunstler Fund director, Credico spends his days helping drug war prisoners and their families combat almost hopeless odds created by mandatory sentences and bounty-hunting cops and DA's. The public servants gain funding and brownie points for keeping the railroad to New York's many prisons at full capacity and running 'round the clock.
Over the course of time, Randy has become collaterally damaged by heavy daily exposure to the injustice, heartbreak and frustration brought on by vengeful law enforcement. His patience with cruelly inhuman punishments has been thoroughly exhausted. And so last Thursday, at the end of another long day, Randy Credico was relaxing by barbecuing for friends when the lurking menace swooped in to entangle yet another sorry soul in the system. Super attuned to the sounds of jackboots, Randy rose to confront those who inflict and dis-serve. He was no mood to be diplomatic with the swinish interlopers.
There's no need for me to attempt to match Anthony Papa's excellent account of what happened next so give a click and take a look. Papa also includes a brief summary of the ridiculous number of marijuana busts in a city where a white-color crime spree by real estate moguls and Wall Street sharpies has placed day-to-day life beyond the economic grasp of the people who make the city work by actually working in the city. Is it any wonder why some New Yorkers occasionally seek solace in a billow of smoke?
Randy spent eighteen hours incarcerated in the barbaric conditions provided by New York's finest. He returned with a greater appreciation for the righteousness of his cause. He also came back with a right hand numbed by handcuffs slapped on with such force that the arresting officers should be drug-tested for steroids. All that's left for me to do is suggest that you show support for Randy Credico by writing a generous check to the Kunstler Fund now before the undercover weed whackers get a chance to do a number on you.
This may explain why NYPD-Not-In-Blue gets very upset with Randy when he takes photos of narcs as they apprehend treacherous marijuana suspects. They also get emotional with Credico because he warns anyone he sees smoking marijuana or openly being a person of color to beware of intensely vigilant officers hiding in plain clothes.
These warnings aggravate the courageous crime-fighters to no end. They have enough trouble fighting the pot plague without Credico hampering their efforts. Imagine how Greenwich Village would deteriorate if the scourge of marijuana isn't nipped in the, uh, bud. You just can't risk letting libertines loose in such a staid community.
But seriously, for over a decade Credico has been fighting the system as a crusader against New York's draconian Rockefeller drug laws. He has served as the director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice since it was founded in memory of the late radical lawyer who was Randy's dear friend and mentor. As Kunstler Fund director, Credico spends his days helping drug war prisoners and their families combat almost hopeless odds created by mandatory sentences and bounty-hunting cops and DA's. The public servants gain funding and brownie points for keeping the railroad to New York's many prisons at full capacity and running 'round the clock.
Over the course of time, Randy has become collaterally damaged by heavy daily exposure to the injustice, heartbreak and frustration brought on by vengeful law enforcement. His patience with cruelly inhuman punishments has been thoroughly exhausted. And so last Thursday, at the end of another long day, Randy Credico was relaxing by barbecuing for friends when the lurking menace swooped in to entangle yet another sorry soul in the system. Super attuned to the sounds of jackboots, Randy rose to confront those who inflict and dis-serve. He was no mood to be diplomatic with the swinish interlopers.
There's no need for me to attempt to match Anthony Papa's excellent account of what happened next so give a click and take a look. Papa also includes a brief summary of the ridiculous number of marijuana busts in a city where a white-color crime spree by real estate moguls and Wall Street sharpies has placed day-to-day life beyond the economic grasp of the people who make the city work by actually working in the city. Is it any wonder why some New Yorkers occasionally seek solace in a billow of smoke?
Randy spent eighteen hours incarcerated in the barbaric conditions provided by New York's finest. He returned with a greater appreciation for the righteousness of his cause. He also came back with a right hand numbed by handcuffs slapped on with such force that the arresting officers should be drug-tested for steroids. All that's left for me to do is suggest that you show support for Randy Credico by writing a generous check to the Kunstler Fund now before the undercover weed whackers get a chance to do a number on you.
Randy discusses his arrest on the Fred Dicker Show (mp3)
