Forum Post: This protest is working - it will grind down NYPD - stay non-violent

The white shirt officer ranking cops are macing people and getting violent because the officers are the ones under pressure to get this shut down. Instead of having slap fights with low level cops, the protests are hitting the department where it hurts, the budget, where the ones who suffer will be higher up the food chain. This constant police presence, not funded out of an anti-terror budget, has to be wreaking havok on their shift schedules and OT budgeting. The fact is, because of the sensitive nature of the location, the department HAS to respond disproportionately by expending massive resources and, yes, perpetrating violent reprisals. They have to have a constant extra detail of cops watching the protesters, at least a one to one ratio, 24/7. A long grind like this has to be a big, weeping hole in the department's budget. The fact that the protesters are breaking out and randomly walking around the city - shit, what a fucking mess to have to deal with from a police staffing perspective. The rank and file aren't the ones macing the protesters because the rank and file are scoring sweet, sweet limitless overtime, which they desperately need to supplement their $24,000 entry level wages. Babysitting nonviolent hippies in a safe location with plenty of decent restaurants around is a really sweet OT gig if you can get it. Spit in a patrolman's face and the big blue machine doesn't sweat it - that's what it's there for. Hit it in the pocketbook and you'll get white shirted high ranking types under pressure to shut it down. That's why the white shirts are the ones with the mace. No more perfect location could have been chosen, in my estimation. This protest is a big, blank check on the department's bottom line, and these stupid, disorganized, unemployed fucking hippies, just by sitting around and eating peanut butter, are tacking on the zeroes. This is the very definition of an ideal strategy when facing such a gross asymmetry of power.